Ficus - "Get Wired"

I finally made it to one of Bonsai West's "Get Wired" seminars. The basics are: show up unannounced, pay $20, do anything you want to your bonsai with the help of an expert.

I knew going into it that this would be a good experience even if I could only use their tools. They had all sorts of shears, knob cutters, and other spherical, concave cutters. They also had tubs of soil and about 6 different gauges of wire. To top this off, the staff checked in with me to ask about my goals for the day and offer some advice.

I brought both of my trees because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I talked about how the plum went through a difficult time (my failure to water it adequately) and lost a lot of its inner foliage. The suggestion was to prune the outter leaves religiously until the tree produces buds lower on the branches. Upon looking at my fig tree, wiring immediately came up. It was exciting because he suggested pulling the branches apart just like I had started doing. However, he explained that using string or rope doesn't always do the trick because the entire branch bends and then flexes back. Wiring on the other hand allows you to bend a specific location of the branch that will eventually become permanent.

He began by demonstrating how to wire a tree. Start by planning how you will wire the bonsai. Obviously you should have some idea of how you want to shape your tree or you wouldn't be wiring it. We talked about my goal of making a dome type canopy with a crescent moon shape when looking from the top. Since my bonsai is currently rounded, this required wiring out branches to open up the inside of the tree. He used one piece of wire to wrap around two branches.

The instruction for wiring is as follows:
1) Always plan out where your wiring is going to go.
2) Make sure the wire is anchored well.
3) Angle the wire at about 45 degrees for maximum strength.
4) Don't use the branch to bend the wire. Bend it first and then position it on the limb.
5) Only bend the wire, do not bend the branch.

My wiring job wasn't perfect. There were many points where the wire was too loose around the branch. The spacing of my coils also varied a bit, especially toward the end of a limb. Overall, practice makes perfect and this was my first attempt.

I also learned that I've been pruning incorrectly. In the past, I would prune to the final location that I desired. Unfortunately, this does not take into account that there will be some dying back. The proper way to prune is to make a rough cut away from the final location. As this severed limb dies, the branch will swell by the previous joint. Make the final cut above the swelling for best results. There are several examples of exposed dead wood on my fig tree that was caused by my faulty pruning. This technique works for all size branches. We cut the apex (top-most point on the tree) of my fig to make it look better, but the final cut and healing will have to wait.

Finally, I discussed my attempts at Yamadori (bonsai from the wild). I told him about the shrub I excavated from the front of my house. He told me that this is the perfect time of year and that leaving it in a big pot was a good move. I can apply some pruning to shape if desired, but it should remain in the large pot for at least one year before heavy root pruning. I also mentioned my desire to convert my parent's over sized Daphne into a bonsai. This shrub would be perfect due to its large trunk size and Jin/Shari (deadwood that remains part of the bonsai). Unfortunately, I couldn't remember the species while I was at Bonsai West, so more to come on this.

Pictures coming soon.

Thanks for reading.