Trunk cleaning

[c54fun]

I decided it was a good day to clean some hard water deposits off a tree. Hard water was from previous owner. I've messed around a little before but it always ended up looking the same after it dried. This time I used some vinigar to clean first. Then a light sand. Very light. Then wiped with some neem oil. Finished by wiping down with bontani wipes. Only did half the trunk and 1/4 of the leaves on one side. Its drying now. Curious to see if it helps.
Also cleaned the azaleas trunk and man that looks nice. Really hope it stays somewhat like it looks now.
Will add some pictures after it dries. Probably wont change much.
The Guava is horrible. Every time the new leave come out and mixes with the calcium stained ones it really makes it bad. At one point I left the tree fuller and it looked so nice but was just to thick with foliage.

 

[Cypress187]

It shines!

 

[c54fun]

For now anyways. I tried cleaning the leaves with vinegar and water but it was to hot. It would dry up before softening the deposits to whipe off. Maybe this will work. Its a big tree with a lot of leaves to clean. If this doesn't work next year I will cut it back and let the new leaves take over where the old ones where.

 

[JudyB]

Sounds like a defoliation would be easier for the leaves. Also not sure how safe it is to use vinegar on leaves really. Trunks sure, but leaves???
Nice twin btw.

 

[c54fun]

Thanks Judy.
I used the vinegar on the trunk only this time along with neem. Neem on the leaves. Drastic difference on the trunk. Just checked and it still looks great. Will wait until tomorrow to make sure all is good before I do the rest of the tree. I wouldn't think I can hurt the tree this way but better to just do part of it first. If this trees not happy you know right away.

 

[Underdog]

Looks great!

 

[c54fun]

Thanks. Cant wait to finish cleaning it up. The powdery white branches blend into the tree. Looks so much nicer cleaned up.

 

[JudyB]

please post a new photo when you're done!

 

[Tieball]

I decided it was a good day to clean some hard water deposits off a tree. Hard water was from previous owner. I've messed around a little before but it always ended up looking the same after it dried. This time I used some vinigar to clean first. Then a light sand. Very light. Then wiped with some neem oil. Finished by wiping down with bontani wipes. Only did half the trunk and 1/4 of the leaves on one side. Its drying now. Curious to see if it helps.
Also cleaned the azaleas trunk and man that looks nice. Really hope it stays somewhat like it looks now.
Will add some pictures after it dries. Probably wont change much.
The Guava is horrible. Every time the new leave come out and mixes with the calcium stained ones it really makes it bad. At one point I left the tree fuller and it looked so nice but was just to thick with foliage.

View attachment 120042
View attachment 120043

Nice looking trunk and nabari in that second photo...Mighty fine work you done!

 

[Wilson]

I hear you with the disliking the hard water stains! Post us some updates to show us the whole trees, they look like beauties!

 

[c54fun]

Real windy out back today and I love the color of the guava trunk and branches. Died down to a nice looking healthy color. Its just such a big tree its a ton of work but the more I work on it the nicer it looks. Imagine wetting the whole tree down then put it in the back of you truck and drive down a gravel road. Then let it set up to the point water alone wont clean it. Every leaf and every stem need cleaning. I enjoy seeing the change. Also cut off the old wire. Some was digging into the branches and the rest needed removed. Found a few spots to lime sulfur. Going to pull a few branches closer together to even things out a bit.
The azalea trunk is a little to dark unless its wet after cleaning and using neem on it. Almost looks like its been stained. Not bad though. Going to do some more cleaning on it and maybe it will tone down a bit. This tree was in pretty bad shape this year. I bought this tree years ago way before I knew how to handle it. It was my first expensive tree. I should never have bought it so soon. When people say to buy cheaper bonsai's and learn how to keep it alive before buying a more expensive one, they are 100% correct. I've over fertilized it and turned the leaves black once. Had field rats completely eat off one of the back pads. Came home one day and the neighbors trees were trimmed and the top of the azalea was broke off with leaves everywhere.
Good thing is, it held up with my lack of knowledge and I got it looking nice again. Also the top getting knocked off ended up being a good thing. It was starting to get to long and making the tree to tall at the top. Pruned it back and have let it grow all summer with only a few guy wires and a small amount of wires on the branch. Tree is looking very nice again. Next year it should be completly full again.
Back to cleaning.
To windy to take pictures.

 

[c54fun]

Couple of pictures. Been letting the azalea just grow this summer. It was looking pretty bad this spring and needed a repot pretty bad.

 

[c54fun]

This fits the page better.

 

[JudyB]

Beautiful trunk on that azalea for sure. You should try taking photos from lower onto the tree. This will help you see the tree and the issues that need to be resolved better than above. Also it's best to style at a height that is from straight on as working from a high angle can be deceiving... You may already do the styling work from a good angle, but if you take the pics from there as well, and study them, it can be helpful to see flaws that your eye doesn't see "live".
Thanks for sharing, I love twins!

 

[thomas22]

I think you cleaning ingredients attracts snakes. Seriously, that Azalea is awesome.

 

[c54fun]

I think you cleaning ingredients attracts snakes. Seriously, that Azalea is awesome.

Thanks Thomas.
I cant believe you said that. I walked out the other day and about stepped on a 4'+ snake. All on video. The little ones do help keep the birds away.