Aging bark

[Paulpash]

Just anecdotal from me but I had a few Japanese maples that had been in the ground over a decade (maybe 15 years old) and the side in shade had less grey on it than the opposite in sun.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

The only good answer to developing bark:

wait for it.............

I’m still waiting for the good answer. Wait for it... Wait for it...

 

[MrFancyPlants]

This is my thinking of aging the bark: whatever can cause the problem for human’s skin, they can also age the tree’s bark ! Sound easy, doesn’t it?
Thụ Thoại

Maybe my trees should pick up smoking?

 

[Dragon60]

There's contact paper you can buy and stick on the tree. From about 15 feet away it looks pretty good. Seriously though, I've read that in Japan they do NOT apply sunscreen (to the trees) and this seems to help.

 

[bonhe]

Sorry, but I still don’t understand. Trees live outside where they get rained on. So they get exposed to water.
My bonsai get exposed to water daily. I make sure to water all sides of the pot, so the trunk usually gets wet in the process.
Can you elaborate what “exposure to water” means , or how it affects the bark?

Now I understand why you keep asking me this question
In my area, the amount of rain is very little yearly. It is almost dry and hot year around. It is why I was able to do this experiment. Because the water exposure to the tree bark are man made, I can easily control it!

Exposure to water: could that be from moss growing on tree and humidity?

I don't apply moss or any kind of plant material on the tree bark as some people do.
Humidity? it could be or/and quality of the water. It is why I have been doing another experiment regarding to this issue. I will have the answer soon!

Not relevant to aging the bark rather than the deadwood but I thought I would share this.
There is an interesting (or innovative ?) "method" by Marcus Watts (UK) described on IBC about using pipe freezing spray Winter in a can in order to age the deadwood.

Hi my nellie, I am not surprised at all because the periderm of the tree can be damaged either by high (sunburn) or low temperatures (sunscald). Like I wrote here, whatever you think your skin can have a problem, the tree bark will have same effect by the same factors.
Thụ Thoại

 

[ConorDash]

I seem to recall hearing of the technique of wrapping the trunk in wet sphagnum moss held in place for a prolonged period of time with Saran Wrap, and periodically injecting new water to keep the moss wet. I don't recall ever trying it.

This technique was also detailed in a Harry Harrington book. I always wanted to try it, I’m sure it’d work to a degree (a degree being the important part) but it’d sure be a lot of extra effort for multiple years.

 

[my nellie]

This technique was also detailed in a Harry Harrington book. I always wanted to try it, I’m sure it’d work to a degree (a degree being the important part) but it’d sure be a lot of extra effort for multiple years.

The concept is the man provided extra moisture/water exposure which Thụ Thoại @bonhe has explained above.

 

[leatherback]

I’m still waiting for the good answer. Wait for it... Wait for it...

 

[LanceMac10]

Exposure to water: could that be from moss growing on tree and humidity?

With rough bark Japanese maples, they develop nice bark on wounds, and they also need sunlight for bark to develop.

…...this pine bark missed the inter-B-Nut "where to grow" memo @thumblessprimate1

 

[Crawforde]

That’s one crazy looking pine

 

[yenling83]

does anyone know a way to speed up the aging of a trees bark?

It's debatable, but IMO the two most important factors about high quality bark are time and genetics. On species where bark is very important like Black Pine, growing seed from trees with high quality bark will generally produce offspring with higher quality bark compared to using seed from trees with lower quality bark. Starting more seeds than desired is smart, you should cull the lower quality trees and keep better ones. I've heard Ryan Neil say that bark actually forms faster on fast grown trees in the field. This is contrary to what I previously believed, however thinking about this seems logical as growing a tree faster produces vascular and cork cambium at a faster rate, which is then added to the exterior of the tree at faster rates to create bark. Another tip is to make sure Bark is not knocked off, or Moss/lichen does not build up too much and destroy your bark. Painting moss/lichen with a vinegar solution will drastically alter the PH and kill the moss/lichen. Ultimately, you still need a lot of time to create great bark, there are no real "cheat codes" where you can make drastic jumps in bark production.

 

[Adair M]

It's debatable, but IMO the two most important factors about high quality bark are time and genetics. On species where bark is very important like Black Pine, growing seed from trees with high quality bark will generally produce offspring with higher quality bark compared to using seed from trees with lower quality bark. Starting more seeds than desired is smart, you should cull the lower quality trees and keep better ones. I've heard Ryan Neil say that bark actually forms faster on fast grown trees in the field. This is contrary to what I previously believed, however thinking about this seems logical as growing a tree faster produces vascular and cork cambium at a faster rate, which is then added to the exterior of the tree at faster rates to create bark. Another tip is to make sure Bark is not knocked off, or Moss/lichen does not build up too much and destroy your bark. Painting moss/lichen with a vinegar solution will drastically alter the PH and kill the moss/lichen. Ultimately, you still need a lot of time to create great bark, there are no real "cheat codes" where you can make drastic jumps in bark production.

Sure there are, Jeremiah! Just graft JWP scions on a yamadori Lodgepole trunk, and you get great bark in about 20 years! Lol!!!

 

[yenling83]

Sure there are, Jeremiah! Just graft JWP scions on a yamadori Lodgepole trunk, and you get great bark in about 20 years! Lol!!!

View attachment 252384

Haha great point Adair, yes that is one way to do it Beautiful tree, we need to do a lot more of that. I've got a couple nice Ponderosa's i'm grafting Black Pine onto.

 

[0soyoung]

growing a tree faster produces vascular and cork cambium at a faster rate, which is then added to the exterior of the tree at faster rates to create bark.

This is a key insight IMHO.

there are no real "cheat codes" where you can make drastic jumps in bark production.

You already mentioned one way, but maybe this is a question of what amounts to being 'drastic'.

 

[leatherback]

I've heard Ryan Neil say that bark actually forms faster on fast grown trees in the field. This is contrary to what I previously believed, however thinking about this seems logical as growing a tree faster produces vascular and cork cambium at a faster rate, which is then added to the exterior of the tree at faster rates to create bark.

This is a key insight IMHO.

Hm.. Who am I to say Ryan Neil is wrong but.. I am not sure I agree :\. Barking up of trees is a sign of 'coming of age' as you will. And maybe it is species dependent when and how the tree is triggered into doing this. But bark buildup I think has nothing to do with the speed at which a tree builds the trunk or the amount of energy, and if it is I would be surprised if it is not the case that slower growing trees with a lack of resources would bring on more bark faster?

My understanding is that in a bonsai container trees can get maturity traits such as reduced growth, finer twigging, etc faster, and when uppotted or planted in the ground these same trees may loose their adult characteristics and return to a younger growth stage. That would be an argument for the tree barking up faster in a pot.

I cannot find any tests on a bunch of cuttings in pot vss in field though and am just stumbling on my paths of general plant fysiology thoughts.

 

[ralf]

The best aged bark I have ever seen was on places with strong exposure to the elements ( burning sun in the summer, biting frost in the winter, gust of winds... ). In my area it is mainly on open slopes with exposure to the south. I think that this exposure and type of the biotype forces the tree to produce much thicker bark to get better protection. Then there is another factor = the growth curve. As there is only very limited water supply in the summer the trees grow very fast in the spring to get as much reserves as possible for the rest of the year. And this results in deep cracks in thick bark.

For the tree in a pot : Any human intervention stays noticable for years. I am happy leave it to the nature.

BTW I think that the method propagated by Marcus Watt is for aging dead wood... And in my oppinion - very limited results.

 

[BrianBay9]

Buy or collect a tree with great bark. I don't think there are any short cuts for time.

 

[atlarsenal]

 

[BobbyLane]

Buy or collect a tree with great bark. I don't think there are any short cuts for time.

 

[namnhi]

Sure there are, Jeremiah! Just graft JWP scions on a yamadori Lodgepole trunk, and you get great bark in about 20 years! Lol!!!

View attachment 252384

Question? How old is the Lodgepole pine before the grafting? You can't get away from time for good bark!