Azalea opened up

Should I plant this baby in the ground? Or re pot it in the fall?
Comments? or suggestions?

I'd plant it in the ground to thicken it up, unless you want a very small mame bonsai. Think about the thickness of the trunk in conjunction with the height and shape of the tree. As it stands, it gives the impression of a young sapling.
When this finishes flowering, cut the flower stems off. It will send more energy into buds for next year.

Pretty azalea

Sorry to interrupt I have an azalea aswell , I just wanted to know if it's OK to remove the flowers before they open up ?

Enaisio wrote: Sorry to interrupt I have an azalea aswell , I just wanted to know if it's OK to remove the flowers before they open up ?

Yes. it is often recommended if you want to achieve maximum growth.

Perfect thats exactly what I wanted to know and is what I thought , this year I actually made them open first , just because Its my first and I wanted to see its beautiful flowers lol but thanks for the info leatherback

If you're growing azalea for bonsai, nix the flowers until you have the desired shape. Lots of energy is used to produce buds, flowers and seeds. That energy could be better used to grow branches. Once the tree is a bonsai, then, by all means show off the flowers & maintain the shape.

Unless you just like seeing the flowers, which is always nice. With an already slow growing species, you'll just have to wait longer!

brkirkland and leatherback
I never thought of that. I am enjoying the flowers. As do my house guests. I will plant it under one of the pines in the back yard. Maybe build a small wooden box for it to grow in. I'd like to control the soil. I'll pinch back the buds once the flowers are wilted.

I consulted the president of my Bonsai club and I'm going to plant my Azalea in the ground under my pine trees in the back yard. It should have sufficient shade and I'll water it when weather permits.
Does anyone have suggest I put it in the wood frame box, rather than planting in the ground? This way I could move it for more control over the elements.

That is a beautiful Bonsai!!

Thank you Zarltan. But it's not a Bonsai yet! But I will make it one if I can keep it alive during the time that I'm training it.