Monday, 18 November 2013

Itoigawa Juniper

I picked up this pretty little tree in mid summer. As with many trees, pictures don’t really display the elegance or movement of it.

Picture this morning:

 
 
 


This was how it looked on Steve tolley’s site after initial styling some years ago

 

It was removed from the original John Pitt pot before I bought it, and I don’t like the existing pot at all. However it was only re-potted last year so it will have to stay in this one for some time yet as I don’t want to cause it any more stress than necessary.

I have spent a lot of time gradually refining the foliage pads to give it a crisper outline but there is a lot more work to do with it over the next few years.

It looked like this the day I bought it:

 
It has picked up a lot of moss and the like on the bark over the past year, and unfortunately due to the protracted dry spell this summer I’d been watering it for the first 6 weeks or so with tap water so the scale foliage/bark show lime residue.

I’ll be using a weak vinegar solution and a toothbrush to clean up the bark. I’ve read that spraying with this will also encourage the moss to die off within a couple of weeks, so it will almost certainly be a 2 or 3 stage process.
 
The poor light makes it look somewhat darker than it is, but I'll be taking advice on more specific feeds and giving the odd dose of Epsom salts to boost it.
I do love this little tree
 
 

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