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Yes, I still remember one of the things he said back then: "...and what do you teach your atheist children?"

That's true as a rule (it's one of the things I love about satsuki), but they also have very discrete vascular bundles compared to other trees and so, occasionally, when removing larger branches, they can withdraw the sap line on that side if there isn't a lot of vigorous growth directly above...

That's true. Trees have been healing by themselves for millions of years. I admit to using the putty type stuff on azaleas though (they have a very thin bark). I think it helps prevent dieback in very thin-barked trees. Azaleas have a tendency to withrdraw sap lines sometimes after a cut and...

If they try to colonise your pots, they will also remove significant amounts of soil forming their galleries, leaving lots of large air spaces. They won't attack your tree roots directly, but the holes will cause die-back.

Yes, Nikko does show white flowers with pink stripes too. I just never cought any oin the photo. It's definitely Nikko :)

It's definitely a Satsuki 'Nikko'. I have attached a close up of some Nikko flowers for comparison. Nikko are one of my favourites.

Hi Mapleman, I think you probably could. I'm in the South East England (London) and use 100% akadama or kanuma (for the azaleas). We don't suffer bitter winters (although it can occasionally go down to -6 or so, but rarely in the City). We don't have the very high humidity of Louisiana...

That makes sense. I know some people use chopped sphagnum for the same reason (in warmer climates than here). Mixed in with the kanuma, it also seems to provide a mechanical buffer for the kanuma, inhibiting its compaction, which makes the infrequent repottings of mature trees easier. In the...

Shohin Kid: I think you've nailed it with the old kanuma point. I've been following this thread because I use 100% kanuma for my satsuki with absolutely no problems. From my own experience, I would say it's actually a bit more resistant to breakdown by watering/drying or freezing/thawing than...

You're right, of course. The USA is a big place with huge climate variation across its area. People in areas that provides conditions in May/June the same or similar to Japan (i.e. that allow good recovery, particularly the high humidity), can basically follow the traditional Japanese timing...

I go along with this and I repot mine in early spring after popping off the flower buds. The tradition of repotting after flowering appears in the older books, but that information was taken from even older, Japanese books (obviously) and is not as good when applied to satsuki grown outside...

Chris is right on that point. The term was generated by creationists to circumvent the Supreme Court ruling against the teaching of creationism in public schools (Edwards v. Aguillard, 1987). The only way the creationist groups could pursue their agenda was to substitute all mention of creation...

Ahh, thanks for that info. It makes sense. I had always wondered when looking at junipers with wonderful sharimiki, whether they did ever try to heal over and so required constant maintenance, or whether it was a kind of 'fire and forget' procedure.

Yes, if there are already signs of chlorosis, then a tonic drench (e.g. sequestrene) would be indicated. The problem is that iron deficiency is not necessarily due to a lack of iron in the growing medium. In azaleas for example, a common cause is manganese deficiency, which makes the plant...

I agree. Even 'iron pigs' only need a little. My azaleas used to get a drench once a year, just as they started showing signs of good growth, with an ericacious tonic (chelated iron, magnesium and manganese). That's enough for a year. However, I came across an article a while ago that showed...

It's a really nice tree, and the differences before and after are quite subtle, but make a huge difference...if you know what I mean :) I don't know much about shimpaku (or any juniper), so forgive the ignorant question, but concerning the shari. It's very effective visually(I like the way it...

Hehehe...I like it.

Shiryu no homare looks about right to me. The leaves look right too. Mine is about to come into flower so I'll take pics when it's ready in a day or so (close ups of the flowers).

And that, when all is said and done, is what it's all about.

Aluminium, but mainly because half my trees are azaleas. Copper tends to be more effective, gauge for gauge, as it's stronger than aluminium, but aluminium is kinder on very thin barked trees such as azalea. Using aluminium, you have to use a thicker gauge to achieve the same bending power...

They're really nice! Thanks for posting.

Can you imagine being given the task of thinning this out? Where would you even begin?

No, it's good for all trees. It's a nice, gentle organic that's good for the soils and the roots. Like most organic feeds, it encourages beneficial fungi and soil bacteria that can be inhibited by the use of chemical fertilizers . Be aware that the pellets swell once they get wet. You can expect...

I might get some more mycorrhyzal inoculant. I can't seem to find Botanicare Guardian MY anywhere near, but most of the garden centres round here do innoculant suitable for trees and shrubs. Let us know about the florasheild. I'm less tempted to use that as I've never lost a tree to root rot...

Cool...I'll look out for it next time I'm in Crews Hill. Thanks to the info. That's an interesting thought. Tip the competetive balance in favour of the beneficial microbiotics. Nice idea. I've always just innoculated once and then simply retained some old soil at each repotting, but there is a...