On May 21-22, 2022, the Bay Area Satsuki Aikokai hosted their 25th annual exhibition at the Lake Merritt Garden Center in Oakland, California. The event featured some fantastic satsuki azaleas in full bloom along with some non-azalea bonsai provided by the Yamato Bonsai Kai. It was great to see a mix of blooming and non-blooming […]
Satsuki
Post-bloom care for satsuki azaleas
When all goes well, satsuki bonsai can produce lots of flowers in spring. Hakurei-no-hikari – 15″ After 80% of the flowers have bloomed, it’s time to remove all remaining flowers, taking care to remove the seed pods left behind after the petals fall away (see “Removing flowers” for details). Kinsai just past peak bloom After […]
Hard cutback on satsuki azaleas
A number of my azaleas have been slow to leaf out this year. Here’s an example. Exposed-root Kozan-no-hikari As you can see, the foliage is anemic and the old leaves curve downward. It’s the first time I’ve seen these symptoms so I checked my satsuki books and talked with friends who have good experience with […]
Repotting satsuki azalea
Azaleas are well-known for having two repotting seasons – one at the end of winter before the spring growth emerges, and one after the flowers bloom in late spring. I think of repotting in spring as a good option if there isn’t a chance to repot in winter and the tree doesn’t need significant root-work. […]
Fall flowers on satsuki azaleas
I’ve found that a number of satsuki azaleas in my garden have bloomed this fall. It’s normal for satsuki to produce a few flowers this time of year, and occasionally trees are covered with them. When this happens, I enjoy the color and remove the flowers when most of them are spent. Spent flowers on […]