My first wiring of a bonsai... Ever!

ArtistWolf

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image.jpeg This project is my biggest prospect in bonsai and I get giddy thinking about what I might have in twenty years time with this JM. Next year I will chop the vertical trunk off and the second, more interesting, trunk that got chopped this year will be my bonsai tree. The wee little branch you see here is my first wiring of any kind. Aside from that, I hope the horrible wound in the foreground will someday heal halfway decently... I messed up and destroyed more bark than I needed to when removing a knob *sigh*. As far as the future main trunk goes, it is already covered in buds too tiny to photograph. Any tips would be greatly appriciated. I have had this tree for nearly a decade.
 
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Josh88

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View attachment 141903 This project is my biggest prospect in bonsai and I get giddy thinking about what I might have in twenty years time with this JM. Next year I will chop the vertical trunk off and the second, more interesting, trunk that got chopped this year will be my bonsai tree. The wee little branch you see here is my first wiring of any kind. Aside from that, I hope the horrible wound in the foreground will someday heal halfway decently... I messed up and destroyed more bark than I needed to when removing a knob *sigh*. As far as the future main trunk goes, it is already covered in buds too tiny to photograph. Any tips would be greatly appriciated. I have had this tree for nearly a decade.
I would recommend watching a video available on craftsy.com made by Colin Lewis on wiring. AdairM suggested it to me when I requested wiring advice and I was very glad that I learned the right way to wire before I developed too many bad habits. It's a free video and makes the hows and whys of wiring very easy to understand. Doing it right will make a huge difference!
 

Paulpash

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?? Works ok for me - what about searching for it in YouTube??
 

CWTurner

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I found it on Dailymotion, whatever that is. Hope I'm not enabling pirates.
Man, Graham is always working in the cold. Most videos you can see his breath. I thought England was more temperate than that.
CW
 

Potawatomi13

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Good possibility for this tree. However 2 things need work: Wiring technique and wiring normally done before growth begins. Timing more critical for conifers however is still better for deciduous;).
 

ConorDash

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I found it on Dailymotion, whatever that is. Hope I'm not enabling pirates.
Man, Graham is always working in the cold. Most videos you can see his breath. I thought England was more temperate than that.
CW

lol it's dreary crappy weather! It's always bloody cold.

Only little quick tips on the wiring, I'm no expert:
There's no need to coil so many loops in the wire. Try to get the wire "snug" around the branch. Not stupidly tight but snug, otherwise it's doing nothing.
Choose the right size wire, they say rule of thumb "1/3 the thickness of the branch".
Anchors. The wire needs a solid anchor where it starts to give it strength to move the branch and hold that movement for weeks or months.
 

M. Frary

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View attachment 141903 This project is my biggest prospect in bonsai and I get giddy thinking about what I might have in twenty years time with this JM. Next year I will chop the vertical trunk off and the second, more interesting, trunk that got chopped this year will be my bonsai tree. The wee little branch you see here is my first wiring of any kind. Aside from that, I hope the horrible wound in the foreground will someday heal halfway decently... I messed up and destroyed more bark than I needed to when removing a knob *sigh*. As far as the future main trunk goes, it is already covered in buds too tiny to photograph. Any tips would be greatly appriciated. I have had this tree for nearly a decade.
Those GSDs in your avatar yours?
 

jeanluc83

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I have found that some videos that are blocked can be downloaded through savefrom.net . All you have to do is right click on the video to copy the address then paste it into the website. It allows you to pick from a couple of different formats you can download the video in.
 

sorce

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Reckon you might should anneal that wire too.....

Sorce
 

ArtistWolf

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Thanks for the advice! I will have to finegle something to anchor it,more else redo. And yes, @M. Frary the female gsd on the left of the picture is mine. The other one is a male, a friend's. Dog training is my life!
 
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