Satsuki azaleas are named for when they bloom. They are known for blooming in May, the fifth month. Satsuki means “fifth.”
This azalea decided not to bloom until June. And the blooms you see represent only about 50% of the flower buds. The others hadn’t opened yet when I decided to start work on this tree anyway. The first step was to remove all of the flowers and unopened flower buds.
Once that was done the biggest task was to prune down to just two lateral branches of the whorl of branches (often 5) that grow from the base of each flower. It seemed easiest to show you this in a video. Check it out at on YouTube.
A little wire seemed in order as well, and we are done for this season. I will let the tree grow and set buds for next year, and at most I will remove unwanted suckers or branches growing in the wrong direction.
This tree is just in its third season since initial styling and I’m happy with how it is progressing.
Bonsai Iterate 
Reblogged this on Wolf's Birding and Bonsai Blog.
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