Raffia

buzzy

Hi. I was wondering if there is a substitute for raffia? Could I use, for example, electrical tape or something similar? Any help would be good as the nurseries don't sell raffia around here.

regards carl

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muddslinger

Hi Carl,
I couldn't find rafia in nurseries in my area either, but I was able to find it in a craft store in the floral section.
Good luck,
Kevin

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Hand Crafted Bonsai Pots by Kevin Thompson

buzzy

thanks for that ill try there aswell,i didnt think to look there

cheers carl

Jay

Buzzy,
I was at a demo this fall where the person used cut up bed sheets in place of Raffia. Then he wrapped old bicycle tires (cut into strips) over it. This was only part of the demo, which was for bending very large branches

Jay

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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

Bart Thomas(deceased)

As I recall, he used the inner tube from the tires. Electrical tape would have done just fine.

The whole idea is to support the bark and keep it attached to the wood. My pajama bottoms would do just as well.

Ron Martin has a nice demo to show the point. He wraps a cigarette in plastic, which allows him to bend it double without tearing the paper.

RonMartin(deceased)

Bart is right just about anything will work. But in this case I personally think that the raffia is best. And it is usually the cheapest thing to use.
Very few garden centers will carry raffia but almost all craft stores will. Especially those that have supplies for silk flower arrangements. A bag of it will cost about the same as that roll of electrical tape but will do many more branches. If I had to guess I use about one bag of the stuff when working on about 30-40 trees.
Raffia is best used after it has been soaked in water for about 10 minutes. This makes it pliable and much easier to use. Less likely to break. Some say that it will shrink as it dries making it hold tighter, but I don't believe that. Never went out of my way to disprove it though. Not too important a point to me.
Raffia and all those other things used work by spreading out the stress of the bending over a larger area. Much in the same way the a plumber bends a pipe without breaking it. Just for giggles I once put a juniper branch in one of those machines that a plumber uses. It bent the branch without breaking it. But decided it wasn't too useful a thing for bonsai ;o)

Jay

Thanks Bart.... of course I was trying to say old bicycle tire tubes... you got to keep me honest or at least from screwing up... thanks
Jay

__________________
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

RonMartin(deceased)

A lot has been said about my cigarette demonstration so I thought I would explain it. Now if I can just get everything posted before any one puts something between my posts ;o)
Take the cellophane off a pack of cigarettes and wrap it snugly around a cigarette

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RonMartin(deceased)

Make sure it is snug. It doesn't have to be skin tight

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