Itoigawa or Kishu?

[Shamino]

The three photos below are of my Shimpaku (J. Chinensis). All were originally potted up about 20 - 25 years ago. The one on the right (reddish-brown pot) has always has a yellowish tinge compared to the other two; I've always wondered why. Is it possible the two on the left are Kishu and the lighter one on the right is an Itiogowa or vice versa? They've all been cared for identically.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Provenance is important. The misplacing of tags or the "forgetting" of provenance over the 20 years is unfortunate. Without evidence of nursery tags, etc, you probably can not call these anything other than Shimpaku. Difference in color could even be simply minor differences in health of the root systems.

Detailed close ups of the foliage might help. Scroll thru or search Brian van Fleet's blog - he wrote a nice article with detailed photos showing the differences between Shimpaku, Itoigawa and Kishu and other Juniperus chinensis cultivars.

Nebari Bonsai

Brian's Bonsai Blog

nebaribonsai.wordpress.com

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Kishu in my collection has fatter foliar worms, and more dark green color, similar to regular chinensis but tighter growth.
Itoigawa is more stringy, thinner foliar worms, and is lighter green.

If I had to give them a name I'd say the yellowish one is itoigawa and the other is either regular chinensis or kishu.

But I agree with Leo, Brian has a good article on this and I believe the care for both kishu and itoigawa is the same.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Images aren’t very big, but none of the foliage looks like itoigawa to me.

 

[Shamino]

Images aren’t very big, but none of the foliage looks like itoigawa to me.

Here's a zoomed in view...does this help any?

 

[shimbrypaku]

Here are some pictures of my itoigawa’s

This one was allowed to grow wild this year, taking cuttings in a few weeks.

 

[shimbrypaku]

Close up of one of my itoigawa foliage.
Thanks

 

[shimbrypaku]

My itoigawa shimpaku seem to have a finer foliage the kishu or just shimpaku.

And I have a hard time distinguishing between kishu and standard shimpaku.

Thanks

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Here's a zoomed in view...does this help any?

Yep, still doesn’t look like Itoigawa.

 

[Shamino]

Yep, still doesn’t look like Itoigawa.

What would I see different if it was an Itoigawa? And in the final analysis, does it really make a difference whether it's Itoigawa or Kishu? I was mostly concerned about why one tree has always had a yellowish tinge and my other two were always a darker green with the same sunlight/water/fertilizer/pot size, etc...

 

[Ruddigger]

Agreed, not itoigawa. Looks like some kind of garden juniper with those big scales and long needles.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

The texture of itoigawa foliage is different; thinner and finer. Shimpaku and Kishu foliage is plumper, like yours.
And no, it doesn’t really make a difference with regard to care and training. The difference is preference.

 

[horibonsai]

It looks like Shimpaku, but I don't think it's Itoigawa or Kishu.

 

[Plasticgoat™]

A local seller here is selling this as shimpaku. Can anyone confirm if this is Shimpaku? Thank you

 

[Plasticgoat™]

Another image

 

[shimbrypaku]

It has foliage like a shimpaku, what type of shimpaku is the seller stating it is?

 

[Plasticgoat™]

It has foliage like a shimpaku, what type of shimpaku is the seller stating it is?

He stated that it's Itoigawa shimpaku