What's the opposite of a Guy Wire?

[W3rk]

Sometimes I have single branches that I want to move upward/re-position, but they don't need to be fully wired. So I will just make various wire contraptions to lift or hold a branch in place. Case in point the lower right branch in the photo below was very droopy/too low. So I just used a wire to lift it.

Sometimes I also have a pair of branches that I just want to move apart some and will make little wire spacers to push them apart. This saves me a ton of time vs. fully wiring. But I've never really seen this so far or heard it discussed, outside of guy wires/turnbuckles.

 

[sorce]

Yup.

Braces Rubberbands and tiny hooks...

That's gonna be my Boxwood wiring set up.

Sorce

 

[Japonicus]

What's the opposite of a Guy Wire?
...a Gal wire?

 

[Adair M]

Well... you moved the whole branch a little. The branches are still as straight as rulers. With traditional spiral wiring, you can put in little curves in addition to “bringing it down” or “moving it left or right”. Branches when they’re extremely young grow straight. Branches in old trees have curves and undulations. Bonsai is all about making young trees look like old trees. Therefore, applying wire, putting in little curves and movements are what makes bonsai an Art!

Learn to wire.

Trying to shortcut the process by using guy wires instead of spiral wiring will produce inferior trees.

I know that’s not what you wanted to hear. Sorry. But if your goal is to make quality bonsai, you need to learn proper technique.

Ignore Sorce. He’s a nice guy and posts a lot, but does he have good trees? I haven’t seen any.

Only take advice from those who have trees that you like and are better at bonsai than you.

 

[W3rk]

Well... you moved the whole branch a little. The branches are still as straight as rulers. With traditional spiral wiring, you can put in little curves in addition to “bringing it down” or “moving it left or right”. Branches when they’re extremely young grow straight. Branches in old trees have curves and undulations. Bonsai is all about making young trees look like old trees. Therefore, applying wire, putting in little curves and movements are what makes bonsai an Art!

Learn to wire.

Trying to shortcut the process by using guy wires instead of spiral wiring will produce inferior trees.

I know that’s not what you wanted to hear. Sorry. But if your goal is to make quality bonsai, you need to learn proper technique.

Ignore Sorce. He’s a nice guy and posts a lot, but does he have good trees? I haven’t seen any.

Only take advice from those who have trees that you like and are better at bonsai than you.

Agreed and understood. Don't conflate what I'm showing with "hey, here's a total alternative to traditional wiring" - that's not my thought. It most definitely is a quick fix. In this case I was short on time before work and had about 5 minutes to spare, which is all it took to do this. Correcting this branch position had been on my radar for a while and I hadn't gotten around to it. It will be better than had I done nothing at all and I'll call it a good ROI.

That said I do have trees/branches with traditional spiral wiring so as to effect more interesting bends and re-positioning. I have a fair to good understanding of the principles (like anchoring/wiring 2 brances at once with the same wire), but I'll be the first to admit that I need more mileage and practice to get better; I am still new at this after all. And I do appreciate the input.

 

[sorce]

Ignore Sorce. He’s a nice guy and posts a lot, but does he have good trees? I haven’t seen any.

Dont be a smoke ass fool.

I assure you you can't get your hands in my box either, but could make it look wonderful with my new idea.

Don't be a fool.

Sorce

 

[sorce]

Why don't we all ride horses and Model T's?

Oh yeah!

Sorce

 

[vedecx]

Its an anti-guy wire, and if is comes into contact with a guy wire, they annihilate each other is a burst of energy...taking your tree with them.

 

[BrianBay9]

If I want to move two branches apart a bit without wiring I just use a forked stick.

 

[Joe Dupre']

I've been doing that for 3-4 years. Works well on newly collected trees with tender ,young, vertical shoots. I put an outward facing hook on one end of the wire and clip the other end into a fine point. The hook goes on the branch, bends it to a more horizontal (mostly) or vertical angle and then the point is propped on the trunk. It gets them going in the right direction until the branches harden off and can be wired normally.

 

[Paulpash]

A 'good' branch on virtually every bonsai has several innate characteristics:

Movement - left, right, up, down. Deciduous trees tend to have a much more phototrophic (upward growing) inclination than conifers.
Taper
Alternate secondary branching that gets smaller in spacing the closer it gets to the end.

Ask yourself if your branch has any of these qualities. Markyscott has a great thread on how to build good deciduous branching - please locate it and dig in - your trees will be better for it.

Using guy wires will only shift the branch in one plane. It's useful when a fully formed branch has risen over time toward the light - don't use them as a shortcut for good technique, ie - grow out, cut back, wire, rinse & repeat. Good deciduous tree branches take time to do well - you simply cannot shortcut the process and get a quality end product.

 

[Japonicus]

Why don't we all ride horses and Model T's?

Oh yeah!

Sorce

I like your trees Sorce
@W3rk your wire has good movement. Must be a gal wire