How To Prune A Bonsai Azalea
When pruning azaleas you do not need to worry about cutting back to a connecting branch.
How to prune a bonsai azalea. Satsuki azalea bonsai before and after pruning. Ordinarily for the best results it is always best to prune azalea and all species of rhododendron immediately after flowering has finished however this work can safely be carried out until the end of autumn. Once trained to a specific bonsai shape azaleas require only maintenance pruning and trimming. If you re cutting them at other times you can cut the flower buds which will stop the plant from blooming.
This video discusses several techniques for pruning azalea bonsai during their development. Cut off one third of the roots all the way around and up from the bottom. Remove any dead flowers and reduce the number of new shoots growing out of the branches. Remove spent flowers as soon as they wilt and any new shoots that develop after blooming ends.
The azalea withstands strong pruning very well and even produces new shoots from branches on which no leaves are left. Trimming them at this time will ensure they continue to blossom. Therefore prune the branches at the base harder than the top. The azalea is one of the very few tree species that are basally dominant.
Prune them down to two shoots with two sets of leaves each. Try not to cut any one branch back by more than a third. Perform major pruning between early spring and early summer. Pick out the branches on the plant that are outside of your mental shape for the plant and cut each one of those back.
Every other spring march may your bonsai will need its roots pruned. Shoots grow in clumps of five. I had the pleasure of working on this stunning shohin satsuki azalea late last autumn. The best time to prune is as the flowers discolor and shrivel.