Wiring Contact With Branch

Alicia

Hi I have been reading a lot and see two things that confuse me about how to apply wire. I have read that you should be able to see daylight between the branch and the wire. I have also read that the wire should not be bent around the branch but gently placed against the branch.

My confusion is this if there is daylight then the wire isn't actually touching the branch.

Is it that the wire is applied "prebend" with daylight showing but once you bend the branch the wire is placed in contact with the branch?

Or is the "daylight" in the loops suppose to be only at top and bottom as a bit of slack to allow for growth yet still contact enough(in the rest of the loop) to support the bend? (boy that sentence is hard to read )

Thanks for any insight.
BTW I have Bonsai Tech. Vo. 1, and have sean the treebay.com tutorial (which is quite cool) and read other books but none have clearly explained this minor detail.

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TreeBay

Just make sure the wire doesn't crush the bark, or scarring can occur. Particularly thin-barked trees (maple & azalea, etc) are susceptible. Sometimes wire is deliberately applied tightly to induce swelling & scarring in pines, or to create a twisted trunk appearance, but this is unusual.

The note about seeing light, or having a paper's thickness of space beneath the coil is intended to suggest that the wire isn't bent against the trunk, but layed on. There will be points of contact as the branch is bent. As an advanced technique, hen wiring thin-barked trees, the wire can be protected by wrapping with a thin layer of florist's tape as a cushion. This provides some additional time before the wire begins to girdle the branch.

Beginning with aluminum wire and branches cut from the garden will be helpful, as opposed to practicing on bonsai from the start. The direction, wire size and placement ultimately need to take into account the intended direction of the future training, and the depth of the reqired bend. You may find it easier to use a few smaller diameter wires than one twice as big.

Feel free to ask any follow-up questions.

Regards,

Matt

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DavidJinPA

It's really not that hard. Your wire can come in contact with the branches, but must not be so tight that it constricts the flow of sap. You must also keep a close eye on growth so the branch doen't grow too fast, and becomes damaged by the wires constriction. Watch out that you don't damage any buds while applying too. It's pretty much a common sense issue. If your are thinking of wiring any of your outside trees, I highly recommend you wait until the early spring. Outside trees are very brittle right now, and the branches will become much more (safely) bendable come spring. Wire is a great conductor of cold too. Brrrrrr.
Dave J.

FredL

Alicia, all of the wiring I've seen or done, the wire is in contact with the branch or trunk. It has to be in order for it to be used to bend or shape the branch that is being wired. The daylight comment is totally new to me. You do have to be very observent once the wiring is in place to be sure not to scar the branch that has been wired.

Wiring is pretty easy to understand once you've seen somebody do it. That's not to say that it doesn't take practice in order to get good at it; it does. But it's 100% easier to understand once you've seen it done. Once you get the basic ideas, John Naka's book explains just about every fine point I'm aware of.

Best of luck, Fred

Alicia

Okay that makes perfect sence. I think I will print these posts out to keep on hand . I am working with all thin barked deciduous so the raffia/ florist tape will be helpful.

Just for the sake of clarity I am not intending to do this right now. I am just reading a lot to make sure I understand the process when the time comes.

Thanks so much!
Alicia

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cheese.

Mittar

Ok, I had previously heard that you can wire any time and in fact winter is a good time to wire because you can more clearly see the shape of the branches and bend them without worrying about destroying leaves.

Any comments from you experienced folks out there? I was also under the assumption that it's not the branches that need cold protection, but the roots. If that were so, it wouldn't matter if the wire was a good conductor of cold/heat, which it obviously is.

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Jay

Hi, First, I am not 'that' experienced.

I have read that the problem with the winter wire is not the cold transfer. The metal will not harm the tree or cause there to be cold damage. What can occur is that you are bending limbs that may be frozen and that you could damage the cambium inside by over flexing or reflexing the limb. Now that I've said this, will some of the more advanced members come in and verify my beliefs.

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Mittar

That does make sense Jay. What I was thinking is that we're having a very mild winter this year. It sometimes gets into the 60s during the day.

I was thinking of wiring on a warm weekend morning so that there wouldn't be any freezing cambium to break.

thoughts?

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Knees in the breeze.

Jay

My first thought is.... "we're having a very mild winter this year??" isn't it amazing, it depends on where you are! Here in the northeast we are getting a good old fashion winter, two good snowstorms and a couple of dustings. The temps were for a while down in the teens.... but we're talking about you. In New Mexico it is warmer as you said...mid-sixties..... if no one else sees a problem I would say it is a fine time for you to wire!

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A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing