Tanuki the (marriage) of a juniper.

Why is this done? Tanuki is not necessarily a style, but rather a technique to make a bonsai appear older. It involves combining a living plant with a piece of dead wood. The original style is called Sharimiki.

Tags

NurseryGrafting

Instructions

required working materials:

1. dead wood
2. High-pressure cleaner (water and washing brush also work if necessary)
3. Large bristle brush
4. JIN agent (bleaching agent made from lime and sulphur)
5. Knife
6. Sandpaper
7. Straight grinder or Dremel
8. Milling cutter (approx. 3-5 mm)

Where do you get your deadwood from?

It is important to note that the Tanuki deadwood should be as hard and durable as possible, which does not rot easily. You can find it as dead trunks, branches or roots in the forest. My favorite for deadwood is cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), because of its beautiful grain and because it is a very hard wood that does not rot in the ground. The following types of wood are also suitable for deadwood: almond (Prunus dulcis), juniper, boxwood, olive, yew, oak, acacia root or slow-growing evergreen wood. Wood from the beach (sea) is not suitable due to its high salt content. Most trees do not tolerate salt particularly well. Wood hardener, which consists of a plastic dissolved in acetone and must be applied several times, is suitable for preserving rotten dead wood.

When do you do that?

Work with the deadwood should take place in early spring. Before the growth phase begins, so that the tree can recover as quickly and as well as possible from the stresses and strains it has suffered. Late summer is also suitable, as the growth phase is now over.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Here you can see the raw source material

Figure 4

The wood is now cleaned with a high-pressure cleaner. This removes old, soft wood and reveals the fine wood grain.

Figure 5

Here is our cleaned deadwood.

Figure 6

Now we treat our cleaned deadwood with the Jin agent. This treatment preserves our deadwood.

Figure 7

Wood preserved with Jinmittel.

Figure 8

Treat the finished deadwood with Jinmittel, the wood must be wet for this. By treating the deadwood with Jinmittel, you preserve it and make it lighter - bleach the wood. After the Jinmittel has dried, you can apply further coats according to taste. (One coat of jin agent makes the wood gray, 2-3 coats make it whitish). Don't forget to moisten the wood again if you want to apply another coat!

Figure 9

Finishing the deadwood with the milling machine.

Figure 10

Mill a channel into the wood.

Figure 11

Now you need to mill a channel into the wood, this must run from the base to the tip. It is best to draw the course with a soft pencil, parallel to the natural grain of the wood. The channel should be cut 1 cm wide and 0.5 cm deep into the wood. The plant will then be placed in this channel later.

Figure 12

The Tanuki marriage with the Juniperus Chinensis plant is finally in the bowl. Now it just has to grow.

Figure 13

Example of an old Tanuki (Juniperus chinensis), this tree has been in care for 10 years. Have fun with your Tanuki deadwood preparation!

How to do it - Our expert tips

TIP

When treating dead wood with jin agents, it is advisable to moisten the wood. By moistening the wood, the jin agent can penetrate deeper into the wood as it does not dry out as quickly.