bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - ADVANCED TECHNIQUE: Guy Wires

Guy wires are at the top of the landscapers bag of tricks. Yes they can train trunks and branches to take on shapes. For the most part, landscapers will use a guy wire to pull black pine and yucca's away from the sun, and let the pull of the sun help shape the trunk while the sun pulls the trunk against the length of the wire.

In bonsai, you can train a bonsai with guy wires alone. But why? They should be a last resort, and a helper. I specialize in shohin, I'll bet I have larger hands then you, and I manage to wire anything I want to. A guy wire WILL NOT hold a branch or trunk in the same position it was in when you applied the wire. If you could do a time lapse photo of a guy wired tree over say two years, you would see that trunk and branch do the most unbelievable hula dance you have ever seen. Trust me at the end of a few years the guy wires will be where you put them, but what you intended for them to do will not be the same as if you had wired it. When it is wired it has no place to go except where you wire it. You can guy wire an "S" curve into a trunk, but it will pop out when you take the guy wires off.

Don't take my word for it. Buy a juniper and do it and do a control with one guy wired, and one hard wired. Come back here next year and let me know how you did. I have been there, but don't take my word for it. Find out by doing it. Thats the way you learn.

Al

1-Jun-2005	#5
bonsaial1 Greybeard Join Date: Aug-2001 Location: Fresno, CA Country: USA USDA Zone: 9 AHS Heat Zone: 13SH Posts: 5,247	Guy wires are at the top of the landscapers bag of tricks. Yes they can train trunks and branches to take on shapes. For the most part, landscapers will use a guy wire to pull black pine and yucca's away from the sun, and let the pull of the sun help shape the trunk while the sun pulls the trunk against the length of the wire. In bonsai, you can train a bonsai with guy wires alone. But why? They should be a last resort, and a helper. I specialize in shohin, I'll bet I have larger hands then you, and I manage to wire anything I want to. A guy wire WILL NOT hold a branch or trunk in the same position it was in when you applied the wire. If you could do a time lapse photo of a guy wired tree over say two years, you would see that trunk and branch do the most unbelievable hula dance you have ever seen. Trust me at the end of a few years the guy wires will be where you put them, but what you intended for them to do will not be the same as if you had wired it. When it is wired it has no place to go except where you wire it. You can guy wire an "S" curve into a trunk, but it will pop out when you take the guy wires off. Don't take my word for it. Buy a juniper and do it and do a control with one guy wired, and one hard wired. Come back here next year and let me know how you did. I have been there, but don't take my word for it. Find out by doing it. Thats the way you learn. Al __________________ Real men don't wear coats with "happi" in the title.