tanuki necessarily must be juniper wood?

[brennobonsai]

The living part would be a shimpaku!

I know that probably the most recommended would be to use juniper wood or another conifer, but I still wanted to ask. Is it okay to use broadleaf tree wood? even if it is "hard" enough to not rot easily and I use the same care as if it were in a juniper tanuki, such as applying lime sulfur.

sorry for bad english. I'm still learning.

 

[Lorax7]

Juniper wood would be ideal for a tanuki. It's possible to use other wood though. The relevant criteria for selecting good wood for a tanuki is, "How quickly will this wood rot when regularly exposed to water, bacteria, fungi, and seasonal freeze-thaw cycles?" Juniper wood is great for tanuki because it is resinous. It takes a long time to rot, and that time can be greatly extended if it is taken care of with lime sulfur treatments, etc. In general, the wood of broadleaf trees tends to be more susceptible to rotting. For example, maple rots quickly and would not be a good choice for a tanuki. To find suitable wood for a tanuki, it may be worth a trip to a local aquatic pet store. Rot resistant wood is often sold in the aquarium trade for folks to make underwater landscapes that can help hold aquatic plants in place as well as provide hiding places for fish.

 

[Treefer]

This is the beginnings of a juniper on boxwood ( buxus). Hoping for lots of growth this summer.

 

[Shibui]

I know that probably the most recommended would be to use juniper wood or another conifer, but I still wanted to ask. Is it okay to use broadleaf tree wood? even if it is "hard" enough to not rot easily and I use the same care as if it were in a juniper tanuki, such as applying lime sulfur.

Any wood that looks good and is long lasting will be OK.
Hard and Rot resistant are not always the same. Some very hard wood rots quickly so make sure the one you choose will last long enough.

 

[brennobonsai]

Juniper wood would be ideal for a tanuki. It's possible to use other wood though. The relevant criteria for selecting good wood for a tanuki is, "How quickly will this wood rot when regularly exposed to water, bacteria, fungi, and seasonal freeze-thaw cycles?" Juniper wood is great for tanuki because it is resinous. It takes a long time to rot, and that time can be greatly extended if it is taken care of with lime sulfur treatments, etc. In general, the wood of broadleaf trees tends to be more susceptible to rotting. For example, maple rots quickly and would not be a good choice for a tanuki. To find suitable wood for a tanuki, it may be worth a trip to a local aquatic pet store. Rot resistant wood is often sold in the aquarium trade for folks to make underwater landscapes that can help hold aquatic plants in place as well as provide hiding places for fish.

wow this was very informative. Thanks!! I'll have a better look at the quality of the wood I have here and also look at aquarium stores.

 

[brennobonsai]

Any wood that looks good and is long lasting will be OK.
Hard and Rot resistant are not always the same. Some very hard wood rots quickly so make sure the one you choose will last long enough.

I'll look for some way to test the rot resistance of the wood I have here. Thank you for your help!

 

[rockm]

Conifer wood is used for most tanuki for a number or reasons. One is that conifer wood contains resins that preserve deadwood long after it's hit the forest floor. Absent a lot of moisture, conifer deadwood can last hundreds --in some cases-thousands--of years. Only a few hardwood tree species can compare. Boxwood, although a broadleafed evergreen, is extremely dense and also contains resins that help preserve its deadwood. Bald cypress, a deciduous conifer, has extremely durable wood which has been used to build piers and docks for hundreds of years. Some old fallen trees submerged in the anaerobic water of bayous in the U.S. South have been mined for use. The wood still intact...

There are some tropical hardwoods that are also long-lasting--but none comparable to conifer deadwood.

Rot resistance of tropical wood species affected by water leaching :: BioResources

bioresources.cnr.ncsu.edu

All this said, the durability of the deadwood you use greatly depends on local conditions and moisture. ANY tree will rot faster in warm wet environments compared to colder drier ones. Water and accompanying bacterial and fungal activity which increases with moisture and warmth, aren't your friends when it comes to deadwood.

 

[defra]

i would use the same wood as the living tree you are using.
so juniper on juniper deadwood.
yew on yew deadwood.
i would avoid using the wood of broadleaf tree's as the deadwood will decay quicker and also it will be more obvious that its a tanuki because the broadleaf wood will look different, conifers tree's grow live veins and when the deadwood ages and gets refined you will see a big difference compared to old refined broadleaf deadwood.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

Conifer wood is used for most tanuki for a number or reasons. One is that conifer wood contains resins that preserve deadwood long after it's hit the forest floor. Absent a lot of moisture, conifer deadwood can last hundreds --in some cases-thousands--of years. Only a few hardwood tree species can compare. Boxwood, although a broadleafed evergreen, is extremely dense and also contains resins that help preserve its deadwood. Bald cypress, a deciduous conifer, has extremely durable wood which has been used to build piers and docks for hundreds of years. Some old fallen trees submerged in the anaerobic water of bayous in the U.S. South have been mined for use. The wood still intact...

There are some tropical hardwoods that are also long-lasting--but none comparable to conifer deadwood.

Rot resistance of tropical wood species affected by water leaching :: BioResources

bioresources.cnr.ncsu.edu

All this said, the durability of the deadwood you use greatly depends on local conditions and moisture. ANY tree will rot faster in warm wet environments compared to colder drier ones. Water and accompanying bacterial and fungal activity which increases with moisture and warmth, aren't your friends when it comes to deadwood.

I have this african wood that I found throwed away, Mopani, its used a lot in aquariums and terrariums, very dense and hard wood. I dont know how it would look with lime sulfur on it but is pretty cool

 

[brennobonsai]

Conifer wood is used for most tanuki for a number or reasons. One is that conifer wood contains resins that preserve deadwood long after it's hit the forest floor. Absent a lot of moisture, conifer deadwood can last hundreds --in some cases-thousands--of years. Only a few hardwood tree species can compare. Boxwood, although a broadleafed evergreen, is extremely dense and also contains resins that help preserve its deadwood. Bald cypress, a deciduous conifer, has extremely durable wood which has been used to build piers and docks for hundreds of years. Some old fallen trees submerged in the anaerobic water of bayous in the U.S. South have been mined for use. The wood still intact...

There are some tropical hardwoods that are also long-lasting--but none comparable to conifer deadwood.

Rot resistance of tropical wood species affected by water leaching :: BioResources

bioresources.cnr.ncsu.edu

All this said, the durability of the deadwood you use greatly depends on local conditions and moisture. ANY tree will rot faster in warm wet environments compared to colder drier ones. Water and accompanying bacterial and fungal activity which increases with moisture and warmth, aren't your friends when it comes to deadwood.

Sorry for delay in responding. I've been kind of busy these days.


I didn't know that conifers were resistant to this point, and coming to think of it, it doesn't have very cold periods here, so maybe it's better to buy a coniferous wood. The saddest thing to see must be a tanuki rotting too fast.

Thanks for the article, it will help me a lot and knowledge is always welcome. maybe I'll use the wood I have here in an aquarium.

 

[brennobonsai]

I have this african wood that I found throwed away, Mopani, its used a lot in aquariums and terrariums, very dense and hard wood. I dont know how it would look with lime sulfur on it but is pretty cool

View attachment 422593

wow! great texture and movement! I liked it a lot.

I thought of using some small plant just to test even using some broadleaf species, or making those "aquarium bonsai" I don't know if you've ever seen one.

That wood you are sure would look REALLY good if you try to make something like this.

 

[brennobonsai]

i would use the same wood as the living tree you are using.
so juniper on juniper deadwood.
yew on yew deadwood.
i would avoid using the wood of broadleaf tree's as the deadwood will decay quicker and also it will be more obvious that its a tanuki because the broadleaf wood will look different, conifers tree's grow live veins and when the deadwood ages and gets refined you will see a big difference compared to old refined broadleaf deadwood.

I thought I'd use the wood I have here because it's very light and maybe with some carvings it would look good.

I still think about maybe using some boxwood seedling since it would be two broadleaf and I also have a boxwood wood too so the two would go well together.

 

[Lorax7]

I have this african wood that I found throwed away, Mopani, its used a lot in aquariums and terrariums, very dense and hard wood. I dont know how it would look with lime sulfur on it but is pretty cool

View attachment 422593

I have some Mopani wood that I picked up at an aquarium store which I am planning to use for a tanuki. I’ve already carved out a channel (took some effort with the Dremel because this wood is very hard) and done a first pass with lime sulfur. I didn’t get full coverage with the lime sulfur because it was at the end of the day and the sunlight was fading fast while I was applying it. The first picture is the wood before lime sulfur treatment.

 

[defra]

hmm maybe mopani is good, however i wonder about the durability.
in a aquarium it is submerged all the time so Hardly oxygen there to start the rotting proces.
terrarium warm and dry so no moist to make it rot.
as tanuki it will be wet dry wet dry in the open air so perfect conditions to make it rot i have no idea how it will hold up guess you have to the and find out

 

[brennobonsai]

I have some Mopani wood that I picked up at an aquarium store which I am planning to use for a tanuki. I’ve already carved out a channel (took some effort with the Dremel because this wood is very hard) and done a first pass with lime sulfur. I didn’t get full coverage with the lime sulfur because it was at the end of the day and the sunlight was fading fast while I was applying it. The first picture is the wood before lime sulfur treatment.
View attachment 422595
View attachment 422596

When you do, please share the result with us.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

I have some Mopani wood that I picked up at an aquarium store which I am planning to use for a tanuki. I’ve already carved out a channel (took some effort with the Dremel because this wood is very hard) and done a first pass with lime sulfur. I didn’t get full coverage with the lime sulfur because it was at the end of the day and the sunlight was fading fast while I was applying it. The first picture is the wood before lime sulfur treatment.
View attachment 422595
View attachment 422596

They look very nice mate!! I would also love to see a detailed post when you make the tanukis

 

[Damage Inc]

I have some Mopani wood that I picked up at an aquarium store which I am planning to use for a tanuki. I’ve already carved out a channel (took some effort with the Dremel because this wood is very hard) and done a first pass with lime sulfur. I didn’t get full coverage with the lime sulfur because it was at the end of the day and the sunlight was fading fast while I was applying it. The first picture is the wood before lime sulfur treatment.
View attachment 422595
View attachment 422596

First off, I love the idea and look of using Mopani wood for a Tanuki. The lime sulfur coloration looks great. One thing to note about Mopani wood is it is know to release a lot of tannins when use in aquariums which can be both good and bad. Good if you are making a "dark water" style tank where an almost tea colored water condition is desired but bad when you are attempting to keep water crystal clear. You can, and I have in the past, boiled the the wood to release a lot of these tannins so they don't end up in my tanks but I still ended up with some discoloration for a few months until the majority of them leached out and were taken away through water changes.

I mention all of this because you may find that despite the lime Sulphur treatment that the wood may continue to "bleed" the tannins and re-darken the wood. Hopefully not but it may result in the need to re-treat the wood.

Again, I love the look you have so far and need to head home and dig through my stash of unused Mopani to find a suitable piece to experiment with myself.

 

[Lorax7]

hmm maybe mopani is good, however i wonder about the durability.
in a aquarium it is submerged all the time so Hardly oxygen there to start the rotting proces.
terrarium warm and dry so no moist to make it rot.
as tanuki it will be wet dry wet dry in the open air so perfect conditions to make it rot i have no idea how it will hold up guess you have to the and find out

In my own experience, I'm fairly confident that I had good oxygen levels in the 30 gallon Oscar tank where I had mopani wood submerged for several years, with no structural deterioration of the wood observed. I had a very high powered pump, rated at over 700 gallons per hour, providing circulation for the tank.

However, even if that was not the case, there are plenty of anaerobic bacteria in an aquarium that are capable of decomposing organic material.

 

[Lorax7]

First off, I love the idea and look of using Mopani wood for a Tanuki. The lime sulfur coloration looks great. One thing to note about Mopani wood is it is know to release a lot of tannins when use in aquariums which can be both good and bad. Good if you are making a "dark water" style tank where an almost tea colored water condition is desired but bad when you are attempting to keep water crystal clear. You can, and I have in the past, boiled the the wood to release a lot of these tannins so they don't end up in my tanks but I still ended up with some discoloration for a few months until the majority of them leached out and were taken away through water changes.

I mention all of this because you may find that despite the lime Sulphur treatment that the wood may continue to "bleed" the tannins and re-darken the wood. Hopefully not but it may result in the need to re-treat the wood.

Again, I love the look you have so far and need to head home and dig through my stash of unused Mopani to find a suitable piece to experiment with myself.

I'll be treating the Mopani wood with lime sulfur annually, just like I would with any other deadwood feature on a bonsai.