Seriously big bend

[BonjourBonsai]

Here's juniper squamata I repotted last year. I'm looking to style it this spring. I want to take the large horizontal branch and bring it back towards vertical and make it the leader. I've never attempted a bend this big before. I imagine raffia and very thick wire are required. If you know of any resources, videos, tutorials on the subject or have any tips or pointers, please share. Thanks.

 

[Adamski77]

there was a video from Bjorn done on a conifer material (might have been fir) with raffia and wire cage... that's what guided me when I was doing some thick branch bending on one of my junipers. Not sure it's available on YouTube... I have subscription to his website.

Some photos from my "operation" if this could be helpful... was an inch thick branch I attempted to bend...

 

[tangledtanuki]

This is a juniper that I bent with the help of my teacher. It was a really thick straight trunk and we hollowed the inside and then placed spines and wet towels before wrapping with raffia. Then applied some heavy duty wire. One of the things we did miss was to wrap the whole thing in electric tape which would have been much better to hold everything together.

 

[Shibui]

Raffia may be traditional but can be difficult to apply and may also leave striations on the bark if left in place as the trunk thickens.
Consider more modern alternatives - PVC electrical tape, vetwrap or strips of bicycle tube do a great job.

I've never attempted a bend this big before. I imagine raffia and very thick wire are required.

There's nothing in the original photos to give scale. Hard to tell how thick the trunk/branch is apart from 'this big' so not really possible to give meaningful advice on whether it needs wrapping or not. Also no real indication of what sort of bend is required - gentle curve(s) or sharp bend(s) Gentle curves are easy but tighter bends may need wrapping to prevent breaks.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Thanks everyone. @Shibui , you are right, I should have included better photos. Hopefully the ones below give a better idea. The branch is about 3/4 inch or 2cms at the point where I would like to bend it. I'm also including a sketch of how I'd like to bend it.

Maybe I should listen to the tree and leave that curve but jin it off.

 

[ZombieNick]

Looks like you could achieve the bend just by splitting the branch down the center, I don't think you'd need to completely hollow it like tangledtanuki's example, but that is definitely an option. Yes, you would need to use raffia or some other wrap to protect the branch, and would need heavy wires to bend it. Build a spine like the others have mentioned to help resist snapping the branch.

 

[Lorax7]

Since the intent is to pull that branch up to make it the new apex, the approach I would take is to anchor a piece of rebar in the pot with it stabilized laterally by one of the larger roots (so it can’t wobble around and lose its anchorage). Then, I’d tie a piece of wire around the rebar up high wherever I wanted to anchor the guy wires so there’s a ring around the rebar that can’t slide downward (I’d leave some of the twisted wire sticking out from this ring). I’d optionally wrap the branch with raffia and wrap with some thick wire to evenly distribute the force along the branch. I’d leave a bit of a gap between the wire and the branch at any locations where I wanted to attach guy wires and thread the guy wires through the gaps so the guy wires pull on the thick wire that’s wrapped around the branch. I would not want to attach guy wires directly to the live branch. The other end would go up to the anchorage point on the rebar. I prefer to use turnbuckles on the guy wires so I can move the branch some, wait a while for the fibers to relax, and come back later to tighten the turnbuckle and move the branch more.

 

[Shibui]

Thanks for the additional photos which show much better what you have and what you plan.
I'd certainly wrap that branch before trying to bend it. I've done some tests that show wrapping is a very effective way of getting more bend without snapping the branch. Any cracks that do develop are held in place and soon heal up.
Looks way too solid to bend just with wire holding the bends so you should consider either a bar as suggested above to hold the new curve in place or splitting the bend area to allow more flexibility. I demonstrated both those techniques at our last club meeting. Both require wrapping to hold everything in place.
In addition bends are easier to make and hold if the area to be bent is also twisted while you bend. The twist distributes the pressure and tension to different fibres in the trunk and you can get more bend more easily more safely.

It has also just occurred to me you are heading into spring now. Bending junipers while they are in a growth flush in spring can damage the bent section leading to death of the bent part. Make bends before spring flush of growth or towards the end of summer through winter.

 

[johng]

It is human nature to think we can change and do anything we want to a tree but it is rare that these big bends every really help the aesthetics of a tree long term. It is much better to work with the material rather than against it.

 

[bwaynef]

It looks like there's a branch in about the position you're trying to move this one into that would only require growing out a bit.

 

[Phucshimpaku]

My pratice with Kishu .

 

[leatherback]

Wrap with raffia. Add black tape. Wire with 2 strains of 5mm aluminium wire and bend in the shape you want.

Do not overthink it. This is neither an extreme bend, nor a thick branch to bend.

It is human nature to think we can change and do anything we want to a tree but it is rare that these big bends every really help the aesthetics of a tree long term. It is much better to work with the material rather than against it.

100% disagree

 

[BonjourBonsai]

heading into spring now

Yes, I hadn't thought of the timing. I guess I will let this one grow over the summer and build up strength. It will also give me some time to plan more thoroughly.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

much better to work with the material rather than against it.

But isn't bending nature for aesthetics the basis of bonsai?

 

[BonjourBonsai]

It looks like there's a branch in about the position you're trying to move this one into that would only require growing out a bit.

Yes but it's coming off the back of the tree. Here are a lot of oddly placed branches on this one. Note the one on the bottom left.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

@Phucshimpaku , those are fine serious bends! How is the tree going so far? Also, what's your location? I'm guessing by the mountains, somewhere in California?

 

[BonjourBonsai]

@leatherback , I appreciate your straightforward approach! Would you advise to wait until late summer / fall to make the move?

 

[leatherback]

Look at @Shibui post. In spring, when full of sap, the risk of bark sliding is real. I cannot trell how far along your tree is into spring, whether is het started to grow or not. Over the last 2 weeks I have made the last big bends on my trees for the season as everything it pushing.

Note: WIth experience comes the ability to do more of these operations yearround. There are gentle ways of bending and potentially murderous ways. When starting out, always best to err on the safe side.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Thanks everyone. @Shibui , you are right, I should have included better photos. Hopefully the ones below give a better idea. The branch is about 3/4 inch or 2cms at the point where I would like to bend it. I'm also including a sketch of how I'd like to bend it.

Maybe I should listen to the tree and leave that curve but jin it off.

Use smaller branch just inside curve of green line, jin/cut off bigger branch beyond it. It will grow thicker in short time without doing major bend.

But isn't bending nature for aesthetics the basis of bonsai?

Not at all is it THE be all/end all of Bonsai. Only one useful technique. Basis of Bonsai to develop tree using several means depending on esthetic design desired. Wiring/bending just one means used.

 

[leatherback]

It looks like there's a branch in about the position you're trying to move this one into that would only require growing out a bit.

this is very true