Bonsai Wiring Mistakes You Don't Want to Make

[@sueb1317]

I was asking myself these same questions this year - Thanks!. Also great comments and advice. My wiring has been minimal so now's the time to learn!

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

It's never too late to practice your skills :)

[@fletcherlewis]

I've wired a Larch (carefully) this Autumn. I'm leaving it over winter , I will feed back results next spring

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Brilliant - make sure you let me know how it responds :)

[@TheBonsaiGarden]

Never wire your tree when you are drunk. Or asleep.

[@BuffaloBonsai]

Well that might explain some of my creative "choices " 😂

[@antiduckable]

Good tip!.. I accidentally ordered a large (and very expensive) solarium when I was drunk a longggg time ago.

[@NoQuarter01]

Also never while cooking or pooping. Just sayin

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

So there are 3 times...I forgot the asleep option :)

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

So true

[@massimiliano.giacometti]

Hello Xav, metals are very good thermal conductors, aluminium and copper being among the best; however trees are in thermal equilibrium with the environment, not generating heat like ourselves, thus not losing energy like we easily would if wearing a "metal cloth"

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Right...that makes sense. It has beeen a long time since my days of physics at school. I love to understand the theory of these things especially when there is so much conflicting data in the hobby.

[@Bonsaicrazy]

Great video xav I’ll do my larch as soon as they are asleep. Mine are still green

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Sounds like a plan to me

[@stevemorgan9687]

Ask xav podcast you know it's needed .videos feel more like a bonsai show lately. loving the up close wiring advice and can't wait for the branch threading thing. Honestly look forward to more

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I fear a podcast would be fun but very little bonsai would get spoken about...you would definitely need your tinfoil hat :)

[@card_collecting]

Love your videos

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thanks for saying that -it is always tough to know what people like most when you are battling agianst a sea of other great creators :)

[@sylviahardy4568]

About 7cms of snow fell on Monday night, so leaving all my plants under their snowy duvets ⛄️ Nice looking Larch 😊

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I agree with you. Most of mine are happily snuggled in snow blankets.

[@Chris-oq6kn]

My take away , i have a bunch of small maybe 5 yr old shimpaku that i planned on wiring this fall and started using copper for my first time and even though copper feels better and holds stronger doesnt mean u can undergauge that kind of wire. Wired the trunk properly and with smaller wraps and still broke the trunk on one of them. I only bought 2 thinner guages 70$ for 2 50ft coils expensive! I wanted thicker gauges for thicker trunks and forget it a 25foot roll is like 60$. Nuts. So yea even though its copper u still cant undergauge just cause it holds better.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I definitely understand the cost implications of this stuff. I have never tried copper though I do know it is best for the pines and juniper material due to its holding properties.

[@Chris-oq6kn]

@XaviersBonsaiRetreat i really liked using it so it was worth a shot but def takes a lilttle more skill. Glad i bought it but u need a thicker wire for trunks even half inch and that size wire is way overpriced especially since its a one and done but i would give the thinner wires a shot

[@gayefanner731]

Hiya Xav, I see you’re spiralling into orbit at last, 6K and rising! Congratulations 🥳 Im not bonsai ing much these days, too busy n preoccupied with my aquatics but Rocky is putting on a fine show of yellow Autumn colour, very rewarding. God bless you medear 🙏✝️. ✌️🇷🇺☮️🇺🇦✌️. 🙋‍♀️🤍🇮🇱✌️

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I am so happy to hear from you Gaye and I'm glad all is good. I'm actually looking forward to inding down for the winter break. It has been a topsy turvy year with cchannel views but I am expremely lucky to have had such a great finsih to the year. God bless :)

[@MeadowViewBonsai]

My take on wiring in late autumn going into winter. Take it how you will. I’ve heard, read, found out that setting trunks/ branches you’re basically crushing the cells cambium layer in the branch and how the tree repair’s itself is by fixing itself and resetting the cells into the shape (hopefully) Firstly what you will do is get the tree moving again trying to get resources in order to get the cells repairing, sometimes breaking it out of dormancy, also you have a very good opportunity to have frost getting in these crushed and damaged cells killing all the cells that have not been repaired by the system, which is the branch killer which people see, the conductivity of wire in winter in a set branch in a healthy tree to me is a superstition as I’ve had loads of wire on trees over winter without losing anything. Like the rest of the advice, it’s all to do with the aftercare, if you wire in this time of year, keep it protected from freezing but not without breaking its dormancy.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

That seems to sit with what I also believe. I did this video deliberately to try and get as many practical viewpoints as possible. It is an interesting aspect of the hobby.

[@TheBonsaiGarden]

@@XaviersBonsaiRetreatmy takeaway from this is not to brutalise your tree 😂😂😂

[@user-OMF]

As a newbie thanks for the thoughts ,may be I try and see 😳

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

The issue generally relates to how quickly temperatures drop as well. It is funny that 7 days after recording this video we got hit by an early snow...so those two trees are now in the cold frame for extra protection. That will come up in Saturday's video :)

[@AlexBraunton]

Interesting Xavier! I did my larch in late winter this year as I got a bit bored ha and it did well

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

No issue with survival in late winter - the issue is related to skill level so you don't knock off viable buds or end up wire scarring because you can't see it to remove it later in the year :)

[@BonsaiForRoman]

Very good explanation, thank you 👍

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

It makes for interesting discussion I think

[@akindofmagick1]

I need the plans for your wire caddy!!

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Unfortunately it was a Christmas Gift so no plans available...thought I don't imagine it is too technical to put together...if you have a saw and someone who knows how to use it :)

[@BuffaloBonsai]

I've noticed that the only time i don't wire anything is winter it just seems the trees are brittle i break alot of branches. And I've come to buy into not leaving wire on maples over the winter. Other trees seem ok. But that's just my experience. Thanks xavier cheers 🥂

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I agree totally - I don't think any of my maples are wired this winter. But I am keen to see if my early bad experience with Larch incorrectly put me off wiring that species in late autumn?

[@oachkatzlsmum]

Best time to watch this video 👍😘 19:04 Downstreamed Start again - like it in a way 😂😘

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thanks Martina. I have hopefully reduced the amount of different fonts in this and future videos. I definitely appreciated that feedback :)

[@oachkatzlsmum]

@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat You did. Good job 👏👍😘

[@TalkingLoon]

Altho metals like aluminum and copper conduct temperatures (heat up/cool down) rather quickly they can only get as cold (or hot) as the matter they are surrounded by. So if your wired tree is sitting in -12c, the wire will be -12c ...buuuuut if your wire is magically colder than the outside temperature then I suggest you get yourself a patent on that thing because I think you just found a way to make some free energy!

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Now that me laugh :)

[@oachkatzlsmum]

Caveat - so fascinated by the term, never heard before, had to replay 😅 6:47 -10C = 14F

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thanks martina - I should have rechecked rather than guess between the two numbers I had in my head :)

[@pauletheridge7594]

Hi Xavier hope you are well some good advice about when to wire and when not to I have read in one of my books I have to be carful how much you bend branches if you wire in late autumn apparently branches are much more brittle as the sap is not flowing and Alberto spruce is a nightmare to wire mostly when you put wire on and leave the wire on till it starts to bite when you remove the wire they mostly return to there shape this happened to one I did left the wire on 12months and when removed it sprung back great video and very informative 🫶

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I agree with you about Spruce - they take years and many wiring attempts before any bedns really hold.

[@Kalohelani2004]

Hi Xavier, would you have a link to that wire box you have on the table ?

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I'm sorry. unfortunately it was a gift from my wife about 5 years ago. I ahve no idea where it came from but I do know that Greenwoods Bonsai Nursery sell them :)

[@joegarland4885]

Using big words there my friend, I often wonder why wire when the tree is going into if not in dormancy, the belief is that the Japanese Larch have a problem with wire getting very cold and the branch dying.. I agree to not wire in winter, but is that what you are doing the wire will still be on through winter so if we get a very cold period-10 or so the same will happen. I see no point in wireing late autumn into early winter, do it in early spring and watch closely that it is not biting in. First snow of winter today, unusual to get it so early but it will be gone by tomorrow, still cold though. All the best my friend.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I am always keen to test what other professionals are doing. Thakfully I have enough spare material that I can afford to try these things out. The reality is that it only takes an early cold snap...like we just had...and you are forced to put the newly wired tree into a bit of cold protection anyway. Did you like my big words :)

[@martinwelters370]

I've heard Peter Chan talking about wires staying on durin winter, he only get them off from Larch. In his experiance they can suffer from the wire, other trees not.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

You may just have reminded me where I picked up this thing about wire and Larch :)

[@oachkatzlsmum]

Actually loads of snow are bending branches in winter in my area. Sometimes they break, but mostly don’t. Do you think the warmer snow helps preventing that crack? Or is it because they’re used to cold winter and bending? Found also out: Winterhardyness is dependent on the amount of pruning done before… 😬😘 Enjoy your day 😊🙋‍♀️

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Not sure about the weight of snow but definitely if the tree has had a lot of leaves to pull in loads of energy prior to dormancy then it should have loads of nice biscuits and cakes to keep it satisfied during the snow :)

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌🙂

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Morning bruce :)

[@brucejeffcott1104]

It should back bud and not worry about a graft. Mine do like crazy all over the trunk.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

That is interesting to hear Bruce. I have never seen any of my larches abckbud on the bare wood of the trunks. It must be something going wrong at my end :)

[@brucejeffcott1104]

​@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat I don't know lol, I get lots of buds on younger and older Tamarack, Siberian, and American Larch. Maybe has something to do with climate as I'm in Alberta Canada. It's -20c right now which is mild. Lol

[@andrewbeattie5245]

Cheers Xavier. You said that you should never wire in mid winter but you didn't give any horticultural reason for this statement? Is it just that as the tree is dormant you won't get any benefits till regrowth in the spring? If you wire after leaf drop i assume you are leaving the wire on all through winter so i don't see why you could/should not wire later in winter.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

The period straight after leaf drop the tree is still redistributing resources and can set the next years dominant buds - there is still vascular growth and hence the opportunity for branches to set in their new place makes any psosible risks worthwhile. The longer you wait the less effect any wire placement will have on setting a branch before spring. By the middle of winter everything is fully dormant so wiring at that time will produce no different results than wiring prior to bud burst. You gain no benefit but can risk serious damage to the branch through tissue damage due to poor technique. The bigger aim of asking this question was to demonsrate you can do both times - but each has disadvantages.

[@derekgillan7314]

Thread grafting larch= 30% success rate. A nice Hawthorn.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I shall let Alex braunton know that. He has had a very succesful graft on a larch this year :)

[@derekgillan7314]

I hope all your grafts work. Same as cuttings, some people get great results, others poor.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

@@derekgillan7314 I have definitely discovered that. each year brings a diffferent seasonal response in my garden :)

[@soberhippie]

For me, caveat sounds a lot like cavity

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I hate dentists...the only thing that makes me curl up in a ball in fear :)

[@maryweber4176]

what is that creaking sound? Do you need a new chair for X-mas? Sorry, I have only watched a couple of minutes so far, just had to ask.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Sorry Mary - I try my hardest to retake scenes where I am fidgeting. Yes...the chair needs replacing but funds need building first.

[@maryweber4176]

@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat Why not leave pictures all over your home of a new chair that you would love to sit in? Kids never know what to buy their parents.