Not Your Ordinary Azalea : <i> Satsuki</i> Means ‘Fifth Month,’ Which Is How Late in the Season These Japanese Azaleas Bloom. But That’s Not the Only Surprise

Every flower is a surprise on certain Satsuki azaleas. Al though some varieties have flowers that are rimmed in a contrasting color or a collar of white, others may have flowers that are solid or variously striped, deep or softly colored, or tipped in a contrasting color--all on the same plant. Satsuki azaleas are not your ordinary azaleas. The sampling pictured here merely hints at the possibilities.

Satsuki azaleas are complex, age-old hybrids of several azaleas native to the mountains of Japan, and they have been trickling into California for years, following what could be called the “bonsai pipeline,” since Satsukis are mostly grown by bonsai enthusiasts. But what began as a trickle may soon become a flood, as more people discover Satsukis as garden plants.

They make good bonsai subjects because they are naturally compact plants. A 5-year-old will have grown only to about 2 1/2 feet tall and 3 feet wide, a near-perfect size for today’s gardens. Satsuki means “fifth month,” which is when they bloom--in May and early June--a whole month or more after other kinds of azaleas have quit.

Already Nuccio’s Nurseries, the camellia and azalea specialists in Altadena, offers several catalogue pages’ worth of Satsukis, including several of their own hybrids and those shown here. And there are hundreds more grown in Japan, where Satsukis have a devoted following. (The Palos Verdes Begonia Farm is another good source of plants in California.) The more you learn of Satsukis, the better they sound. Because of their compact size, they are unusually dense and rounded. The foliage is a dark green, sometimes flushed with bronze. Many varieties turn as brilliant as a Japanese maple in the fall (some bloom again at that time), though only the older leaves drop off (the plants are not deciduous). The leaves are leathery and tough; Satsukis can stand quite a bit of sun. At Nuccio’s, where the summer temperatures soar and the sun bakes the surrounding chaparral, many Satsukis are grown in the open.

Like other azaleas, however, they need a richly prepared, acidic soil and ample moisture, yet they must have the best of drainage. Add lots of organic matter (peat moss is preferred, but commercial azalea planting mixes are available also). A six-inch layer tilled into the top foot of soil is not too much. Some gardeners go even further, planting in soil that is almost entirely amendment, and in raised beds.

The unusually colored and marked blooms are the result of “sporting”--when branches appear seemingly out of nowhere, growing flowers not seen elsewhere on the plant. Those are then propagated to produce new varieties. Some branches may even sport on your own plant; they do so easily. Once in a while, however, the branches, especially those having flowers with contrasting borders, revert after planting, so there is an element of chance.

The most spectacular Satsukis are those casually called “multicolored.” Those, like the variety shown at the left, named ‘Shinsen,’ may have some flowers that are one solid color, others that are a lighter shade of the same color, many that are striped or speckled with both shades plus white, and some that are almost entirely white. And as we said, each flower is a surprise, because you never know what will open, or where it will show up on the bush.