Azalea Bonsai
Growing An Azalea Bonsai
Not all bonsai plants are of the blossoming kind, but of those that are, the azalea bonsai easily ranks as a favorite. Just as is the case with the standard size azalea, an azalea bonsai, attractive any time of the year, can be outstanding in the spring when covered with beautiful blossoms. The Japanese Satsuki azalea (Rhododendron indicum) is the most popular variety. As the name implies, if you understand Japanese that is, it blooms in the fifth month of the year, May.
Training Your Azalea Bonsai - Even when not in bloom, the azalea's tree-like growth habit makes it an ideal plant for training as a bonsai specimen. The azalea plant has a definite trunk, allowing it to be pruned to resemble a perfect miniature tree. It is quite permissible however to allow multiple trunks to grow, and let your imagination roam free. If there is a favored shape for an azalea bonsai, it is probably the windswept tree look. Branches are usually trained as soon as the blossoms have faded and have been removed. This is when the new growth appears, to be shaped or pruned as desired. Additional sprouts will often appear later in the growing season, in mid summer, and these sprouts are generally pruned back completely.
The azalea is a plant well suited for temperate zones and an azalea shrub is normally quite winter hardy. When the plant is in a container however, particularly a small one, it should be over wintered indoors to avoid a risk of freezing the root system. An azalea bonsai will be at its best when allowed to grow outside during the spring and summer months, and kept inside, best in a cooler location, in the winter.
Watering Your Azalea Bonsai - Since bonsai plants are usually placed in a rather coarse soil and often in small containers, they have a tendency to dry out quickly, and something the size of a miniature azalea may have to be watered every day during the growing and blooming season, but less so during the winter months. The root system must never be allowed to dry out however, and the best way to figure out a proper watering schedule is to use the finger test, checking the moisture content of the soil by poking it with your finger, every day if need be.
A bonsai plant is usually best watered from the bottom when it is practical to do so. If the container is small enough, it can be placed in the sink or any other container of water and allowed to soak for a few minutes. If watering from the bottom isn't practical however it's quite permissible to shower the plant from the top. The goal either way is to give the plant a good soaking, and then let the excess water drain away.
Feeding Your Azalea Bonsai - As far as fertilizing an azalea bonsai is concerned, the plant requires feeding from the time it is starting new growth until the end of the season when growth has halted. It's not necessary to apply fertilizer during the winter months when the plant is dormant. A balanced fertilizer, with equal parts of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium in either granular or liquid form, applied every couple of weeks, should suffice. The last couple of feedings in the fall need only be on a monthly basis, and a fertilizer with less nitrogen (N) can be used, as the plant at this time is not developing new foliage.
While not all that difficult to care for, bonsai plants do require careful and consistent attention, primarily to avoid their drying out. Just remember that a plant in a small container usually cannot be neglected for a lengthy period of time.