How do you wire a new leader up

[HENDO]

Hi All,

Are there any specific guidelines for wiring a leader up?

I have been instructed to wire my trident maple leader as soon as possible, and also wondering about wiring some of my bald cypress leaders.

The trident maple has 2 shoots at the top (the only real shoots on this chop at this point) so I'm wondering what the best way is to go about it?

The BC leaders are for the ~3-4 chops I have selected for informal upright and ~1-2 of them for flat top. The informal upright ones are a bit confusing because they are an inch or so below the chop - the flat top ones are clearer because they won't necessarily go straight up. Also for a BC with curves do you select a leader on the outside or inside of the last curve?

Just wondering what the best way to do these is?

Thanks in advance!

Trident Maple:




Bald Cypress:

 

[leatherback]

Hm.. Have you considered chopping that rident lower?

 

[bonsaichile]

Why did you chop that trident so high?

 

[HENDO]

Hm.. Have you considered chopping that rident lower?

Yes absolutely I have, I know it is way too tall, I'm just not really sure if i still could, would have to wait another year, etc.

I wish I would have chopped it to at least half the height it is at right now.

 

[HENDO]

Why did you chop that trident so high?

Probably because at the time of dig/chop I really wasn't experienced enough to make good decisions on things like this, and am likely still not

Actually the real reason is at the time I was looking at some of the TM for sale at Brussel's for reference and thought some of the specimen had trunk profiles similar to this. I now realize that is not the case, and that I probably should have used some better examples for reference and done the research...

 

[leatherback]

OK, so it was dg and chopped at the same time, last winter?
THen I would not do anything. I would just let it grow this season and chop back further down next spring.

I prefer to buddy the nebari during development as it will help more side-roots to pop.

 

[bonsaichile]

Probably because at the time of dig/chop I really wasn't experienced enough to make good decisions on things like this, and am likely still not

Actually the real reason is at the time I was looking at some of the TM for sale at Brussel's for reference and thought some of the specimen had trunk profiles similar to this. I now realize that is not the case, and that I probably should have used some better examples for reference and done the research...

Let the tree grow this season. Chopping uses a lot of the tree resources, so you want to get it as strong as possible before doing anothet chop. That way you can maximize its budding

 

[sorce]

It's best to not have to wire it at all.

Sorce

 

[HENDO]

OK, so it was dg and chopped at the same time, last winter?
THen I would not do anything. I would just let it grow this season and chop back further down next spring.

I prefer to buddy the nebari during development as it will help more side-roots to pop.

Yes confirmed the TM was chopped/dug/potted the same day. Good call on the soil I'll add more now. It may look deep in the tub now but I actually have the tree screwed to wood in there now.

 

[HENDO]

Let the tree grow this season. Chopping uses a lot of the tree resources, so you want to get it as strong as possible before doing anothet chop. That way you can maximize its budding

Yes confirmed I will leave the trident it as-is, it has had a rough year already.

How about the leader wiring-up in general, any guidelines for this? I will be needing to wire the Bald Cypress leaders eventually here I think, and just wondering what the best practice is for this? I see a lot of guides for chopping and some for leader selection, but nothing on really getting the leader wired up to have it in the proper position.

 

[bonsaichile]

Just wire it up

 

[Lazylightningny]

I would let it grow wild this year, maybe even 2 years. Let every leaf grow so it can gather as much energy as it can, and grow some roots also before you chop again. It's a nice trunk, I'd hate to see you lose the tree.

 

[HENDO]

Just wire it up

How about for the Bald Cypress for when I go ahead and wire those leaders, is it best to do an extreme bend of sorts and put it up as tight to the trunk as possible? Perhaps even wrap around the trunk to keep it tight?

Sorry I may be overthinking this, it's just that I haven't been able to find any nice close ups of how people wire their leaders up and make them nice and "flush" with the existing trunk line.

Here is an artist's view of what I'm thinking of, leader wire I'm blue and wrap in black:

 

[bonsaichile]

Just the blue. The black one is unnecessary if you use a wire thick enough. If that is your new leader, your trunk chop was too high.

 

[Shibui]

You can use a number of method to wire up new leaders.
1. Just wire as normal and bend the shoot into position.
2. Strap the new shoot to the old trunk. Use wire, string or anything. I've started to use zip ties. Easy to use and strong but make sure to cut them off before they leave marks. Note that very young shoots like this will be set in just a couple of weeks so don't need to leave wires or ties on for the whole season.
The remains of the trunk above the new shoot will need to be cut down on an angle when the new leader has gained enough strength. I've found it is best to let the new leader get quite strong before making the final cut as sometimes new shoots in close proximity to a trunk reduction can die off.

I agree with not bothering with the shoots on the maple this time. Just let it grow to regain strength and get roots going and cut to size next winter then use the resulting shoots after that. It is not really a lost year. The growth this year is still valuable.
Also note that you may not need to wire shoots vertical. The last photo shows the trunk on a slight angle. That would be my choice of angle for the trunk and the new leader would grow at an angle from that rather like the current shoots.