Dead limb on juniper nana

[One First Matter All]

Hi all,

My oldest bonsai, a juniper nana, has done great this summer--with one exception. Notice the limb to the left in the photos. It's dry/dying/dead. It happened rather quickly over the past two weeks. I checked for insects. I found some spider webs extending from this plant to a neighboring plant, but, from what I can tell, it's a standard spider web, not the fine webbing indicative of spider mites. I see no other evidence of insect activity. What gives?

 

[brentwood]

Something maybe happened to it when you wired it? Maybe the bark separated, or you cut off circulation to it - maybe just wrong time if year. I am just guessing by the work that was done and localized issue.
B

 

[leatherback]

omething maybe happened to it when you wired it?

Yup, my immediate thought too.

 

[Potawatomi13]

If not broken possibly could use for Jin? Big plenty left to work with.

 

[Shibui]

When I see wire and a dead juniper branch I also become suspicious. When was it wired? Death can take a few weeks after wiring damage. look for signs of trauma along the branch. May need to scrape off some bark to find the real reason but it is dead so that won't cause further problems and may reveal some answers.
Might actually be a good thing. The tree appears to be cascade - on the opposite side. It does not need long branches growing this side opposite the cascade?

 

[One First Matter All]

I think you all have figured it out. I remembered, after posting, that I rewired this lil guy about three weeks ago and noticed the branch start to fade about two weeks ago. I just checked the underside the branch and noticed a break in the cambial layer--I'm guessing that's the culprit.

I had considered turning it into a jin before, but figured I would let the whole plant grow before making a decision. Well, I guess that decision has been made for me now!

Thanks, everyone.

 

[Adair M]

Ah, you figured it out! Wiring juniper during the summer is risky because the bark and cambium is filled with water, and not very tightly attached to the heartwood. Therefore, it’s easily damaged. Summer is a great time for creating Jin and shari since it’s easy to remove the bark and cambium.

wire is better applied during late fall when the cambium and heartwood are tightly attached. And it’s very difficult to create Jin and shari during the winter.

 

[One First Matter All]

Ah, you figured it out! Wiring juniper during the summer is risky because the bark and cambium is filled with water, and not very tightly attached to the heartwood. Therefore, it’s easily damaged. Summer is a great time for creating Jin and shari since it’s easy to remove the bark and cambium.

wire is better applied during late fall when the cambium and heartwood are tightly attached. And it’s very difficult to create Jin and shari during the winter.

Thanks for that information. What happens, though, if the old wire is cutting into the bark? I wired the tree last spring, but, by late July, the wire had already started chewing into the limbs. Thoughts?

 

[leatherback]

Thanks for that information. What happens, though, if the old wire is cutting into the bark? I wired the tree last spring, but, by late July, the wire had already started chewing into the limbs. Thoughts?

How much biting?
As long as half of the wire is out, you are normally OK with rougher bark species such as juniper, naturlly I am more conservative with thick wire..
Pics?

 

[One First Matter All]

How much biting?
As long as half of the wire is out, you are normally OK with rougher bark species such as juniper, naturlly I am more conservative with thick wire..
Pics?

I wasn't so much concerned about the old wire doing damage to the tree so much as the aesthetic issue. So, in an effort to save the appearance of the bark, I chose to rewire the tree about three weeks ago. Alas, probably not a great idea--although, except for the dead limb, everything else looks great!

 

[leatherback]

old wire doing damage to the tree so much as the aesthetic issue.

as said.. Up to half of the wire in the bark is something that disappears fairly fast normally on junipers. For thick wire maybe a bit more conservative.

 

[Adair M]

If wire is cutting in, remove it. The best way is to unspin the wire, NOT cutting it into chunks. Especially if it has significantly cut in. Unwinding wire allows the wire to be lifted straight up out of the groove. This does the minimal damage.

cutting it in chunks, however, is very damaging. To be able to cut thru the wire, part of the wire is below the surface. So, to cut it, the cutters have to first cut thru the bark and cambium. And then, if the wire cutters are not perfectly perpendicular to the wire, as the cut is made, the wire will twist, creating even more damage!

to unspin the wire, use pliers to grab the end of the wire, and with your other hand hold the branch and wire one turn back. Unspin the wire one turn with the pliers. The ”other” hand Moves back one turn, then unspin. Repeat until you reach the “anchor” point. Then find the other end, and repeat the process. When the wire is loose, it can be removed.

sometimes, on long wires, I will cut them in half to be able to extract the used wire from the tree. But I’m usually able to get them out whole.

 

[One First Matter All]

Thanks, all. No one wants to be a cautionary tale, but I appreciate the helpful advice/feedback.