I was at a bonsai sale recently and noticed that entire juniper trunks, top to bottom, were treated with lime sulfur. I thought the treatment was confined to exposed live veins and trunks were left “natural”. Could someone please clarify for me?
Typically the deadwood is treated with lime sulfur and the live vein is cleaned to show a contrast of white deadwood against the red live vein.
So the parts of the trunk that still have bark on them are considered “live vein” and should not be treated to make them turn grey?
Many use diluted lime sulfur as a dormant spray. Maybe they didn’t quite dilute it enough?
They don’t need to be treated to turn grey. Juniper bark will naturally turn grey, which is why you need to peel it off occasionally to expose the red tissue.
Turns out I am a noob when it comes to junipers. I went back and asked the grower the next day. It turns out he has very hard water in his area so it leaves a deposit on the trunk, and he told me how to clean it off. The trees looked super healthy and I was totally enamored of the fine foliage and bought two - a Shimpaku Kishu and a Kiyuzuru.
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