removal | Bonsai Eejit

Well, not really flower removal but seed pod removal. This is a boring task but a vital one. We remove the old flower heads so that the tree doesn’t waste energy producing seed. Some people think that once the flowers fall off that’s it but, if left behind the seed pods ripen and can make the tree sluggish in it’s growth that year. On this variety of Rhododendron, each flower head can have up to 10 individual flowers, each with it’s own seed head to remove.

Here we see the tree with my removal already started from right to left.

This is a branch were I have already removed the offenders and you can see the strong new shoots emerging.

This is a branch still to be done. It’s easier to remove them at this stage. The flowers have faded but are still on the tree. If you wait until the flower petals fall, it makes it harder to find all the seed pods. You can see how many flowers were on this one branch!

Same branch with the petals removed to show exactly what we need to get at.

This is one seed pod, I am able to removed them by plucking on this species but just be careful as some pecies can be different and need to have them removed by cutting to stop damage to new emerging shoots.

All gone.

This is a seed pod that I missed from the previous year! It was still hanging on the tree!

And this is the tree with all flowers removed.

and the aftermath!!

My Satsuki is nearing the end of it’s flowering period and will soon need to have all the flowers removed. I have already completed this task this year with my Rhododendron, this can be viewed on an older post.

Lee, who commented on that post, was asking for clarification on what I meant by removing the seed pod. Here is a step by step through the process.

Here’s a typical flower on my satsuki.It’s getting a but tatty looking and will soon fall.

This only means that the flower petals will fall. Left behind is usually the ovary and the stigma. Below you can see the same flower bud with the petals removed and the other bits, also including the stamen, remaining.

This is the part that must be removed to avoid the tree wasting energy in producing seed. This can be picked out with fingernails but it is best to remove with scissors as shown below by cutting through the pedicel or stock behind the pod.

This is the removed seed head. If you get it early, it is still small and a lighter colour.

Below is a typical sight on my satsuki at the moment. The petal has fallen and the pod with style and stigma is all that remains. Notice it is bigger than the one above already and is a slightly darker colour. Energy is being wasted.