New found love for shimpaku

october

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Thanks Rob. Any ideas on styling for the top part of the tree? The trunk diatemter is about 2" (larger than it appears in the photo)

You would need to bring down all the branches on the top 1/3 of the tree and remove or jin the rest. Like this.

Rob
 

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MACH5

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Yes! Or... you can also do this.
 

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bonsairxmd

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Ok. I presume I'll need to remove part of the foliage this fall and the rest next year as not to stress it too much at once ?

Thanks for the image ideas. Both are great. Makes me wish I could draw :)
 
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october

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I like Mach's virt. If this was my tree. This is what I might do. Since the design is going to change, I would remove all the wire and raffia and let the tree grow untouched for the next year. A side note, if you are going to use any of the branches for jins, keeping them wired down for the next year, should be enough so that when you jin them, they should hold the shape. However, I don't think they are going to be a major part of the design, so my initial advice of removing all wire and raffia and letting the tree grow freely is probably the best thing.

Next year, you can remove those branches. However leave all the foliage on the the tree and main trunk you will be using. You can wire everything that needs to be wired at that point. However, I think it might be best to just cut off all the branches that you do not need next year. Then let the tree grow untouched for 1 more year. After that, you can wire and style a strong, full tree. It will make for better health and a better chance of survival.

I realize that waiting 2 years before you can style this seems like a bit much. I mean, we have something and we want to work on it. This is what makes bonsai so different and sometimes frustrating. It's not like you buying a canvas and then someone tells you. Ok, in 2 years, you can start painting on it.

Rob
 

bonsairxmd

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I like Mach's virt. If this was my tree. This is what I might do. Since the design is going to change, I would remove all the wire and raffia and let the tree grow untouched for the next year. A side note, if you are going to use any of the branches for jins, keeping them wired down for the next year, should be enough so that when you jin them, they should hold the shape. However, I don't think they are going to be a major part of the design, so my initial advice of removing all wire and raffia and letting the tree grow freely is probably the best thing.

Next year, you can remove those branches. However leave all the foliage on the the tree and main trunk you will be using. You can wire everything that needs to be wired at that point. However, I think it might be best to just cut off all the branches that you do not need next year. Then let the tree grow untouched for 1 more year. After that, you can wire and style a strong, full tree. It will make for better health and a better chance of survival.

I realize that waiting 2 years before you can style this seems like a bit much. I mean, we have something and we want to work on it. This is what makes bonsai so different and sometimes frustrating. It's not like you buying a canvas and then someone tells you. Ok, in 2 years, you can start painting on it.

Rob


Sounds good. I guess my only concern is being able to bend the top branch down that much like in Mach5's image without snapping the branch. It is a failry thick branck and those puppies snap so easy on San Jose.

I gues I'll get to try out my new Kaneshin No 511 wire cutters to remove my crappy wiring job :)
 

MACH5

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Chad if you prepare the branch well with raffia, proper gage copper wire and coiled at the correct 45 degree angle you should be able to bend it all the way down. I would suggest to do the bend progressively over the course of several months if need be until it is shaped and positioned where it needs to be. Lots of visuals and good info also on google/you tube.
 

Adair M

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Generally speaking, yes, Boon's coils lay at about a 45 degree angle across the branch. He sometimes chastises me for not making my coils tight enough when I extend them out to 60 degrees.

If the coils are "too straight", it's easier to snap a branch when bending.

Getting good at wiring takes lots and lots of practice. Inspect your wiring when you're done, or have finished a major section. You may see areas where a loop or two is too loose, or your crossed some wires or you used two thinner wires doubled when a single thicker wire would have been better. Or areas that are triple wired. Study these areas and determine how you could have done it better. Then, remove the wire, and redo it! It should be easier the second time.

Now, when you go on to wire another tree, or even another branch on the same tree, you'll recognize some of the problems you had the first time, and what you did to resolve them. And do a better job the first time on the new section.
 

bonsairxmd

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Wired one of my shimpakus today. Branches actually bent without snapping, my fingers weren't almost bleeding afterward, and it was actually stress relieving to work with. Soooooo much better. :)
 
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