Juniper wiring help!!

B.uneasy

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Here is my young little juniper. I have applied the wires today, and have made major twists. Im worried the tree may end up dying. If you look closely you can tell i actually twisted the trunk. Is there anything i can do to relieve stress on the little guy?
 

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Wires_Guy_wires

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You could cut the wire off. That's the only way to relieve it from the stress.

What I see is that the major bends are not supported by wire or any other protectant like rubber, tape or raffia. This could make the bark snap, and you could possibly lose everything above that snap. Just today I had the same issue, I forgot people told me over and over that there always should be wire on the outside of a bend, and I snapped the branch while forcing it into position. No problemo for a branch, but if it happens to a trunk it's game over for the tree.
I believe I can see some bare wood in the picture, which is a bad sign.
Time will tell.
 

Clicio

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Here is my young little juniper. I have applied the wires today

Your wiring skills are not good at all, and I think this juniper will suffer a lot, even die.
I would take the wires off, learn everything possible about junipers and wiring, and do it properly next season.
 

B.uneasy

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Your wiring skills are not good at all, and I think this juniper will suffer a lot, even die.
I would take the wires off, learn everything possible about junipers and wiring, and do it properly next season.
Well I can't argue with that. I've never wired a small thing like that before. But youve got to admit, rocky mountain junipers werent made with care. So maybe it'll beat the odds
 

n8

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I would recommend removing the wire, practicing on a couple yard plants and giving it another shot after some test runs.
 

B.uneasy

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I would recommend removing the wire, practicing on a couple yard plants and giving it another shot after some test runs.
Fortunately this is a yard plant! I got it from my woods, so if it doesnt work out i have another chance! Im not as worried because the tree's still standing up, so i know its not smart but ima leave everything as is for a month. Thank you all
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Twisting the trunk is not a problem if you do it carefully and at the right time of year. The damage is also far less likely if wire is properly applied. Learn good technique, instead of being sloppy then making excuses for it. There is a right way. Adair points people to a Craftsy video by Colin Lewis which is simple and very informative.

For now, leave this one as it is and when it’s growing strongly again, remove the wire, wait until fall and redo it, properly.
 

B.uneasy

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Twisting the trunk is not a problem if you do it carefully and at the right time of year. The damage is also far less likely if wire is properly applied. Learn good technique, instead of being sloppy then making excuses for it. There is a right way. Adair points people to a Craftsy video by Colin Lewis which is simple and very informative.

For now, leave this one as it is and when it’s growing strongly again, remove the wire, wait until fall and redo it, properly.
Other than the sloppiness of the wire, do you like the shape of everything?
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Other than the sloppiness of the wire, do you like the shape of everything?
No, it’s not to my taste. Trunk movement should be somewhat consistent and have a rhythm/flow from the bottom to the top; tell a story. If you are trying to make this into a finished product at its current size, follow what I already suggested above. If you want to fatten this up, read below.

When I wire trunks like this, I try to get lots of dramatic movement right from the soil line, in 3-dimensions, and then let them grow for a while so that movement really sets in. When trunks thicken, that movement becomes a little more relaxed and less contrived.

The examples below started out the size of yours, about 6 years ago. They were wired once, planted in the ground and allowed to grow mostly unchecked, with the exception of removing wire, and maybe a strike of Shari. This spring, I dug them up, picked a few potential trunk lines, just like you did, and wired more movement into them. Next year, I’ll remove the wire and let them continue to grow and fatten up. If I’m lucky, something will show up that will have some interesting movement and help establish the continuing trunk line. In another 6-8 years, these will be 6” diameter trunks, with twists and turns, and deadwood, hopefully some character, and a trunk that will tell a story. By the way, notice the way the wire is doing it’s job, because it was applied correctly. Twists made in the direction the wire was applied will tighten the wire and secure the branches better. 60-degree angles provide holding power, and allow some room for these twists and bending tha puts the wire in the outside of curves reduces the risk of blowing out a branch at the bend.
0CBA1380-DE95-4348-ADF3-8E7E1A6E8F98.jpeg9F877269-6E92-4E5B-9489-B78A2D42C5AF.jpeg
 

B.uneasy

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No, it’s not to my taste. Trunk movement should be somewhat consistent and have a rhythm/flow from the bottom to the top; tell a story. If you are trying to make this into a finished product at its current size, follow what I already suggested above. If you want to fatten this up, read below.

When I wire trunks like this, I try to get lots of dramatic movement right from the soil line, in 3-dimensions, and then let them grow for a while so that movement really sets in. When trunks thicken, that movement becomes a little more relaxed and less contrived.

The examples below started out the size of yours, about 6 years ago. They were wired once, planted in the ground and allowed to grow mostly unchecked, with the exception of removing wire, and maybe a strike of Shari. This spring, I dug them up, picked a few potential trunk lines, just like you did, and wired more movement into them. Next year, I’ll remove the wire and let them continue to grow and fatten up. If I’m lucky, something will show up that will have some interesting movement and help establish the continuing trunk line. In another 6-8 years, these will be 6” diameter trunks, with twists and turns, and deadwood, hopefully some character, and a trunk that will tell a story. By the way, notice the way the wire is doing it’s job, because it was applied correctly. Twists made in the direction the wire was applied will tighten the wire and secure the branches better. 60-degree angles provide holding power, and allow some room for these twists and bending tha puts the wire in the outside of curves reduces the risk of blowing out a branch at the bend.
View attachment 238739View attachment 238740
Wow man, no matter how many videos I've watched I havent really gotten that much of a connection. I appreciate your help, and I'm gonna take the wire off after the summer. Then I'll put it into a big bucket for a year untouched. The only other option I have is planting it in clay in the ground. Thats the kind of soil we have. I'm gonna keep trying to make movement with this tree, and I'm just amazed you can pull such off in 6 years.
 

sorce

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Wow man, no matter how many videos I've watched I havent really gotten that much of a connection. I appreciate your help, and I'm gonna take the wire off after the summer. Then I'll put it into a big bucket for a year untouched. The only other option I have is planting it in clay in the ground. Thats the kind of soil we have. I'm gonna keep trying to make movement with this tree, and I'm just amazed you can pull such off in 6 years.

Great Response! Seems you Will do well!

Grab more of them yard burgers and twist em up!

But leave more foliage! Leave ALL the foliage!

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce
 

B.uneasy

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Great Response! Seems you Will do well!

Grab more of them yard burgers and twist em up!

But leave more foliage! Leave ALL the foliage!

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce
I took the juniper and layed it down where instead of downwards, the roots and main stem is laying down in the soil. The red indicates what I just explained. I'm hoping that adds some character into my bonsai in the future. What would you say about this? Also some of the bark stripped, so i put wet moss around it hoping it would prevent that part of the tree from dying.
 

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B.uneasy

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So much for...

Best of luck to this little guy. Hopefully you have other trees as well.
I did leave it alone but i noticed a large patch of bark was missing. So all i did was to emsure the plant moisture so it may provide more root growth. That was all I could think of, but when i did that i thiught it would help the shape as well. I didnt do any magor wiring, i just laid it down flat, didnt bend the tree in anyway.
 

B.uneasy

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So much for...

Best of luck to this little guy. Hopefully you have other trees as well.
I mean what do you think? The bark was stripped around the whole circumfrance of that part of the trunk. Dont you think soil and moss may help it? I really appreciate your advice man
 

Dav4

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Dead juniper walking....:cool:. I guess it's ok because it was a foundling but you keep messing with it- most people new to the hobby loves their first tree to death... literally! Your original wiring job might have done the job all by itself, but you continue to mess with it... that little seedling can only take so much. You need to learn patience... do something, then step back and await the results. Personally, I'd get some new trees to play with as I suspect this one is done for... hope I'm wrong.
 

Japonicus

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...The only other option I have is planting it in clay in the ground. Thats the kind of soil we have...
That's really not an issue. Simply dig a hole just deep enough to provide good drainage at the bottom
with a drainage layer placed in the bottom a couple inches deep so the roots don't rest in a bowl of water when it rains several days.
The hole should be wide enough for root spread some too, but not more than 3X the original pot width really.
Where in this world are you? I mean grow zone and if in the US what state?
Raised garden bed works well too, and can be sized properly and evolve.
Another in ground option is to do the hole as above, and plant the plant, in a colander with bonsai soil.
I have to agree with @Dav4. The wiring itself more than likely set the junipers fate in motion.
Autumn is best time to do major wiring/bending.
It should still be green till the stored energy is exhausted. Then when the foliage become prickly feeling and
sticks in your skin, the energy is gone. Been there, know the oh crap feeling.
 

Japonicus

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I got it from my woods...
You know what, this is really a respectable quality, most new to the hobby completely miss out on.
As @sorce said leave ALL the foliage on, and I'll add that when collecting such material, wait till next year
or even a 2nd year, to do aNNything save for keeping it alive ;) Then work the roots wait a year, do some styling
but keep as much interior and lower foliage as possible.
 
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