Bonsai Wiring Basics

Wrapping aluminum or copper wires around the trunk or branches of bonsai trees in order to give them the intended silhouette is known as wiring. Through wrapping the branches and trunk with a length of wire in just the right thickness, the basic style of bonsai is created. There is no necessity for wrapping if you want your bonsai to grow in the formal upright style, however the cascade needs thorough wiring for a period of a few months or longer.

You should be very careful when you’re applying wire to the trunk or branches of a bonsai tree due to the stress it causes. Doing it the wrong way can mean, if worse comes to worst, a dead tree, or more often a cracked branch. You can also wrap it too forcefully or even at the wrong time of year. This will lead to damage from scarring that could take a long time to heal, or it could even kill the tree.

Before you tackle your actual tree, practice with a simple wooden pole or small tree branch. You’ll get experience holding the branch while concurrently wrapping from doing this. When you sense that you’ve gotten the entire process mastered through your practice sessions, and you aren’t moving anything that you shouldn’t be, then you can try the same thing with the bonsai tree.

The first thing that you must do is choose which wire will work best. Copper and aluminum are the two favorite options, although copper is believed to be more attractive during the extended training period. Because steel can in fact be poisonous to a bonsai tree, you should avoid this kind of wire at all costs, and stick solely to annealed copper. Beginners find it easier to utilize aluminum since it isn’t as difficult to bend. Although copper is stiffer, it may scar the tree if it is not applied correctly. Using wire that is one third as thick as the branch it’s going to wrap is a basic guideline with which to begin.

In order for the wire to be able to shape the tree, you must randomly apply small stresses throughout the length of the trunk or branch. Therefore the wire needs to be stronger as compared with the tree trunk or branch; if not, the wire will bend and not the tree.

To develop the agility required to wire a bonsai tree you ought to practice wrapping on a tree branch of similar species. You should try out different wires on your practice branch to see the results before proceeding to the actual tree that you want to train. A variety of widths will be necessary in order to wire the whole tree so try working with all of them in advance.

Wiring a bonsai is a skill that requires a lot of patience in order to master. It can be done by any focused practitioner, though, and the time and attention needed will pay off.

The cultivation of bonsai trees has been an Asian tradition for centuries, and is now enjoying popularity in western society as well. It’s important to learn some bonsai basics so you can watch your tree flourish. Check out Bonsai Trees for Beginners to get an introduction to this fascinating art.