Do you wire every tree into it's pot/box?

sfhellwig

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I don't even remember the occasion that made me think of this but do you wire in EVERY thing except special items. I have seen the tender collected plant trapezed with wire and chopsticks but what about the rest of it. It's so necessary at initial potting but once established it's just tangling with the roots. And while careful raking will take care of the roots in all of their needs, I just wanted to ask if this is what everyone does. Is it just accepted that nearly all trees are wired in and later cut loose? Do you only do it on the half that need it? Just wondering how the rest of you approach this subject.
 

Rick Moquin

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Wiring the root pad to the pot prevents the tree from moving allowing the roots to grow unhindered. It also anchors the tree to the pot, and hence will grow in the position you placed it in.
 
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As scandalous as it may sound... not always. And frankly if I can get away with temporarily just putting a wire around the outside of the pot to hold it still until it grabs... I'd just as happily do that.

But sure as the world, there is nothing wrong with not doing it if the tree is stable. I'm pretty careful about making sure the soil is well seated around the tree, and I don't tend to completely bare root trees to boot.

I'm such a rebel. ;)
 

JasonG

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Every tree no matter what gets wired into its pot or box. Big trees, tiny trees, established trees, just worked trees....they all get wired into the container in one way or another, no exceptions.

Not doing it is playing with fire.

Jason
 

Redwing

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As scandalous as it may sound... not always. And frankly if I can get away with temporarily just putting a wire around the outside of the pot to hold it still until it grabs... I'd just as happily do that.

But sure as the world, there is nothing wrong with not doing it if the tree is stable. I'm pretty careful about making sure the soil is well seated around the tree, and I don't tend to completely bare root trees to boot.

I'm such a rebel. ;)

Don't confuse rebelliousness with laziness.

-rw
 

irene_b

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As scandalous as it may sound... not always. And frankly if I can get away with temporarily just putting a wire around the outside of the pot to hold it still until it grabs... I'd just as happily do that.

But sure as the world, there is nothing wrong with not doing it if the tree is stable. I'm pretty careful about making sure the soil is well seated around the tree, and I don't tend to completely bare root trees to boot.

I'm such a rebel. ;)
Me either...
 

R_F

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I don't always do it. For me it depends on the way the tree sits in the pot. Usually the smaller the pot the more likely I am to wire it in.
 

rockm

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I used to not wire trees into pots. Prided myself for being able to get trees to stay upright with no assistance.

That was until I had several trees get uprooted by winds and animals--not to mention that unwired trees seemed to re-establish themselves more slowly after repotting than trees that were wired into their pots. I also noticed that those trees that I had not been wiring at repotting hadn't been root pruned adequately by me. The underpruned root pads on them allowed them to stand on their own. I hadn't taken nearly enough off of most of them. So basically, I was being proud of my incompetence :D

I have been wiring everything for eight or nine years now.
 

davetree

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I wire every tree into the pot, how else can you work on them later ? They are sure to move around if you don't, and even a little bit is not good for the tree.
 

sfhellwig

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I expected the consensus to be wiring all plants. Of course there will be special situations every now and then. I have been wiring everything into my pine grow boxes and intend to continue doing so. The stability is an absolute must and I have had enough "accidents" with other potted plants, I don't need it with my trees. Perhaps this spring I will have a "trainee" or two that might get away without. Thanks for the input. One less area to be thinking "what is everyone else doing."
 

mcpesq817

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If you're growing out stock and not doing much work on it, I don't think you necessarily need to wire your trees in unless the root mass isn't stable enough to keep the tree in the pot from wind.

Of course, when you knock that container over, you'll wish you had wired the tree in :D I knocked over a couple of containers where the stock wasn't tied down, and it caused a bit of regret. On the other hand, I knocked over a pot where the tree was tied in, and had no issues.
 

grouper52

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About half the time. People were growing bonsai long before they were using wire on them.
 

rockm

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Wire is only the latest way to secure the plant in the pot. Raffia (a grass) and other types of rope were previously used, as were bamboo skewers and supports.
 

Mike Page

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Secure the tree to the pot, whatever method you use. I use wire, and if necessary, bamboo sticks. I recommend bamboo because it's much more durable than chopsticks. Stability of tree in pot is very important to the tree's health and development.

Mike
 

Rick Moquin

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Wire is only the latest way to secure the plant in the pot. Raffia (a grass) and other types of rope were previously used, as were bamboo skewers and supports.
Ditto! I use all 3 methods depending on the challenge of "wiring" them in.
 

Klytus

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I'm guessing few use rocks and crazy glue,fewer still use hemp twine.

Could classify and clarify.

Hemp-Mythological
Rock and Glue-Commercial
Garden String-Convenient
Wire-Industrial Age
Roots-Naturalistic
Rawhide/Sinew-Aboriginal
Silk-Floristry
Barbed Wire-Post Modern
Gravity pads-Startrek
 
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JasonG

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Every tree no matter what gets wired into its pot or box. Big trees, tiny trees, established trees, just worked trees....they all get wired into the container in one way or another, no exceptions.

Not doing it is playing with fire.

Jason

I take this back....my monster RMJ is not wired into the box. It weighs about 250 lbs and isn't going anywhere if the wind blows or my dog runs into it. With that said, once I started styling it I did guy wire branches to the box. I am potting it this spring and will wire the tree in the pot. That is a once in life time tree, no need to take a dumb risk.

All my other huge trees are secured one way or another.

Jason
 
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Don't confuse rebelliousness with laziness.

-rw


You know me not at all... because I am anything but. When I put a cheeky comment in with something controversial, it just goes to indicate that I am well aware that people will react strongly to it for their own reasons. Those reasons are not mine... and it has nothing to do with laziness.
 
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I know of about 500+ bonsai which are not "wired in" to their pots. Believe me... when they get repotted it's a plus. Nothing to hunt and peck for all tangled into your roots.

Please don't get me wrong and think I am somehow against the practice, as I clearly said, I do it myself... but like so many things in bonsai, there's no such thing as a hard and fast rule around techniques. If someone wants to wire in... that's fabulous... but to say that one always... must... etc... and attempt to put the fear of God into the newer learners... is short sighted. I'm more against holding on to the idea that there is only one way to approach some aspect of this art... because there is. For my part, I get to enjoy them all to whatever degree is appropriate for the tree and the moment.
 
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