Cleaning Pine Bark

[kytombonsai]

I'm looking for some help on cleaning the bark on Pines without disturbing the bark. Most of my Pines seem to develop lichen and moss on the trunks even though they are in full sun. While this looks good on some of the trees I would rather see the true bark. I have heard of a few members spraying on a solution of vinegar and water but have never tried it. I also saw a trunk cleaner mentioned by Walter Pall on his blog but I don't think that it is available in the U.S.

 

[ovation22]

Tom,

Lichen is desireable, moss is not. For moss I water the tree thoroughly then brush on (small paint brush or acid/paste brush) a solution of 50/50 vinegar and water. That will usually kill the moss, but I've found that it continues to return. Use a pair of angled tweezers to clean/remove as much as you can without taking off the bark.

 

[ovation22]

Jonas had a humorous post on this, too.

http://bonsaitonight.com/2009/12/01/unwanted-moss-or-nomotos-paradox/

 

[kytombonsai]

Tom,

Lichen is desireable, moss is not. For moss I water the tree thoroughly then brush on (small paint brush or acid/paste brush) a solution of 50/50 vinegar and water. That will usually kill the moss, but I've found that it continues to return. Use a pair of angled tweezers to clean/remove as much as you can without taking off the bark.

Thanks John,

I guess there are no magical formulas to eliminate the moss and clean the trunk. I will try the vinegar and water approach. I thought that I saw something from Walter Pall that referenced an acid based cleaner.

Tom

 

[Mac In Oak Ridge]

Vinegar is an acid, so you may be using what you remember from Walter Paul.

White vinegar is repackaged for a lot of purposes and sold for 10 times what it cost in the grocery store.