Itoigawa Perth

[Trimmy]

I’m still trying to find the video re the difference in pruning. It was possibly a BonsaiQ video. That said, the auto-translate subtitles spew out some really random things

I enjoy trying to understand BonsaiQ. So far I've worked out reliquary=shari, miscellaneous trees=something other than a pine or juniper. Sekka hinoki is petrified stone or something like that.

[Ryceman3]

Ah awesome. Do you own a few R3? Would love to see the colouring. It’s true, I’ve never had any of my junipers have a snooze over winter. They all retain their green colour and usually send out new growth then and again when spring starts. Little power houses!

I’ve heard that Itoigawa requires a slightly different approach to foliage trimming than shimpaku. Is this true and do you know exactly what the difference is? I’ll have to pour through some videos and find where I saw that specific piece of advise.

Would love tips on development also. I’m trying a few different approaches to see what works best in this climate.

Anyways, thanks for sharing mate, I appreciate it!

I only own one itoigawa (not old, from cutting maybe 4 years ago?) and 2 standard shimpaku. I should probably give a shout out to the member here who provided me with it… thanks again!
Juniper species are not my main concern though, so I won’t profess to be anything but a casual admirer/practitioner when it comes to them.
New growth is beginning for me on them now… if you want I can take some shots but they are tinged in winter colour, in a month or two I think the difference in green will be more obvious.
I’ve not heard itoigawa require different treatment to standard shimpaku and have always treated mine the same as the others (for the last few years). Like I said though, more experienced juniper growers would be better placed to advise than I am.
I find juniper in general quite slow to develop compared to other trees. For that reason mine tend to passively take up space on the benches while they gain foliage and girth. I work them far less than pines in development, elms, maples and almost all native trees. Maybe twice a year at most. I’m hoping when they get thick enough (I’m pot growing… no ground work) I’ll be ready to develop on. Lots of wire and very little reduction of anything for now.

[treeman]

I have a couple of J. chinensis that I am told are Itiogawa. They both turned quite brown over winter. Not dead, just a reaction to cold weather. They are alongside what we refer to as Shimpaku which are all far more green through Winter so, I'd say there's a definite difference in Winter colour between the 2 varieties.
The Itiogawa appear to have much more open growth habit than Shimpaku but, I'm told, Itiogawa foliage tightens up when they are pruned regularly.

Itiogawa may be slightly greener in Summer but I did not take enough notice to be definitive. I would not use colour as a definitive ID feature as colour changes according to a range of factors - nutrient, temp, sun, etc.

Heya Neil,

Thanks for the reply, I always appreciate your input. Interesting about the leaf colour. From what I’ve seen it has that definitive lime-green foliage colour as opposed to the shimpaku. I do agree with you though. There are heaps of factors to take into consideration. In summer I’ve noticed a colour difference between trees that get a bit more sun than the others. I’d be curious to see how your Itoigawa would come up in the Perth sun

The growth habit is the definite noticeable difference. It does seem to grow out much more “leggy” and is able to be trained to be dense like shimpaku. I’ve seen quite a few comments from people saying they prefer the Itoigawa due to the more open foliage. I agree.

Have you noticed a difference in growth rate? I hear Itoigawa grows and thickens faster vs shimpaku. That’d be a boon if so! My shimpaku are still slowly, slowly, slooooowly getting there

Thanks again mate

I have three types of shimpaku. Itowigawa has a fine foliage compared with the others and a lime-green.
Kishu (the commonly available form) has coarser, tighter foliage which is also thicker.
The other (possibly ''Blaauw'', mistakenly named J chinensis 'x media' Blaauw) has a blue-green colour and is mid-way between the two as far as foliage texture. Both this form and Itowigawa grow twice as fast as Kishu. Interestingly, Blaauw is a Dutch name but the plant is of Japanese origin and is classified as part of the ''plumosa'' group along with Kishu and Itowigawa which all have a similar growth habit when planted in the ground and left unpruned - upright vase shape with multiple trunks.

[Mickeyjaytee]

I’m still trying to find the video re the difference in pruning. It was possibly a BonsaiQ video. That said, the auto-translate subtitles spew out some really random things

I enjoy trying to understand BonsaiQ. So far I've worked out reliquary=shari, miscellaneous trees=something other than a pine or juniper. Sekka hinoki is petrified stone or something like that.

Haha I googled reliquary multiple times trying to figure it out before I realised what was going on A fantastic channel none the less!

I only own one itoigawa (not old, from cutting maybe 4 years ago?) and 2 standard shimpaku. I should probably give a shout out to the member here who provided me with it… thanks again!
Juniper species are not my main concern though, so I won’t profess to be anything but a casual admirer/practitioner when it comes to them.
New growth is beginning for me on them now… if you want I can take some shots but they are tinged in winter colour, in a month or two I think the difference in green will be more obvious.
I’ve not heard itoigawa require different treatment to standard shimpaku and have always treated mine the same as the others (for the last few years). Like I said though, more experienced juniper growers would be better placed to advise than I am.
I find juniper in general quite slow to develop compared to other trees. For that reason mine tend to passively take up space on the benches while they gain foliage and girth. I work them far less than pines in development, elms, maples and almost all native trees. Maybe twice a year at most. I’m hoping when they get thick enough (I’m pot growing… no ground work) I’ll be ready to develop on. Lots of wire and very little reduction of anything for now.

Thanks R3, I appreciate the info mate! Good to know about the trimming that it’s not much different.

I find the same with development. Very slow but, it is pretty interesting to see them develop over the years, adding in bends and twists as I go. Sadly, junipers are my only focus so, I have a lot of downtime while I’m growing them

I’m keen to wait for some shots to see how they differ where you are! Cheers for the reply mate!

[Mickeyjaytee]

I have three types of shimpaku. Itowigawa has a fine foliage compared with the others and a lime-green.
Kishu (the commonly available form) has coarser, tighter foliage which is also thicker.
The other (possibly ''Blaauw'', mistakenly named J chinensis 'x media' Blaauw) has a blue-green colour and is mid-way between the two as far as foliage texture. Both this form and Itowigawa grow twice as fast as Kishu. Interestingly, Blaauw is a Dutch name but the plant is of Japanese origin and is classified as part of the ''plumosa'' group along with Kishu and Itowigawa which all have a similar growth habit when planted in the ground and left unpruned - upright vase shape with multiple trunks.

So I’m going to guess the majority in Perth is Kishu? Blaauw hmmm not sure if I have it. Maybe. I did buy some shimps from an actual retail nursery (not a bonsai nursery) that were labeled just as juniperus chinensis shimpaku. They do have a slight blue tinge but, I wasn’t sure if this is just a result of where they are positioned.

Even online it’s hard to see the difference between shimpaku and kishu whereas itoigawa is definitely noticeable. Regardless, my favourite species for bonsai. Looking forward to another year of growth and development and see where they are at this time next year! One day I swear I’ll have something to show on the forums! I hope so anyways.

Cheers for the reply and info mate