Juniper help for beginner #2

grifoninc

hello again

ok this is another juniper which I was going to plant in my garden then I got the bonsai bug. Went to the library and also went online and viewed a few sites including this one about bonsais and took the plunge and tried to start pruning and wiring and this is what I got......[pictures below]

Now it looks ok but I KNOW that something is missing .......HELP can someone let me know if it ok , or did I mess up. I am open to any suggestions so shoot away.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/DSCF0008a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b.../DSCF0013-1.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/DSCF0012a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/DSCF0015a.jpg

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gregb

I might suggest you wire the trunk by inserting a wire of appropriate thickness several inches below the soil to anchor it and wire from the ground up. This will allow you to put some movement into the lower area of the trunk which looks like an archer's bow ready to fire; in other words very contrived. Insert another next to it to wire the lowest branch in the same way. You could get a twin-trunk style going then.

In the meanwhile, might I also suggest you get some books on the subject of bonsai so that you can take them outside with you to refer to while you're working. There is no shortage of how-to books out there for you to choose from.

mike108

If I am not mistaken that is electrical wire well its a good insulater but i havent heard of too many people that use it. You might want to use aluminium wire. Its stronger and much more reusable. And in my opinion you can wire the trunk up to form a formal upright.

FlyBri

Hey Mike - that's a typo, isn't it?

Fly.

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mike108

RedPine

If I were going to wire some real movement into the tree I would first wrap with raffia or similar product to protect the bark and support the fibers allowing for more flex w/o cracking. Then starting the wire anchored in the soil as mentioned above, start coiling right at the base, the wire will need to be pretty stiff to hold the bends and curves, from the pics I would guess copper as thick as a pencil, maybe a tad smaller would do it. I would aim to put some bend into the tree w/o leaving more than 1 inch of straight area in the trunk and branch lines. the 1 inch thing is rarely possible but makes a good goal to just keep in the back of the mind when wiring. Also the lower you can start your first main bend the more convincing the cascade will be, I would want the first hard bend there where the sub trunk starts, nice and low.

Another way I picked up from Grampz is to wrap(he likes coach tape and vet wrap better than raffia), then run 2 copper support wires the long ways of the line on the the underside. Then wrap again before adding your normal coiled bonsai wiring. If dealing with a tuff subject you can also employ guy wires.

Here at home I have braided copper wires to make a support bar that is tied into 2 places on the tree to help hold a curve, most will use rebar for this. Cut that red stuff off of there and get your supplies (raffia and wire)and if need be I can scrounge up some pics and help with the details if you need it. I can see some bending and a slight change in angle at next repot will really help this one out if cascade is want you want.


Here is a popular online article on beginner wire technique to share with you. http://www.gsbf-bonsai.org/daiichibonsaikai/wiring.html

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grifoninc

Thanks guys for all your comments.

Since I live here in Chile , things are very different.
Bonsai as a hobby is very very new , you can count those that practice this art , I would say there are about 30 people here in chile that actually do bonsais.
So for me to find the tools needed is virtually impossible, and when you find them they are so expensive that it is cheaper to buy them from ebay and pay de $20 or $25 mail cost. Oh...and not to mention the bitchiness between Bonsai growers.
Now because things are so expensive one has to improvise , especially with the wirring , copper wire is the only type of wire avaliable that is affordable so that is why I am using electrical wire to help with the styling .

Now since I need thicker wire to bend the trunk more [how much more?] I will go out and search for galvanised wire discarded from construction sites.
It's free and easily gotten.

Thanks again , could you guys comment on my other Juniper I have posted here, give me ideas on how to prune it.
thanks