OK, so I picked up a Yoshino-sugi over a year ago. It was in a 1 gallon pot, which I proptmly repotted into a 3 gallon pot. It is now in a 7 gallong pot, and needs to be bumped up to a 10 gallon pretty quickly. Problem being that the bloody thing has put on all of 3" of top growth over the last year, all the while putting out more and more and more roots... This thing is absolutely not starving for water. I water it every day. It put out seed cones fo rthe first time this Spring, which was suprising, to say the least. Only saw maybe one set of pollen cones, so I don't suspect I have must chance of having viable seeds, but I just read up on sowing them last night anyway, and it seems to be an *awfully* involved process. What ever happened to 'take seed, put in dirt, water?!?' It seemed to perk up a bit when I poured a pot of coffee on it, but it's still not doing a whole heck of a lot. Anyone have any ideas? This is Cryptomeria japonica 'Yoshino.' Thanks much!
I sometimes perk up with a pot of coffee . . . does that make me a 'Yoshino' Sugi?? ;-) Sounds to me like it wants to be planted out in the open ground. 'Yoshino' is a fast-growing cultivar, selected in Japan for forestry production. It won't like being cooped up in a tiny pot. This link shows what they look like when mature: http://www.pref.nara.jp/nara/kaido/eg/syugen/d5_trad/trad1.htm
Coffee grounds make a good soil amendment for areas that have some salt buildup in their soils. The hard part is to scatter the grounds evenly over an area as a top dress. I've been giving some of my potted seven gallon Citrus here the remains (usually two cups of Coffee [12 ounces] mixed with water in a 12 cup carafe) of my morning and evening Coffee for months. I've not been forced to fertilize these plants as yet, which tells some of the story why I do it. The prevailing soil those Citrus came in is a clay loam fortified with pumice to aid in preventing soil compaction and a small amount of sand to aid in a quicker drainage. The water holding capacity of this soil is real good so a day or two before or after a watering, I will start giving the trees one by one a 12 cup mixed drink of Coffee and so far this has sustained them for me, nutrient wise, adequately for now. If you have a heavy soil with some salt accumulation in the soil where you are or salt buildup in the container, the spreading of Coffee grounds over a planting site or a mixed solution of Coffee and water given to a seven to fifteen gallon container plant once every ten days or so will not hurt your Yoshino. I've used spent Coffee grounds as a top dress for potted Camellias and Azaleas for years. Jim
