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How do you 'age' a new granite lantern?

Posted by babka (My Page) on
Sat, Mar 25, 06 at 13:03

We lost a magnificient 30 year old, 15 foot, trained Japanese Black Pine tree this year, and in its place we have planted a weeping crabapple and a spanking new granite Yukimi lantern (about 30" tall). The problem is that the lantern looks so squeaky clean. Is there a way to tone that down a bit? I've heard that pouring rice water on it will encourage plant growth, but this beauty sits in full sun for now, so I don't think moss will grow on it. Does anyone here know of a way to tone down that "new" appearance? Thank you.

-Babka


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: How do you 'age' a new granite lantern?

Babka;

Please post your request on www.jgarden.org. You should get an answer there.


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RE: How do you 'age' a new granite lantern?

Nachodaddy-

Thanks, will do!

-Babka


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RE: How do you 'age' a new granite lantern?

paint it with buttermilk


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RE: How do you 'age' a new granite lantern?

Hi,
Paint it with yoghurt or sour milk.
George.

Here is a link that might be useful: George's Japanese Garden


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RE: How do you 'age' a new granite lantern?

Sorry about your tree. You can encourage moss by finding moss growing in a similar light and moisture environment, breaking off a clump, letting it dry, and then crumbling it into the diluted buttermilk. Keep it moist and weed often. You can also buy moss spores.

The Brooklyn Botanical Garden Record booklet describes Funaria hydrometrica as "the happy-to-grow-just-about-anywhere cord moss." Personally, I've never grown moss from spores, but I have transplanted clumps of it with success.

Here is a link that might be useful: Froogle search for moss spores


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RE: How do you 'age' a new granite lantern??

Hi! Posting again because I came across this post by DonPylant with a way to "age" newly quarried items:

"I have a plastic wading pool in a shady corner of the woods behind my house. I have been able to purchase granite and other features 6 to 12 months early, then submerge them in the pool until they are growing algae. This seems to be a great conditioning for growing moss. Then I pour sprite over the stone and spray the buttermilk/moss shake over it. Depending on the garden conditions, they may grow moss or not - but they still look better than new quarried stone!

Stones with small crevases can be filled with fine gravel and loam and moss inserted into the remaining cavity. The trick is to provide a sub-surface source of moisture the moss can wick up as needed."

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to


 
 

 

 


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