I just purchased this one. I have another Koto No Ito, but the leaves don't seem to look the same. Does anyone have any opinions on what it is? Or am I just going crazy and it is Koto No Ito? :) Johnny
I believe leaves from new growth seem larger while the leaves from older wood seem more strap like. Maybe that is what you are talking about?
The new growth on Koto no ito often has leaves that are larger and wider, as do many linearilobum varieties. Older branches should all have the narrow leaves, however.
Ah, cool. Thanks :) the leaves on the top on this new one just seemed a little more..... bigger than the other one i have, so I just wanted to make sure. Thanks for the help
oh yeah, new question... is it a good idea to cut off the new growth below the graft? the leaves from the rootstock are starting to burst, and i'm not too sure when i should cut them off... now or when the tree is dormant. Johnny
It is a good idea to cut off the growth below the graft and there is no reason you could not do so now.
Interesting tree there. True koto no ito should have palmate leaves like that at some point, but from what I understand it should not show that degree of twisting in the lobes. The forms of koto ito komachi show more of this twisting (and fairy hair), but neither should have palmate leaves unless it is a reversion. Unfortunately they are all mixed up and most people do not have them right, mostly due to the fact that there are two forms of Koto ito komachi (Vertrees' form and one brought in from japan). All the linearilobums also seem quite volatile and therefore there are different strains of all three. All of the koto no ito specimens in my area are in fact the koto ito komachi from japan from what I can tell. This is at least how it was explained to me.
I've found that linearilobums vary greatly during their early years. Those grafted onto vigorous understocks have very fat leaves, while those grafted onto very light caliper understocks have very thin leaves. I believe this all corrects in time, as the trees settle down and find their true growth habit. I have a couple of "Fairyhair" that were grafted onto Heavy understocks (stock plants to push growth) and the newest growth is not much different than 'Koto No Ito". Buds from last years growth are wire thin. Eventually, I believe these trees will develope foliage typical of their cultivar, but in the mean time the understock is sending too much juice for the 'Fairyhair' to deal with so t's leaves are oversized and deformed. This is true too for other forms beside linearlobums. Some dwarfs don't grow like dwarfs when grafted onto vigorous understock, until they've caught up to the understock. Brian Scion Swapper
