This Satsuki Azalea was brought to a recent open workshop. As you can see the tree has suffered in the past. It has lost its original dense foliage areas and the branches that remain are very ‘leggy’.Since Kevin acquired the tree he has managed to restore its vigour and you can see that new vibrant growth is emerging all over the tree.This tree is typical of many azaleas from Japan in that it has an impressive trunk with good taper and a substantial base. An ideal bonsai subject.Usually when students bring a ‘leggy’ azalea to class with lots of dead inner fine branches it is often too risky to do the drastic pruning required because you are worried the tree is too weak and not strong enough to recover. On this occasion the new growth was so strong and extensive that I could confidently take the tree back to a basic structure from which we can now rebuild and restore the tree to its former glory.
