@Nik good afternoon N, there is a lot that goes on in the Bonsai world to increase the pleasing appearance of the tree, but tbh I would rather see all the deformities and scars especially from nature. I had a friend that used this method on his Birch trees every year in a small copse with black grasses underneath. He also had uplights to show off the white bark. Now as the trunks were supposed to be white I thought that this was OK and they did look amazing. But to do it to a non white barked tree even in Bonsai is not my thing. But I am glad you posted this as I enjoyed the video, especially the high tech turntable.
Hello, the application of calcium sulfide, it is not only for the appearance of the tree, this is a technique widely used in Japan, in bonsai, the application of it is used as a fungicide and winter insecticide, when the trees do not have leaves to protect them throughout the winter. It is also used on dead wood as a protector and preservative, to prevent it from rotting
Does it harm the tree and the buds, I guess not? Seems rather like dying fish to me! I thought that dwarf Pygmy maple was lovely as it was!
So far, I've used Bordeaux mix that contains both sulfur and copper, but this is mainly used to prevent fungal diseases by many bonsai enthusiasts, not only in Japan. The proportion is usually 1:20, as mentioned in the video. It is also used to prevent dead wood on tree with "jins" from rotting. A famous European bonsai artist uses it on (apparent) roots too : Walter Pall Bonsai Adventures: Strange practices on roots Of course, like in many communities, some may disagree with his use of lime sulfur on roots, esp. regarding to mycorrhiza, but whyen I look at his trees, I think he knows what he's talking about ;-) PS: I made my own years ago. Outside of course, because of the smell. I kept it in a bottle that I accidently dropped in my garage. I spite of washing the floor, it stank of rotten eggs for weeks!
