Is it possible???

[Trimaptim]

It's a simple question for a newb like me to ask, with hopefully a equally simple answer. Can I take this starter literati black pine and bend it into this? It's about the diameter of a nickel. I wonder if raffia wrapping and a lot of wire would be enough and ok for this tree. Thanks in advance!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

That’s how it’s done. Wait till fall, use copper wire.

 

[River's Edge]

It's a simple question for a newb like me to ask, with hopefully a equally simple answer. Can I take this starter literati black pine and bend it into this? It's about the diameter of a nickel. I wonder if raffia wrapping and a lot of wire would be enough and ok for this tree. Thanks in advance!

Seeing as you are in Florida, maybe wait until Christmas

 

[Vance Wood]

Black Pines are very flexible but make sure you wrap the trunk with raffia. You will have to wrap the wire in a clock wise direction so make sure the raffia is wrapped in the same direction. Remember with coper wire once you bend it in one direction it becomes much more difficult to bend in another. Good luck. You being a Newbie it might be easier to use aluminum wire, it does not have the fussy only bend once problem that coper does, and if you make a mistake correcting the wire will be much easier. The bonsai purist uses coper though in my 60 years experience I have found there is little advantage to its use over aluminum.

 

[Trimaptim]

Thank you all for the advice. I've used copper wire for other trees and like it's holding power, but I've also read in multiple places that copper can stunt growth of plants. So I've tried to use aluminum mostly. Have any of you read about that?

 

[River's Edge]

Thank you all for the advice. I've used copper wire for other trees and like it's holding power, but I've also read in multiple places that copper can stunt growth of plants. So I've tried to use aluminum mostly. Have any of you read about that?

Aluminum and Copper. Two different tools , separate uses in the right hands! One has better holding power, the other a softer impact for deciduous and easily marked species of conifers. With adaptation one can use either.
Copper can be more expensive and takes more skill to apply properly, less forgiving to changing ones mind.
As for killing the tree, perhaps you are thinking of copper in the shape and weight of an axe, it is less likely that aluminum will kill the tree if in the shape and weight of an axe. Way more effort required I would think! But then that is the way it works with wire as well, way more effort with aluminum ( thicker wire ) for. the same effect.