Bonsai Tonight

An educational website about bonsai development

Kinsai satsuki azalea

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‘Kinsai’ is a popular satsuki azalea cultivar. The flowers are red and the petals are narrow. Mostly.

There are a few different variations of kinsai (pink flowers, wide petals, etc.), and there can be considerable variation among the flowers on a single tree. You can see this on the specimen below that has started to bloom.

Kinsai satsuki bonsai

Satsuki azalea ‘Kinsai’

Some of the flowers have narrow petals while other petals are full-size. Here’s a close-up of the different flower shapes.

Kinsai variation

Different petal widths

The narrow petals are the most desirable on kinsai satsuki, so it’s common to remove the flowers with wide petals ahead of exhibits.

Kinsai flowers

Three flowers with wide petals and three with narrow petals

If a branch produces flowers that have predominantly wide petals, the branch can be removed to encourage new growth that produces narrow-petaled flowers.

Kinsai flower

Desirable flower petals

Because the cultivar has been popular for a long time, a number of the specimens have large trunks.

Kinsai satsuki azalea

Kinsai satsuki azalea
(for a better photo of this tree, see page 87 of The Little Book of Bonsai)

They’re also among the hardier satsuki cultivars which makes them relatively easy to develop as bonsai.

Do you have experience with kinsai satsuki azaleas? If so, share it in the comments below.

2020 Satuski Dictionary now available!

Every few years, Japan’s primary satsuki dictionary gets an update. This year’s edition features a large format (7.1″ x 10.1″) that accommodates an additional 400 cultivated varieties.

The softcover reference book is in Japanese but features color photos of 1400 popular varieties and an English-language index. Learn more at the Bonsai Tonight Online Store.

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Comments

  1. Jonas, I feel fortunate to have an orange Kinsai in my collection. Thank you for your advice to remove branches that have predominately large flowers. I’ll do that if there are not too many said branches.

  2. Thanks Jonas, always look forward to your posts! I have one imported ‘Kinsai’ and have learned a few things. They are cold-hardy and receive no winter protection here in Birmingham. They should be purchased while in bloom to ensure the flower types are what you expect in a Kinsai. They do have some variability in depth of color and flower shape.

    The fat petal flowers are a reversion to a parent plant, and once those branches produce the fat flowers, they don’t go back to producing the firecracker shape flowers, so they need to be removed while in bloom. I have read those branches tend to be stronger growers, but I haven’t noticed that so far.

    Growth is small, compact, and fairly slow. I have not needed to hard-prune mine to retain shape in the last 3 years. Roots are fine, and don’t require frequent repotting, but they are rather thirsty.

    • Thanks, Brian! It’s good to know they do so well with the cold, and that’s great advice about the flowers too. I recommend anyone who is interested in kinsai satsuki to check out your posts about your exposed root kinsai on Bonsai Nut. You’ve shared a lot of great info – and photos! – there. Thanks!

  3. I’m excited to have discovered your blog (googled you after buying The Little Book of Bonsai). I just got my first 2 bonsai for my birthday last week (via Amazon). One is Satsuki azalea. Didn’t want to mess them up, so ordered a couple cheap shrubs from Home Depot (couldn’t pick them out of course). I wish the San Diego Bonsai Club was up and running. I joined anyway – can’t wait to attend some classes! I’m 6 minutes from Balboa Park and work at the model railroad museum there.

    • Thanks, Trudy! The San Diego Club is a great local resource – fingers crossed they’ll be back in action soon. In the meantime, good luck with the new azaleas!