We borrowed this stunning (some might say gaudy) Satsuki photo and the other photos here from Empire Bonsai.
The photos shown here are from a recent Satsuki azalea Bonsai festival at Ueno Park in Tokyo. Satsuki means fifth month (May) in Japanese.In this case late May (the dates on the festival sign below say May 27th to June 1st). You might imagine Satsuki would bloom a little earlier in more southerly environs.
Satsuki, almost more than any other plant, show just how far humans will push nature in the quest for beauty and distinction. Robert Callaham’s benchmark book, Satsuki for Bonsai and Azalea Enthusiasts lists over 1,600 cultivars and no doubt new ones are being developed as you read this.
Too much? After the first moment of simple amazement when you see these spectacular flowers, you might notice just how far from natural these cultivars have come. Some might even say they look gaudy or even synthetic and that the solid mass of flowers is unnatural in itself. This might be one of the reasons Satsuki bonsai have their own shows. They have gone so far in their own direction that comparing them with other more subtle or less colorful trees just doesn’t make sense.
You can see the photos shown here and other photos from the festival in several places on the web. I took the easy route and just borrowed from Empire Bonsai (who as it turned out, borrowed from Do-ria on Reddit and Makoto Tsuji on Facebook).
The English language book for anyone interested in Satsuki azaleas