Tips on What You Need To Do in Growing an Azalea Bonsai

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Azalea bonsai is a popular choice of bonsai propagators because they are very charming with their radiant colored flowers. There are various tree species of azalea that can be propagated as a miniature tree, and there are two most commonly cultivated as a miniature tree, which are Satsuki Azalea and Kurume Azalea.

Growing an azalea bonsai is surely a fun experience for all bonsai cultivators. You can do a lot of styles on them. Here are the styles that you can follow when you are growing an azalea bonsai:

Slanting Style

Semi-cascade Style

Informal Upright Style

Root-over-rock Style

Windswept Style

Creating an azalea bonsai is a good hobby for everyone. You just have to take care of it and provide well its growth requirements so that your miniature tree will flourish perfectly. Here are some tips that you can use in propagating an azalea bonsai:

You can start your azalea bonsai from cuttings and through air-layering. You have to take the softwood cuttings during the early part of summer season. If you wish to grow your miniature tree through air-layering or ground layering, you must perform the air-layering method during the early part of summer after the flowering is over.

Choose a soil that has the capability to hold sufficient water and drain out excess water. Sufficient water is very necessary so that your azalea bonsai can grow healthily. The soil should be composed of 60 percent inorganic material and 40 percent organic material. You can also choose a soil mixture that is composed of 40 percent peat moss, 40 percent redwood, fir, or pine bark, and 20 percent pumice.

Use a container for your miniature tree that has drainage holes beneath it. This will aid in the drainage of extra amounts of water inside the pot so that your azalea bonsai will not suffer the consequences of over watering.

You must supply your azalea bonsai of adequate amounts of water. Water is very important for the hydration of your bonsai. You must not give too much water because this will drown your bonsai and will lead to its weakness. And, giving too less water will not supply the required amount of water for it to grow well.

Expose your azalea bonsai to a direct morning sunlight and indirect afternoon sunlight. It is highly recommended that you expose your bonsai to morning sunlight because it is just good enough for your growing bonsai. However, midday and afternoon sunlight is too harsh for your bonsai that is why you need to place it under a shady area.

You need to repot your miniature tree whenever necessary. You have to transfer your azalea bonsai to a new container for miniature trees when the roots have filled the old container. If you are not able to repot your miniature tree in the right time, your miniature tree will definitely experience pot bound.

Azalea bonsai can tolerate hard pruning but you should perform it carefully because the fine roots can break easily. You need to prune harder the bottom and sides of the entire root system but you should be cautious when untangling the roots on the upper portion.