Dazzling Death Threats 5/19/15

Satsuki_NikkoThis Nikko Satsuku Azalea is from the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum's Japanese collection. It was donated by Masayuki Nakamura. 

This post features three azaleas from the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum and a book about azaleas. Specifically, Satsuki azales. Satsuki means fifth month in Japanese. We’ll let you figure out why they call them that …

This and the next paragraph were lifted directly from Wikipedia:
Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus Rhododendron, particularly sections Tsutsuji (evergreen) and Pentanthera (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks. Shade tolerant, they prefer living near or under trees.* They are part of the Ericaceae family.

In addition to being renowned for its beauty, the Azalea is also highly toxic—it contains andromedotoxins in both its leaves and nectar, including honey from the nectar.[4] The Azalea and Rhododendron were once so infamous for their toxicity that to receive a bouquet of their flowers in a black vase was a well-known death threat.

 

This one is a Korin Satsuki. Like the magnificent Nikko Satsuki above, it is part of the world-class Japanese collection at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.

 

Imperfect photos of great bonsai are not that unusual. In this case, part of the problem is that I blew it up to about twice the original size. The other part is the trunk is too dark; but when bonsai are in bloom it's about the flowers anyway. This is yet another stunning Satsuki azalea on display at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.


The only English language Azalea bonsai book in print. Speaking of, all of our books are now 25% off at Stone Lantern.

We borrowed all four photos shown here (including the book cover just above) from a post we did exactly two years ago tomorrow.

*Azaleas are a borderline plant here in northern Vermont, with only a couple species standing a chance of surviving our winters. Even though they are always listed as shade tolerant, they do best here with some direct sunlight, as our season is shorter and our summer sun is generally less intense than in hotter climates.