Neal, get a copy of 'Floral Treasures of Japan' from Stone Lantern. It covers mostly satsuki azaleas in Japan, but much of the info is applicable to any evergreen azalea. It's a great book and on sale very cheap.
Good luck,
zube

Here is a link that might be useful: books at Stone Lantern

Neal,
That's a great book. I love it. It's got some good info. I use Kanuma and pumice or lava mixed 50-50.
Good luck.

I will have to check it out. I know they are different from most trees in that they aren't apically dominant, but they also have different soil requirements. My wife put this one into a 5 gallon pot and it is growing in a mix of clay, composted steer manure and top soil. It is doing good but I know that mix won't work in a bonsai pot so I need to find more info on them if I want to keep this thing alive and doing well.

Neal,

I hadn't been too much into growing azalea's either.
I found a Kurume azalea and bought it about 5 years ago just for the fun of it. Since then I've added about 6 more to my collection. All Kurume except one Alpine azalea. They are gradually becoming one of my favorite types of plants to work with as bonsai. They are relatively easy to cultivate and are very convincing as a mature tree in a small pot. I just use a simple mix of equal amounts of organic & inorganic: Pine bark,spagnum peat, Haydite & turface. They grow great in this mix.

Scott,

I can find the Turface and bark here but I have yet to find anyone who sells sphagnum moss here. I see all kinds of spanish moss or plain old peat moss but not the long fibered kind used by bonsaists. Haydite is something else I haven't seen around but I imagine pumice or volcanic rock would be a suitable substitute. I am curious as to what condition the roots are in since my wife dug it up 3 years ago. It isn't doing bad so it is at least surviving. It is sitting outside my window and as I look down I see pinkish purple blossoms just getting ready to open on it. Just wish this crazy weather would stop so I could do something. I already missed my chance to transplant my tridents because they already broke buds and are all leafed out now but the nights are still below 50 so I didn't want to take a chance on a sudden freeze. Now we're getting thunderstorms and hail.

Thanks for the info.

Neal, a mix of half Turface and half bark will work just fine. They like the acidity of the organic material, but it can be a bit troublesome when you repot. In my limited experience, the very fine hair-like roots seem to grow into and fuse with the bark. I fertilize with what used to be called Miracid. Can't remember what they call it now, but basically it's MiracleGrow for acid-loving plants. Higher nitrogen content I think. Actually, I think the azaleas could easily be grown in any bonsai mix, so long as their feeding needs were met. And they're not really trees at all, but shrubs.
Take care,
zube

I am going to try to dig up an ill placed lilac in the lawn. I cut it WAy down last year and it's growing again [about 1' tall]. Any tips would be appreciated. The weather has been cool here in Southern Oregon this year so far[40-50 in the daytime. mortswife97630