Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: Parrotia Pruning Philosophy, 0 by malusman

malusman wrote:
VV,

I actually don't agree. I just got so windy and blew so much smoke that I confused you! My official stance, smoke free:

1) Exfoliation occurs with less light reaching the trunk due to branches or shade causing objects. We agree on this.
2) Color expressed on shaded stems is not as bright as on those exposed to sunlight. The longer exposed to sunlight, the better it is expressed.

My reason for #2: Some sort of substance of biological origin (like a moss) grows on the bark in the shaded areas somewhat smothering the natural color. In an attempt to convince you of this I got my macro lens out and had at some P. bungeana growing in the (unirrigated) nursery. Tree #3 so perfectly made clear what I'm trying to point out that I'm going to start there and work down if you demand more evidence. How to interpret my results: I have linked to a full shot of the bark and attached a cropped section of the image for close up viewing. I can get no closer in than this so it will have to suffice. Picture was taken on the Northeast side of the tree. To the right you can see the "stuff" making the color look bad. I might add that there was a small branch (1/4" dia.) a wee bit further right that grew up along side of the trunk adding more shade. To the left and heading south into the light, the color purifies to a nice white althought I didn't get enough depth of field to make this completely transparent.

Link: http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c16/erniew/odds and ends/P...