The Bonsai Wiring Wiring a tree is an
ancient technique, dating back to the beginning of the century, when
someone realized that some definitive changes could be made to the
structure by means of a wire. This instrument allows bonsaists to shape
the tree as they want, directing the growth of the young branches as
well as modifying the direction of the trunk and the main branches. They
aim at giving to the tree a harmonious disposition of its different parts.
The wire can be used also
in the phase of poor configuration, called aragakč: this first
rough work applies to the growing plants, to give them interesting
characteristics. In big eastern cultivations this first configuration is
put into effect already on the specimens in full earth: they intervene
with formation pruning and wiring of the trunk and the main branches to
obtain some movement. So the tree will enter the bonsai market with
welcome characteristics. If the bonsaists buy a nursery tree or neglected
tree, aragakč will be executed by the boinsaists themselves or by their
masters. Obviously they cannot abruptly modify the direction of the trunk
and the main branches; on the contrary they would risk losing the branches
or the whole tree. They'd better be patient and start gradual
bonsai training. The best material for
intervening on the shape is metallic wire. It can be made in aluminum
or in copper and present sections of different diameters. The wire, both in copper
and in aluminum, can be found on the market with different diameters:
0.5 - 1 - 1.5 - 2 - 2.5 - 3 - 3.5 - 4 - 4.5 - 5. When you start a wiring
operation, you'd better have all useful wire-diameters at your disposal
and all the tools to pull and cut the wire. You will start from the first
low branch and you'll have to complete it before you pass to another one:
you will start from the big branches and go on with the thinner ones,
changing the diameter of the wire. You should always take
into consideration that wire is not good for the tree aspect, so it
must be applied carefully and tactfully. In other words, the wire must be
applied only if it is necessary: if the branch is already in the right
position, it does not need any wiring. You will use wire just on secondary
branches. So the tree will preserve a more natural look. Sometimes you
just need to low a branch or displace it horizontally. You can use rods,
fixing the wire to the branch you want to displace and to the pot edge (if
in plastics or wood) or to another lower branch, to the trunk or to a jin.
A gum-rod or raffia will be useful to protect the bark
portion under stress. You can also anchor the wire to a wire spiral,
applied directly to the branch. The thin wire acting as a rod must
be twice the length long, as you will put it on the branch you want to
move, connecting its extremities with the anchor point. With a hand you
will direct the branch, with the other you will pull the extremities and
twist them round in a spiral. So you will shorten the wire and pull the
branch. Great masters shape the
branch during the application of the wire: it means they have a clear idea
of the final aspect of the stage. Beginners will move the branches after
they have wired them. You must start from main branches, giving them the
right inclination, and then you will continue wiring the secondary and
tertiary branches. The twigs that form the stage must look like little
hands, with their open fingers towards the sky. This will follow the
natural tropism of the foliage and help the absorption of U.V. rays. As you go on placing the
branches, you'd better stop and watch the tree: you will have a
clearer vision of the design you are creating. The distance we work from
give us just a partial vision, often from above, which does not correspond
to the observer's. You will have to wire
your tree every six months or every year, because of its growth.
Obviously the most interested parts will be the youngest fast-growing
ones. The everyday observation of the tree (which must be examined, not
only watched at) will make you realize when you have to remove the wire.
If you wait for too long, the wire will cut the branches: only the parts
free from the wire will grow. The result will be the formation of some
grooves in the bark, where the wire will hide. This must be avoided for
many reasons. The tree will be penalized from the aesthetic point of view,
as the branches will present spiral hollows. The hidden wire will be very
difficult to remove, with strong risks for the branch during the
cutting. Finally a too much-hollowed wire will interrupt the sap vessels,
causing the loss of the branch or of the whole tree. So do not postpone
the wire removal. You'd rather postpone its new application to a
better moment (but do not let too much time pass by!).
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