JBP - 'Hokuro' info needed

a vendor recently has been selling grafted Japanese Black Pines, and is offering 'Hokuro'. They list it as a cork-barked variety. I haven't found it on any other site. Does anyone know anything about it?

Is it really a cork bark cultivar?

Fast or slow to cork up? (Does it begin to cork-up in less than 10 years? or need longer, ie. slow)

What type of bark is typical? River Water, or Winged bark? Tortoise Shell bark? Fletcher Cork? other pattern?

Is it Yatsubusa type?

Any growth habits I need to plan to deal with?

Thanks
Leo

Hi Leo,
I'm anxious to hear if anyone knows about it. I wonder if a "fast corker" is an oxymoron  

Haven't heard anything yet.

I am wondering if Hokuro is a mis-spelling or a different way of transliterating from Japanese to English the name 'Hoko' as in Hoko Kuro Matsu? Hoko is listed as not being particularly good for bonsai without any further explaination in Brian's article. Anyone know more about 'Hoko', why some consider it a poor choice?

Its all relative. A normal JBP won't develop a nice layer of rough bark very quickly at all. It takes a good 25 or more years to develop a nice rough bark, and longer for the bark to extend up the trunk and onto the branches. In this respect most of the cork bark types are quicker than the 'normal' JBP.

Brian van Fleet wrote a nice article that can be seen over on the Bonsai Nut forum. He lists a number of cultivars, and some of their traits. He lists two I have, Hachi Gen and Mi Nishiki as being slow to develop cork bark. Both will take upwards of 20 years to develop the cork bark trait. Though the beginning phase will begin to show at 5 to 10 years.

I have Kyokko Yatsubusa, Kyokko, and Ondae, and they are listed as developing cork relatively quickly. The first signs of it usually by 4 years, with fairly complete coverage of a trunk or branch at 10 years. Not exactly quick, but not impossible.

So far I am getting the best growth and corking out of Kyokko Yatsubusa. I must have plunked this tree in the 'right spot' on my bench.

I must say, the grafted trees I have gotten from Brent Walston at Evergreen Garden Works are superior in being low grafted and being grown out long enough that the tree grows well. (one outfit sent me a tree where the graft had not fused yet, shipping dislodged the scion from the understock) Brent's material is superior to most. He also occasionally has a few cutting propagated trees, on their own roots. I'm sure there are other good suppliers. I got a great little shohin from Mr Low, through ebay, it appears to be on its own roots. The majority of nurseries just don't attend to the details the way Brent does.

With the slower corking types, I plan on using pretty much 'normal' or traditional designs. With the fast corking varieties, I am thinking about designs that would accentuate, or take advantage of the heavy cork when it develops. So for these, longer sections of exposed trunks and branches would 'show off' the cork better. However all my trees are young, so it is still too early to really have much to show yet. And too early to place a fixed 'design' on my trees. Right now I am growing trunks and lots of branches for future choices.