Azaleas as Bonsai
by
Sandy Vrooman

Note: This article was originally created for a San Francisco Bay
Area bonsai club newsletter. It was reprinted for the IBC a bit
later (several years ago, when the IBC was still housed on a
Wayne State University computer) and had been intended for the
IBC FAQ. It doesn't seem to have made it. It should have. So,
with Sandy's permission, I am reposting it now on the list and
news group, then will have it put onto our web pages for
posterity.
Jim Lewis
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Propagation

Taking cuttings of new growth is the accepted way of propagating
azaleas for bonsai. The new growth is pulled off to preserve the
"heel" that connects to the old wood. When you pull off a green
shoot (rather than cut it off) you get some of the old wood or at
least the fibers that join the old wood. This will root better
than just a plain cutting. Nothing wrong with a plain cutting,
though, for azaleas. Almost any rooting hormone and potting
medium can be used. The cuttings are encouraged to gain height.
This is done by stripping the lower leaves repeatedly and leaving
3 leaves on the top of the shoot. Once the cuttings have rooted,
been repotted, and stabilized, they should be wrapped around
stakes to introduce gentle curves in the new trunks. When these
"whips" reach the desired height, side growth can be encouraged.
The process takes 3 to 4 years to get the cutting into acceptable
pre-bonsai stock.

Training from whips

An azalea whip grown for bonsai propagation can be wired into an
interesting shape. Many of the azalea bonsai whips are first
wired in a literati style and become fuller trees later in life.
Branching should be encouraged at this point. Azaleas have the
ability to break out in bud from almost anyplace on old or new
wood. Branching can be encouraged on old wood by brushing the
bark with an old toothbrush to stimulate growth. Rub off the
buds on the inside of the curves on the trunk and preserve the
buds that develop on the outside of the curves. Carefully wire
the branches as soon as they harden off. A rear branch can be
saved as a sacrificial branch to help thicken the base of the
plant.
Azalea can be very brittle and difficult to shape without
breaking trunks or branches. Trunks can be wrapped with muslin
or raffia if you want to drastically change the shape of a trunk.
The trunks bend better if they have gentle curves introduced in
early training and it is these curves that you enhance.

Another technique is to allow the azalea to dry out a bit. Dry
plants are not as brittle as freshly watered plants. Think of
crisp celery in contrast to wilted celery. Of course no bonsai
should get as dry as wilted celery.

Maintaining

Azaleas are grown for their showy flowers. They also are kind in
that they allow us to repot them later than the rest of our
trees. When an azalea is almost finished blooming or when the
new shoots pop out is the time for refinement and repotting.

Azaleas need to be well fed to withstand the rigors of bonsai
cultivation. While the plant is blooming, it should be fed with
a half-strength, high nitrogen fertilizer weekly for a period of
at least 2 weeks, with 4 weeks being preferable.

It is customary to remove all of the blossoms to conserve the
energy the plant might use to produce seeds, and to use the
energy for new foliage and later flower buds. If you time it
just right you can pinch and prune new growth at the same time
you remove all of the flowers.

Many new shoots are produced from the base of each flower. Keep
only 2 of these per branch (use the removed shoots for cuttings).
Azaleas in nature tend to be bushy with many sprouts. In bonsai
we try to encourage one strong trunk. This is an artificial way
for an azalea to grow. To counteract this tendency for azaleas
to bottom sprout, an uneven pinching is done. Leave 3 to 4
leaves on the top most branches per sprout and leave only 2
leaves on the bottom branches. The bottom branches then strive
to survive rather than re-sprout lower on the trunk. Any buds
that sprout lower on the trunk should be rubbed off.

Azaleas scar easily so the rubbing off is preferable to cutting
off established branches. If you use a sacrificial branch to
fatten the trunk, make sure it sprouts to the back so the scar
won't show.

In late summer, early fall feed azaleas 0-10-10 blooming plant
food to encourage the buds to set for the following spring.

Don't like the branching on your azalea? If you have a vigorous
and well-fed plant you can remove all the branches, leaving some
top growth, roughen the bark a bit, place in full sun, and get
new branches.

Soil

Nursery bonsai are usually grown in straight peat moss. This
breaks down and causes root rot in some areas. A mixture of
pumice and peat is better for bonsai. The best soil is kanuma
soil from Japan. I hesitate to recommend a specific soil mix
because regional requirements differ so much.

Roots

Azaleas have many fine roots. It is difficult to tell the roots
from the potting medium from time to time. Unless you have a
diseases azalea that you are trying to save, I do not recommend
combing out all of the roots or trying to bare root an azalea.
Also the surface roots are more viable than the deeper roots.
The center of the root mass is the area most prone to root rot
and that is why this area is eliminated regularly.

When re-potting, remove the bottom 2/3 of the root mass. hen
take pie-shaped wedges of soil out of the root ball. Pack new
soil into the missing wedges. Try to remember which sections
were wedged and change the pattern in the following re-potting.
Repotting annually is recommended.

Feeding

We force azaleas to do things they might not do naturally. We
push for heavy flowering and subject plants to heavy pruning.
Azaleas withstand this treatment if fed properly. During
flowering and the continued growing season feed with a
high-nitrogen fertilizer. Some of these feedings but not all
should be with fish emulsion. In late summer or early fall, feed
with a bloom or 0-10-10 type of plant foot to help set buds for
the following year.

Styling

Azaleas are considered feminine plants in contrast to pines,
which are considered masculine. This refers to the feel and
appearance of the plant rather than the gender of the creator:
the soft, full shape and flowery appearance of the azalea rather
than the prickly and angular appearance of the pine. This is one
place where excess in styling is appropriate. Glazed, decorated
pots are acceptable, exaggerations of trunk shape are acceptable.
Consider the ball gown in contrast to the tuxedo.

The triangular shape on an azalea is inferred and softened. If
you have a variety that puts out many different varieties of
flower color on one plant, having the most colorful flowers on
the top is considered visually more pleasing by the Japanese.
The white flowers are also stronger in nature than the colored
flowers. If you have white flowers at the top, the entire tree
could go white over time.

Sandy Vrooman - Palo Alto, California - early 1990s

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Hi Jim, Thanks for posting this excellent article by Sandy Vrooman. I
would like to see a few additions and amendments if it were to go onto
our IBC site. Some things have moved along in the ten years or so since
the article appeared.

In propagation it should be mentioned that a higher percentage take and
more rapid rooting is achieved if the medium is kept on the dry side and
the tops misted regularly.

When encouraging the initial tall growth, rubbing off all lower shoots
is essential but I'm not so sure about removing the lower leaves. That's
not something I've ever seen a need for as they are helping with
photosynthesis.

For bending trunks, I've found self amalgamating tape (electricians
adhesiveless rubber tape) or vet tape of the type used for binding
injured animals legs (elasticated, slightly sticky and in a wide variety
of colours) more effective and less fiddly than muslin or raffia. The
time of year that major trunk bending is attempted can also determine
how flexible they are. Some major bending can be achieved in early
winter that would snap instantly in spring.

Others will doubtless be able to contribute further.

Cheers

Kev Bailey




Azaleas as Bonsai
by
Sandy Vrooman




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++++Sponsored, in part, by Mike Page ++++
************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++