Has the GOOD lime/sulfur been banned in California?

[Mike Corazzi]

When I jinned my first juniper some years back, I painted on what was marked on the bottle, "Lime Sulfur."

The latest attempt was with some NEW lime/sulfur.

It went on just wet looking and when it dried...... NUTTIN!

The OLD stuff went on yellow and in a week or so turned BONE WHITE!


Talking to a friend at the club, he told me he ...HEARD... that CA had unapproved the OLD stuff.

Jeez, I hope not.

What do YOU guys use?

My new jinning just looks like peeled lumber.

 

[jquast]

Jim Gremel sells it.

 

[hemmy]

Apparently the EPA started screwing with companies so the traditional stuff went away (Bonide, Hi-Yield, etc)

http://gardening.wsu.edu/lime-sulfur-spray-availability-for-home-gardeners/

I have ordered it from online bonsai retailers. Mine is Jin Seal sold under Ho Yoku brand, I'm not sure if it ships all the way from Japan (if so, pretty silly we can't get it here).

 

[markyscott]

Does anyone else use pet dip like this product from Amazon? The lime sulfur marketed for pet dip is 98% sulfured lime and inexpensive while the stuff for bonsai is 29% sulfured lime and about double the cost. Seems like one could dilute it by about 1/3 and then use it like the old Hi-Yield stuff for jin and dormant spray.

 

[just.wing.it]

Does anyone else use pet dip like this product from Amazon? The lime sulfur marketed for pet dip is 98% sulfured lime and inexpensive while the stuff for bonsai is 29% sulfured lime and about double the cost. Seems like one could dilute it by about 1/3 and then use it like the old Hi-Yield stuff for jin and dormant spray.

I will try on my Yew.

 

[Stickroot]

What do YOU guys use?

Bonsai Jack out of Florida has it. I bought some a couple months ago and I know he is selling it on eBay.

 

[markyscott]

Bonsai Jack along with several other vendors sell lime sulfur for bonsai on Amazon too. Compare this 8oz bottle of 29% solution for $18.54 to this 16 oz bottle of 98% solution for $10.79. Since Hi-Yield (which was reasonably priced) is no longer available and my old bottle of it is running low, I've been thinking about switching to the pet dip and re-calculating the dilution rates. Other than the concentration, I'm curious if anyone knows if there is any difference?

 

[coh]

I believe the pet dip is the same stuff (but different concentration) and have seen discussions somewhere about using it for bonsai. However, I have not personally tried it. I picked up a bottle of the bonide stuff before it disappeared a few years ago and haven't opened it yet, so I'm set for a while.

My recollection as to what happened...the EPA either reclassified lime sulfur or the registrations ran out. In either case, it would have cost companies like Bonide more money to re-register and continue selling the smaller containers...so they simply stopped. I guess it wasn't profitable enough. I'm pretty sure it's still available in industrial sizes for big users (i.e. farmers) in most places. It wasn't banned as far as I know, though in California...who knows they've banned just about everything.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

In California, you can't jin more than 10 trees.

 

[Smoke]

I'm jinning about that many right now.

 

[Smoke]

Oops, eleven, one too many!

 

[Smoke]

Timer failure..........

 

[Mike Corazzi]

I've never needed fences to keep them in the pot.

 

[ColinFraser]

Timer failure..........

Ouch! Do you think some of them will bounce back?

 

[armetisius]

Does anyone else use pet dip like this product from Amazon? The lime sulfur marketed for pet dip is 98% sulfured lime and inexpensive while the stuff for bonsai is 29% sulfured lime and about double the cost. Seems like one could dilute it by about 1/3 and then use it like the old Hi-Yield stuff for jin and dormant spray.

There is an OLD nursery/feed n seed I go to pretty often
now that I am back around this part of the state that has
a butt load of chemicals still on their shelves. I even picked
up a systemic the other week I haven't been able to get in
years. Next time I go, I will check for you; OK?
I would call and check for you but I don't think this place
even has a store phone anymore.
You could always use the recipe in Yoshimura's book.

 

[armetisius]

You could always use the recipe in Yoshimura's book.

Attribution: This is as it appears in "Miniature Trees and Landscapes" by Yuji Yoshimura and Giovanna M. Halford 1957
"Powdered sulphur and lime can also be obtained easily and should be
used in the following proportions. For a strong solution: 112 grams quicklime,
225 grams sulphur, and one liter of water. For a weak solution: 22.5 grams
quicklime, 25 grams sulphur, and one liter water. The lime and sulphur,
in powdered form, are mixed together and boiled for fifty minutes.
The solution turns brown. "

 

[coh]

I knew there were some discussions about this topic a few years ago, found one on IBC that covered it pretty well. In the linked thread, there are comments by someone (username jake4bonsai who has since disappeared from the forums) who supposedly talked to people at the EPA...and he puts a lot of the blame for the idea of a ban on Colin Lewis. I don't know how true that is, but I know the issue flared up when Colin wrote a blog piece about lime sulfur being banned. In that thread I also posted a summary of some discussions I had with people in the NY DEC (department of environmental conservation). I don't know if anything has changed since then.

http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t8840p30-lime-sulfur-banned-in-us

 

[Mike Corazzi]

Looked on eBay and found this.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/371667264037

"Jin Seal is a more concentrated solution than the regular garden nursery products."

11 bucks delivered isn't a lot to spend. Could work.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

Looked on eBay and found this.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/371667264037

"Jin Seal is a more concentrated solution than the regular garden nursery products."

11 bucks delivered isn't a lot to spend. Could work.

Got it in the mail.
I think it's the "Right Stuff."
Goes on nice and yellow.

 

[markyscott]

Don't know if any of you have looked into using the lime sulfur dip, but I've done a bit more research.

First, the label information is a little misleading - the 97.8% concentration is of 'Sulfurated Lime Solution,' of which approximately 29% is Calcium polysulfide. See link below for the MSDS of the pet dip product.

http://www.davismfg.com/files/Lime-Slufur-Dip.pdf

The ag spray is 28%. Here's the label of Hi-Yield, the product I commonly used.



Seems like the pet product and the ag product have more or less the same concentration of the active ingredient.

Here are the rest of the instructions from the label.


Scott