This is my 3rd article regarding bonsai preparation. After pruning, its time to wire the plant. If you are new to bonsai you may be thinking...
Why should I wire a plant?
Well, the basic purpose of wiring is to modify the natural arrangement of the branches to grow and to make our very own signature style. It also keeps the
For most of the plants there are no particular season or time of the year to do the wiring and can be done year long.
How to wire a bonsai plant?
Wiring material:
Most common type of wires are made of copper or aluminium. If you are a beginner, it is advisable to start with the aluminium ones as they are much more easier to work with than the copper wires.
Put a plastic or some kind of fabric around the trunk and the branches to make sure the wire doesn't stuck into the bark.
In some cases, where the trunk is too thick or fragile for bonding, you need to create a loop in the wire and slowly increase or decrease the pressure as the time goes on. This is also called Guy- wiring.
Caution: Wiring should not be very close as it will affect the sap flow and not too wide otherwise it will loose its purpose.
Wiring the Trunk:
Trunk is the main structure of the plant. To start wiring, you need to choose a wire that is at least 1/3rd times longer than the length of the trunk.
The width of the wire depends on the trunk's width and it should be thicker than those that hold the branches. In case the trunk is very thin, use a thiner wire.
Anchor one side of the wire to the soil or at the bottom of the growing pot and then begin to coil the wire at a 45 degree angle around the trunk. Make the curves narrower while you are moving towards the top.
Wiring of branches:
tension of the branches and maintains the direction of their growth.
Primary Branches: While wiring branches, start working outwards from the trunk and avoid overlapping. Try one piece of wire to bend two branches which are near to each other (it is also called double wiring). You can do this to most of the primary branches. For rest of the branches use separate wires.
Secondary branches: Start this only after finishing the primary branches. The procedure will be the same. Secure the wire by coiling it around a primary or a secondary branch.
Words of caution: Leave the top portion of the plants little loose. These are the portion with soft growth.
How long you need to keep the wire?
The wiring is done for the purpose of styling and it is certainly not very good aesthetically. That is why you don't need to keep the plant wired permanently. How long it should be there? Well, it depends entirely on the plant genre and variety.
With the passage of time the trunk and the branches become thicker and eventually the wire begin to bite into the bark. So keep a close eye on that and as soon as you see any sign of this cut the wire right away.
Words of caution: Don't try to unwind the wires for recycling purposes, it might do more harm than good and can damage the plant permanently.
Got any suggestion? Please use the comment box below.
Why should I wire a plant?
Well, the basic purpose of wiring is to modify the natural arrangement of the branches to grow and to make our very own signature style. It also keeps the For most of the plants there are no particular season or time of the year to do the wiring and can be done year long.
How to wire a bonsai plant?
Wiring material:
Most common type of wires are made of copper or aluminium. If you are a beginner, it is advisable to start with the aluminium ones as they are much more easier to work with than the copper wires.
Put a plastic or some kind of fabric around the trunk and the branches to make sure the wire doesn't stuck into the bark.
In some cases, where the trunk is too thick or fragile for bonding, you need to create a loop in the wire and slowly increase or decrease the pressure as the time goes on. This is also called Guy- wiring.
Caution: Wiring should not be very close as it will affect the sap flow and not too wide otherwise it will loose its purpose.
Wiring the Trunk:
Trunk is the main structure of the plant. To start wiring, you need to choose a wire that is at least 1/3rd times longer than the length of the trunk.
The width of the wire depends on the trunk's width and it should be thicker than those that hold the branches. In case the trunk is very thin, use a thiner wire.
Anchor one side of the wire to the soil or at the bottom of the growing pot and then begin to coil the wire at a 45 degree angle around the trunk. Make the curves narrower while you are moving towards the top.
Wiring of branches:
tension of the branches and maintains the direction of their growth.
Primary Branches: While wiring branches, start working outwards from the trunk and avoid overlapping. Try one piece of wire to bend two branches which are near to each other (it is also called double wiring). You can do this to most of the primary branches. For rest of the branches use separate wires.
Secondary branches: Start this only after finishing the primary branches. The procedure will be the same. Secure the wire by coiling it around a primary or a secondary branch.
Words of caution: Leave the top portion of the plants little loose. These are the portion with soft growth.
How long you need to keep the wire?
The wiring is done for the purpose of styling and it is certainly not very good aesthetically. That is why you don't need to keep the plant wired permanently. How long it should be there? Well, it depends entirely on the plant genre and variety.
With the passage of time the trunk and the branches become thicker and eventually the wire begin to bite into the bark. So keep a close eye on that and as soon as you see any sign of this cut the wire right away.
Words of caution: Don't try to unwind the wires for recycling purposes, it might do more harm than good and can damage the plant permanently.
Got any suggestion? Please use the comment box below.
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