# Kinkounishiki



## Lanmark (Oct 28, 2009)

Here's a nicely variegated Neofinetia falcata plant, variety 'Kinkounishiki' with each growth sporting a different pattern of variegation. I've got it mounted on a piece of mopani wood. It gets watered daily.


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## Bolero (Oct 28, 2009)

WOW! I love the foliage but the photography and the foliage you've used as a backdrop has really made a difference as well. The whole thing is impressive.


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## mkline3 (Oct 28, 2009)

Stunning pics,great foliage and smart idea to photograph in front of the red leaves. (is it a barberry bush? )


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## SlipperKing (Oct 28, 2009)

Interesting plant. Has it ever bloomed?


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## biothanasis (Oct 28, 2009)

So cool plant and photos!!! :clap:


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## Lanmark (Oct 28, 2009)

Thanks! :rollhappy:



mkline3 said:


> (is it a barberry bush? )



Bingo! It's a barberry bush in my back yard.



SlipperKing said:


> Has it ever bloomed?



Yes it usually blooms once or twice a year. The flowers are generously sized for a Neo, white with traces of pink along the edges and typically deliciously fragrant. It's in short spike now. You can almost see it in the first photo on the foremost fan with leaves half green/half yellow. It's on the left side of the central stem just below the stunted set of leaves (  I made a booboo last year  )


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## NYEric (Oct 28, 2009)

Very artistic!


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## callosum (Oct 28, 2009)

*chimera*

a rear chimeral one:rollhappy:


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## KyushuCalanthe (Oct 28, 2009)

Nice variegation on that one - most I've seen here tend to be more green. Do you find it to be very slow growing?

Another one that is just lovely, but damn near impossible to grow is 'Manzuru'. It is the nearly white variant of 'Nishidemiyako' and is a very weak grower. I saw a nice one for sale this weekend for a cool ¥14,000 (about $152), but I didn't buy it since I was warned not to bother. These very white growths occur occasionally on a plant and grow well as long as they remain attached. Once separated they usually go into decline and end up in the trash heap within a couple years.


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## Lanmark (Oct 28, 2009)

Thanks NYEric 

So cool, isn't it, callosum?! 

KyushuCalanthe, I have seen 'Man*a*zuru' but I wonder if it is the same thing as this '_Manzuru_' to which you refer. I thought 'Man*a*zuru' was also a variant of 'Nishidemiyako' but all the plants I have seen are mostly bright yellow (a yellow which is more pale than the shade of yellow on my 'Kinkounishiki') and they are splashed with random stripes of green. There's also a red blush on the central stem (my 'Kinkounishiki' has the central stem red blush too, and it has some nearly 'Man*a*zuru'-looking growths on it as well). I haven't seen any Neo plants around here called '_Manzuru_' with nearly white 'Nishidemiyako' type leaves.

All the 'Man*a*zuru' plants I have encountered have been strong and healthy. A friend brought one back from Japan in early 2008 and I wanted to buy it from him but he had purchased it for someone else on request. It was a $750usd plant.

My 'Kinkounishiki' shown here is a very slow grower, but it seems to be strong and it blooms well. It is much larger now than when I first got it, and it has more growths. I'd be afraid to separate off any growths which are mostly pure yellow for fear they wouldn't survive. As a whole, however, I think it's attractive, and I hope it will keep getting bigger and more spectacular as the years go by.


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## KyushuCalanthe (Oct 28, 2009)

Hey Lanmark, sorry for the typo, yes, early morning answers are troublesome for this aging mind. The correct romanization is indeed 'Manazuru'. These white morphs can occur on lots of fukurin types. 'Nishidemiyako' is famous for its lovely variants, all terribly expensive, and any one of them can give rise to a 'Manazuru' type from time to time.

It is interesting that the plants you've seen all seem healthy and strong. More than one grower here has steered me clear of buying one, so I've desisted, especially at the prices it commands. A couple years back I bought the same kind of chlorophyll poor variant of 'Asahiden' called 'Youmeiden'. It stays alive, but so far is a very poor grower. If it eventually kicks, no problem since it only put me back around $20.

Similarly, a few years back I bought a very pale leafed growth of 'Orihime' - recently divided. Though the plant is healthy, it hasn't grown any larger since I got it.


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Oct 28, 2009)

I want one!!!


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## SlipperFan (Oct 28, 2009)

Nice work, Mark. And what a gorgeous plant!


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## Leo Schordje (Oct 29, 2009)

WOW, those are beautiful leaves. Did you get that from Glen Lehr? If not, and your source was commercial, where did you get it? I was out to Glen Lehr's place a couple years ago, and I was tempted for a minute to switch from slippers to Neofinetia. I realy like the variagates. Thanks for posting.


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## Lanmark (Oct 30, 2009)

Again, thanks everyone! 

Leo, I got this one from Glenn. He's got some awesome plants! I haven't seen another 'Kinkounishiki' like this at Glenn's, but I have seen a couple other plants with similar variegation there bearing different varietal names.

Tom, I had a 'Nishidemiyako' once. It grew and bloomed very well for me. It was big and healthy, but I gave it too much light thus causing the leaves to develop large amounts of purple and red pigments. That spoiled it for me so I gave the plant away. It's still alive and healthy. The person who owns it now gives it less light but many of the leaves are still pigmented from my indiscretion. The plant has since sprouted at least two very white offspring from the base. I have 'Houmeiden' (I don't know if that is the same as 'Youmeiden') and it seems to grow well for me. Actually I think it's a seedling from a selfing of 'Houmeiden'. The root tips are very pink, but the whiteness at the top of the plant is not as pronounced as I think it should be. Still I find it to be very pretty.


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## KyushuCalanthe (Oct 30, 2009)

Lanmark said:


> Tom, I had a 'Nishidemiyako' once. It grew and bloomed very well for me. It was big and healthy, but I gave it too much light thus causing the leaves to develop large amounts of purple and red pigments. That spoiled it for me so I gave the plant away. It's still alive and healthy. The person who owns it now gives it less light but many of the leaves are still pigmented from my indiscretion. The plant has since sprouted at least two very white offspring from the base. I have 'Houmeiden' (I don't know if that is the same as 'Youmeiden') and it seems to grow well for me. Actually I think it's a seedling from a selfing of 'Houmeiden'. The root tips are very pink, but the whiteness at the top of the plant is not as pronounced as I think it should be. Still I find it to be very pretty.



I had a similar situation starting to happen with 'Higashidemiyako', but only one fan was affected. 'Nishidemiyako' is one of the more collectable fukurin forms, but my favorite of the "cheap" ones is 'Tenkeifukurin' - lovely, even variegation and a good grower to boot.

'Houmeiden' was a plant I really wanted four years ago when I first saw it. The sticker price stopped me from buying one - ¥45,000 (over $450) for a two growth plant. The last couple years getting young meristemmed plants is easy and sort of cheap. I passed one over the other day and it was only ¥3000...maybe I should have bought it! 'Youmeiden' is a pale sport of 'Asahiden'. Here is mine:






The damn thing grows very, very slowly.


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## Lanmark (Oct 30, 2009)

KyushuCalanthe said:


> The damn thing grows very, very slowly.



 I can see why! It's so pale!

My Houmeiden was not cheap, but a few weeks ago I moved it further from the light. I checked it this morning and saw that the nice creamy white color at the top of the plant is already improving noticeably.


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## SlipperFan (Oct 30, 2009)

I am amazed -- so many variations and names, and you two seem to know them all, be able to recognize them and describe their unique characteristics. I'm lucky to remember I have Neofinetia falcata!


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## KyushuCalanthe (Oct 31, 2009)

SlipperFan said:


> I am amazed -- so many variations and names, and you two seem to know them all, be able to recognize them and describe their unique characteristics. I'm lucky to remember I have Neofinetia falcata!



There are thousands of accepted fuukiran and many, many more beyond that. At first you think, "what a bunch of plants that look all the same, I don't get it." Then you buy a few. Within a short time you're on your way to yet another addiction - an expensive one at that. I call my fuukiran collection "my bank account".


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## rdlsreno (Oct 31, 2009)

Nice!!!

Ramon


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## Lanmark (Nov 1, 2009)

KyushuCalanthe said:


> I call my fuukiran collection "my bank account".



Indeed!

Oy! The money I've spent!


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## toddybear (Nov 1, 2009)

Wonderful even without flowers!


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## Happypaphy7 (Feb 18, 2017)

Mark,

I know this is rather an old thread, but do you still have this plant?


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## JAB (Feb 18, 2017)

Wow!


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## Lanmark (Feb 18, 2017)

I do not still have this plant. It is in the collection of a local physician now. I wish I would have kept it, but I will replace it with something equally nice sooner or later.


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## Happypaphy7 (Feb 18, 2017)

I see. At least it's still around.
Must be quite a clump by now.

I just saw one on eBay which was typical green with little yellow, and I looked it up out of curiosity, then boom! yours came up.


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## Lanmark (Feb 18, 2017)

Mine was an especially good one. I got it from NWO when Glenn still owned the business. The better the variegation on these, the higher the price.


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## abax (Feb 18, 2017)

I'm a little late to the party here, but I think both posts are
really wonderful. Lanmark, your former plant is amazing and I'd never care if it bloomed. The foliage is lovely.


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## Tom-DE (Feb 23, 2017)

I really like the variegations, especially that one with half green and half yellow.


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## NYEric (Feb 23, 2017)

I didn't have a GF when this thread started. My current one loves the original plant posted.


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## Lanmark (Feb 26, 2017)

I still see Kinkounishiki plants with excellent variegation being offered for sale from time to time. I see a lot of them offered with lesser quality variegation, but with time and good culture, the variegation can be improved as the plant grows and multiplies.


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## myxodex (Feb 26, 2017)

Lanmark said:


> I still see Kinkounishiki plants with excellent variegation being offered for sale from time to time. I see a lot of them offered with lesser quality variegation, but with time and good culture, the variegation can be improved as the plant grows and multiplies.



That is a lovely plant. I really like Kinounishiki a lot.

I can't remember where I read this (could have been the Seed Engei site), but that in Japan some of the shima types are preferred with an abundance of fine stripes, Kinkounishiki being one of these. I bought a Kinounishiki from Glen and I chose one where the main growth had fine striping (it was cheaper). This growth has subsequently produced three boldly variegated growths. The other growth that was all green has produced a variegated growth, ... it turned out that this "all green" growth was not all green after all and has subsequently produced a bit of variegation on it's newer leaves. My plant is quite vigorous and I suspect it is because the two older growths have a lot more green on them. So if you want to get another Kinkounishiki, you might consider taking a gamble on one that has lots of fine yellow stripes on a largely green main growth, it might even be cheaper and probably more vigorous.

I have a hunch that with some shima varieties, fine striping on a growth gives a better chance of this growth producing bolder striped growths whereas half yellow, half green growths have a greater probability of producing all yellow or all green growths. I imagine a sort of magnification of a segment of the meristem that produces the new growth, but we can only guess the mixture of "green" and "yellow" in the node meristem, based on the variegation pattern of the growth that produces it. It's unlikely that it's quite as straight forward as I'm suggesting.


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## Lanmark (Feb 26, 2017)

Yes, I agree: those with abundant shima stripes (rather than half & half variegation) are very nice as well. It is definitely worth taking a chance on a Kinkounishiki because shima stripes tend to be variable and can improve as the plant grows and multiplies. Kinkounishiki has nice thick leaves, and it's flowers are very nice as well. It's a great variety to grow, and I highly recommend it.

Lately I have been considering getting an Ootakamaru-no-Shima instead of a Kinkounishiki because of its smaller leafspan. Growing space is an issue for me, and I also prefer the smaller varieties anyway. I don't know, however, if this shima version of Ootakamaru blooms as readily as Kinkounishiki does. I already have Ootakamaru and Ootaka-no-Yuki and both are very good growers and very good bloomers.


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## Happypaphy7 (Mar 2, 2017)

So I just got my first Kinkou Nishiki.
The main growth has mainly bold yellow, nearly half and half, then it has a bunch of newer growths that are pretty much green with very very subtle shima stripes. Then there is one small growth that are mostly yellow with very little green lines. 
This is the fun part, I guess. 

By the way, so I have read that seed propogation of Shima varieties results in all green plants. But it seems that certain shima varieties are rather common. How is this so??

What would happen if I crossed Kinroukaku and Shima?
Tiger? Plain green? Tiger with Shima (which I saw are quite expensive)? all of them mixed??
I guess one way to find out?


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## Lanmark (Mar 2, 2017)

Some shima varieties are simply strong, fast growers and so they are abundantly available.

Crossing Kinroukaku with a shima plant such as Kinkou Nishiki would yield some plain green plants and some tiger plants. Some would probably have salmon or ruby roots as well.


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## Happypaphy7 (Mar 2, 2017)

So getting shima out of crossing is very slim and better rely on divisions only?

My Kinroukaku are showing spikes, but not shima. Wait, I think mine is Fujinishiki. Probably won't make much difference anyway, but, I think I'll try anyways. 

The best will be, if I'm lucky, tiger shima!


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## Lanmark (Mar 2, 2017)

Tiger variegation (tora) can be passed on through breeding.

I suppose it's theoretically possible the tendency to eventually mutate to shima (non-marginal stripes) could be inherited, but I've never heard of shima coming true from breeding. Perhaps a few years down the road one or more of your seedlings could start showing signs of shima variegation, but I really don't know whether this is possible. 

I have more faith my Kokubotan plant will eventually mutate into something special or produce an offshoot of something special. Kokubotan in and of itself is rather plain, but it carries within itself the remarkable ability to mutate into several other rare and highly valuable varieties. This trait alone is what makes Kokubotan so valuable and why it commands such an incredibly high price. It's not uncommon to see them sold for $1000 - $1500 or more.


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## Happypaphy7 (Mar 3, 2017)

I've heard about that variety. 
Then, each different growth is given a name, is it right? 
I hope yours do some crazy things for you to enjoy.


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## Lanmark (Mar 3, 2017)

That's correct...Kokubotan is known to very freely mutate and can transform itself into several different popular and valuable varieties such as Kinbotan or Botan-Nishiki, or it can send up babies of those varieties as well. It's a very unusual plant.


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## Happypaphy7 (Mar 4, 2017)

Wonder of neo world!


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## Marco (Mar 6, 2017)

Mark - ootakamaru no shima is still on my to get list. I purchased a nice Takara nishiki and kinkosei several months ago. I think I'm done on purchasing neos for the time being. But let's see what happens come 3/24 at SEPOS. I just got clearance to take that day off.


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## troy (Mar 6, 2017)

I grow mine in a plastic basket in wine corks, it grows good


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## Lanmark (Mar 7, 2017)

Marco, those sound very nice! There are still have a few I'd like to get including Tamakouro and Tama nishiki. 

Troy, I have used that method before as well, and indeed it's very effective.


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