Plumbers putty

[rockm]

I've heard from a reliable source who knows Japanese-educated expert who said specialized bonsai cut sealants are mostly not worth the money.The Japanese nurseries don't use them. The toothpaste tube stuff, is particularly avoided because it's runny and messy and hard to get off the tree when the time comes. Japanese bonsai nurseries use simple plumbers putty. Buy a 5 gallon vat at home despot and you're probably set for life.
http://enlightenme.com/plumber-putty/

 

[Giga]

Wear gloves when using the stuff, it has chemicals in it that aren't very good

 

[Dav4]

I've used plumber's putty on a palmatum and didn't like it. It became hard as rock and there was no callus formation after 6-8 wks. I've also used it on the chopped ends of swamp cypress. Honestly, I'm not sure if I would use it again.

 

[PaulH]

Not plumber's putty but duct seal, sold in the electrical department at HD in 1 lb. blocks. Works great. Only caveat is that it is made with beeswax and a friend left his sitting out and bees ate it.

 

[Vin]

Not plumber's putty but duct seal, sold in the electrical department at HD in 1 lb. blocks. Works great. Only caveat is that it is made with beeswax and a friend left his sitting out and bees ate it.

Yep, that's what I use.

 

[coh]

I started using the electricians putty this season. So far, it seems to be performing the same as the Japanese cut paste (tub variety), though it does seem to stay moist longer.

I haven't noticed any issues with bees...

 

[jk_lewis]

Bee's wax is nice because it contains some kind of natural fungicide. I've used it for years -- and nary a bee ever "ate" it.

 

[Giga]

I'm give the duct seal a try

 

[jeanluc83]

+1 for duct seal

I got the tip from Nick Lenz. Another tip is to use hemorrhoid cream before the duct seal. I have been told that it is especially effective for maples. There is something in it that makes them heal faster.

Nick said for conifers use just Vaseline. Duct seal tends to get mixed with sap and becomes hard to remove. Cover large wounds with aluminum foil.

 

[Smoke]

Another tip is to use hemorrhoid cream before the duct seal. I have been told that it is especially effective for maples. There is something in it that makes them heal faster.

Man this makes perfect sense for all those crappy trees.

 

[JudyB]

I'm give the duct seal a try

me too. cut paste in a jar is $$$

 

[Paradox]

Peter Tea uses plumbers putty. Heard him say it in a lecture at MABS.

 

[JudyB]

I wonder how many jokes there are about plumbers and putty....

 

[PaulH]

Peter Tea uses plumbers putty. Heard him say it in a lecture at MABS.

That's who told me about it.

 

[edprocoat]

Wear gloves when using the stuff, it has chemicals in it that aren't very good

Actually Plumbers Putty is an inert clay with linseed oil being the most common admixture, some companies add talc and I have seen one brand that said fish oil. I know its totally non toxic and can actually be eaten by kids without even a stomach ache. My neighbors kids got some from his van and ate it, they took him to the hospital and called the poison control hotline and they told him there are no harmful types of plumbers putty. I posted about using this stuff here at B-Nut several years back and was ridiculed, it was about the same time I posted about Bonsai trees dying from extreme cold because of limited root system they have unlike real trees which started another crucifixion against me. lol The gang on mentality here caused everyone to ridicule me and then someone posted a link from Brent's Everegreen Gardenworks which stated the same thing, never slowed down the bashing though. Sadly next spring and oddly enough again this spring people started posting about how their trees did not wake up after the harsh winter ....

ed

 

[jeanluc83]

Man this makes perfect sense for all those crappy trees.

It probably does nothing but, on the hole, it just feels better.

 

[rockm]

Actually Plumbers Putty is an inert clay with linseed oil being the most common admixture, some companies add talc and I have seen one brand that said fish oil. I know its totally non toxic and can actually be eaten by kids without even a stomach ache. My neighbors kids got some from his van and ate it, they took him to the hospital and called the poison control hotline and they told him there are no harmful types of plumbers putty. I posted about using this stuff here at B-Nut several years back and was ridiculed, it was about the same time I posted about Bonsai trees dying from extreme cold because of limited root system they have unlike real trees which started another crucifixion against me. lol The gang on mentality here caused everyone to ridicule me and then someone posted a link from Brent's Everegreen Gardenworks which stated the same thing, never slowed down the bashing though. Sadly next spring and oddly enough again this spring people started posting about how their trees did not wake up after the harsh winter ....

ed

Um, Okay...

I posted this not exactly to back the use of plumber's putty, but to show extremely experienced (and you can't get much more experience that an established Japanese bonsai nursery with literally thousands of trees) growers don't use the prepared, specialized bonsai wound sealants. Almost anything that's inert, flexible and capable of making a seal can be used IF you want to use it. I don't seal wounds much, just the bigger ones on recently collected trees. haven't found a need to do it. Trees heal all the time without it.

In the case of the "limited root" system and winter kill...I don't think the "limited" part is really all that pertinent. It's about exposure. I lost an American beech this winter not because of a limited root system --it had weathered 15 winters before in the same storage quarters. What it hadn't experienced was extreme cold so soon in the season (November 2014 had record, deep, long-lasting cold, followed by record warmth in December). This left no real time for the gradual slope into deep cold that typically arrives here in late December and January. Repeated shallow freezes that harden off roots over time in the fall were replaced by profound, long-lasting cold. THAT is the reason I lost the tree, not because it has a limited root run.
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/november-2014-cold-snow-records-us

 

[Giga]

Actually Plumbers Putty is an inert clay with linseed oil being the most common admixture, some companies add talc and I have seen one brand that said fish oil. I know its totally non toxic and can actually be eaten by kids without even a stomach ache. My neighbors kids got some from his van and ate it, they took him to the hospital and called the poison control hotline and they told him there are no harmful types of plumbers putty. I posted about using this stuff here at B-Nut several years back and was ridiculed, it was about the same time I posted about Bonsai trees dying from extreme cold because of limited root system they have unlike real trees which started another crucifixion against me. lol The gang on mentality here caused everyone to ridicule me and then someone posted a link from Brent's Everegreen Gardenworks which stated the same thing, never slowed down the bashing though. Sadly next spring and oddly enough again this spring people started posting about how their trees did not wake up after the harsh winter ....

ed

Yeah, not sure what your getting but I would not eat this-toxic and can cause cancer or birth defects

http://www.oatey.com/msds/sds-us--oatey-plumbers-putty.pdf

Since having a daughter, I've been reading a lot about chemicals n everyday stuff and maybe I'm going overboard but all the stuff that can be absorbed through the skin over time. I'd rather use gloves n stuff-even if I'm paranoid

 

[rockm]

Yeah, not sure what your getting but I would not eat this-toxic and can cause cancer or birth defects

http://www.oatey.com/msds/sds-us--oatey-plumbers-putty.pdf

Since having a daughter, I've been reading a lot about chemicals n everyday stuff and maybe I'm going overboard but all the stuff that can be absorbed through the skin over time. I'd rather use gloves n stuff-even if I'm paranoid

You tend to get over this as your kids get older...FWIW, eating a tube of Desitin isn't recommended either, but it's more likely to be consumed by children than plumbers putty...

 

[MACH5]

For what is worth, a couple of years back when I was in Japan I did see several nurseries using the traditional cut paste, most notably at Taisho-en. I saw Mr. Urushibata using it quite a bit on maple grafts and cuts. It seems that at Kouka-en they use it as well as seen on the Bonsai Art of Japan series from Bjorn.

Of course other substances may work just as well. I don't know. I have used cut paste for many years with great results on maples and will probably continue to do so. I do not like any of the tooth paste-like products that some are even said to be medicated. A little tub of the traditional paste does last me a long time.