Ficus Retusa and Japanese Black Pine Wiring question/Problem

mushashi

Hi All,

I have a question about repairing, if possible, a mistake made during wiring a indoor ficus retusa. The wires were apparently left on a bit too long and cut into a couple of branches, etc. Is there anyway to repair the scars short of cutting the branches? I thought I saw someone once with a technique where you level the wiring groove with a knife and cover with a cut paste and let it heal. Any thoughts/suggestions?

Also I have a Japanese black pine that has been in wiring training since September. How long can I safely leave the wire on this very nice tree? I realize pine grow slower than ficus, but don't want to have any problems.

Thanks for your help.......

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bwaynef

Re: fixing the scars on your ficus: I've no idea. I'd imagine cutting the scars off and putting cut paste would only regenerate scars, but possibly different looking scars.

I've read that most pine are wired in the fall and the wire left in place over the winter. The active growth is slowed during that time and the branches still have plenty of time to "set" without the wire biting into them.

Wayne F.

Jerry Meislik

On the Ficus, the best idea is to let the scarred branches grow as wild as possible and do not trim them back. The new growth will help to speed the healing of the scar.
On the Pine, as with any other tree, do not go by the calendar or dates. Watch your tree and remove the wire just as it cuts in. Thats the best and only reliable way to avoid scars.
Jerry

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Jerry Meislik
Whitefish Montana USA
Zone 4-5
http://www.bonsaihunk.us/

mushashi

Thanks for the comments. I was in no way planning to use a calendar method on the pine. I was just speaking in generalities how long to keep the wire on.

On the ficus, I guess I have nothing to lose by letting it grow wild for a bit, but I suspect that the scars will still remain.

Anyone else have any suggestions?

Thanks.......

Jerry, I was just poking around and found out that you wrote the book on ficus bonsai! ? Hmmm I guess you would know. This tree has a really nice shape but a few wiring grooves on the trunk done by someone else and a couple on the 2 branches. It really bugs me to see this on a nice tree, especially since the only indoor bonsai I have are 2 ficus, right now.

Jerry Meislik

I have a Ficus that I got about 15 years ago with wire scars and they are still there. It even has a wire that is completely buried. The tree is fine and I tolerate the scars. Its a lot like real life!
Jerry

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Jerry Meislik
Whitefish Montana USA
Zone 4-5
http://www.bonsaihunk.us/

bonsaikc

On a very young and vigorous pine that you are cultivating for extreme growth, the wires will stay on only a couple of months. My seedlings were wired this spring to allow the wire to cut in and swell the trunks. They all had their wires carefully removed in September, as some were about to heal over the wires. I am in the process of rewiring them now, and this wire will not be allowed to cut in, it is only to continue the shaping process.

On my older pines, the wire can stay on up to a year or more, depending on how quickly the tree is growing, and how carefully I have wired. On a developed or mature pine, a year for wires is not excessive. http://www.bonsaikc.com/seedlings.htm

Jerry is the expert on ficus, I have a few little ones, and the wire scars go away on their own with the bark being slightly more rugged.

With that being said, It's possible that we have gotten carried away with the fear of marking our branches with wire. Of course, if your tree is burying wire in its bark, this can be a big problem, but only if you intend to keep the entire branch. Let's look at proper branch development. For pines, we are going to wire our branch, and pinch and prune to encourage back budding. If the branch is leggy, we will be cutting back to give strength to those buds. So we will be replacing much of the branch.

In developing deciduous trees, the idea is to wire the base of the branch, and then let the wire cut in. This encourages the growth of scar tissue which sets the shape of the branch. When fall pruning comes around, we will cut back close to the trunk, just using the first bend we put in it, and then selecting new buds. Next year we will wire the new growth, without needing to wire the growth that is already set.

So in both instances, the wire marks are either desirable or unimportant. It's the extremes we should watch out for.

Chris.

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Chris Johnston
"She was a critic, and lots fo critics who aren't called to do what they write about grow jealous and mean and small in their disappointment." - Stephen King, Duma Key
Sashi-no-eda.blogspot.com

mushashi

Jerry, you are of course correct, about art imitating life, but on the other hand, that is also the reason we have plastic surgeons! lol!

bonsaikc, thanks for the informative post. Well the ficus branches I am referring to are just beginning to change from green to woody, so maybe over time it will heal. The wires just started cutting in when I realized it, but still left some noticeable grooves. The old scar on the trunk is healed over but you can still see a noticeable circle around the trunk where the wire must have been.

The black pine I am referring to has about a 3" diameter trunk, so it is several years old for sure. I suspect I will be okay leaving the wires on until say, March, but am a little paranoid. On the other hand, I don't want to remove them too early and lose the shape.

I have some really nice trees here, but I am afraid my learning curve won't evolve fast enough to learn all the right things to do with each species, without doing any permanent damage.

Anyway, thanks soooo much for the help. I really appreciate it......

P.S. Jerry. I have an id question for you. One of the ficus I have, has the typical banyan roots, but the trunk shape itself, very closely mimics a piece of ginsing root. Also the bark is very close in appearance to the tiger stripe pictures on your website. Any idea what this is? or is it just a ficus retusa variant?

Jerry Meislik

Can you post a picture of the Ficus with the ginseng root. Its always tough to id Ficus even with a picture.
Jerry

__________________
Jerry Meislik
Whitefish Montana USA
Zone 4-5
http://www.bonsaihunk.us/