So I dug up a privet from my yard last year and put it in a wooden box to recover. It did great, and now I’d like to put a little movement into the young branches before they are too thick to bend.
Young branches on thick trunk
I will only want to keep one of the branches emerging from this spot on the trunk. It’s very early in the design and growing process so I can’t necessarily choose which one is better, AND to anchor one of these to another branch with wire would require wrapping all the way around that thick trunk, which could risk scaring on the trunk.
Same branches, from above, after wiring
So, don’t make that choice now. Wire these two branches with one wire and put movement into both. No need to wrap all the way around the trunk, and I can decide which branch to keep later on.
Just a little hack.
Ready for spring growth.
WARNING: This works here because of the stiffness of these privet branches. In another situation or with another species, extreme care may be needed to wire both branches without causing damage to one or both.
I’m proud to say I am making progress in my goal to improve the quality of the bonsai in my collection. I have spent way too many years playing with SIPs (sticks-in-pots)! But as my trees improve, I am discovering one of the down sides — one tree can involve LOTS of wire!
Vicary privet shown in Spring 2021
This privet is a good example. Since it is relatively early in its styling and development, a nearly full wiring job was necessary this spring. I was able to apply the wire with all of last year’s leaves removed — in winter image as it were — but removing the wire was a far more delicate task that required great care not to damage the leaves that now cover the tree.
An interior shot midway through wire removal. There’s lots of wire in there!
Removing so much wire really gave me some time to reflect on this as a bonsai practice. I was able to think about what I have been taught, what my own habits are, and where those two don’t necessarily line up.
So how are we supposed to remove wire from bonsai?! (And how do I do it?) The shortest version of the story is this: The experts say you should cut the wire off, but I tend to unwind in many cases, but not all. Which I choose is based on the safest approach for the tree.
When the wire is particularly thick, I usually cut it. Using a good pair of bonsai wire cutters with a blunt tip to cut once every rotation allows you to remove the wire in pieces without the force of the thick wire pressing in precarious ways against the bark and causing damage. Trying to cut thin wire, however, is more risky.
Cutting tiny wire may be a bad idea so I usually unwind.
Thin wire is used on thin branches. Cutting thin wire would involve a lot of very close encounters between a cutting tool and a thin branch. In my opinion, the risk of cutting a branch is too great, so I unwind it. But this also needs to be done carefully.
To unwind, I find the end of a wire as a place to start. If necessary, I use jin pliers to grab hold of the tip of the wire and begin pulling it away from the branch. I will sometimes continue to hold the tip with the pliers for a few rotations, but other times I get it started and then guide the unwinding with my finger tips.
Beware the treacherous wire hooks!
Either way, I am always very careful to keep hold of that last bend at the end of the wire. The sharp tip, plus a hook shape makes for a very effective leaf tearing tool. So keep hold of it to prevent that hook from being pulled through the leaves you are trying to protect.
The wire starts to pile up.
The most effective process I have found for unwinding may seem obvious to some, but let me briefly explain it anyway. Unwind it the reverse of how you put it on. Find one end. Unwind it back to the branch intersection where the wire turns onto another branch, and stop. Then find the other end of the same wire and unwind until the first half comes free. Support the branch you are working on as you go, similar to the way you support it as you apply wire.
Once the wire is free of the branches, carefully remove it from the interior of the tree making sure the sharp hook at the back end doesn’t catch leaves on the way through.
There are, of course, times when it’s not so easy. When branches get a bit too dense, you may need to unwind a bit, then cut a part of the wire off to continue without having to weave and thread your way out.
Unwinding wire (at least in the case of aluminum) does have the benefit of being able to reuse the wire, but don’t become so obsessed with this that you make a decision that damages your tree.
This is the corner of my bench where I straighten wire, a topic for another time.
If you decide to reuse, I recommend straightening it first, but that’s a topic for a different post.
Satsuki azaleas are named for when they bloom. They are known for blooming in May, the fifth month. Satsuki means “fifth.”
Azalea before work begins
This azalea decided not to bloom until June. And the blooms you see represent only about 50% of the flower buds. The others hadn’t opened yet when I decided to start work on this tree anyway. The first step was to remove all of the flowers and unopened flower buds.
Removed flowers at various stages of bloom
Once that was done the biggest task was to prune down to just two lateral branches of the whorl of branches (often 5) that grow from the base of each flower. It seemed easiest to show you this in a video. Check it out at on YouTube.
Azalea after pruning
A little wire seemed in order as well, and we are done for this season. I will let the tree grow and set buds for next year, and at most I will remove unwanted suckers or branches growing in the wrong direction.
This tree is just in its third season since initial styling and I’m happy with how it is progressing.
This privet was a landscape plant on my property until I removed it from the garden in 2015. Since then I have gradually selected from and reduced nine trunks to three, and reduced the root system to fit in an appropriately sized pot — if not a refined looking one.
Vicary privet, March 2021
Allowed to grow freely for most of last season, this (above) is how it looked in early March, still holing last year’s leaves. The dark green and sometimes purple cast of the leaves is it’s winter color. In spring the leaves are a bright yellow-green which is why I suspect this is a Vicary golden privet, Ligustrum x vicaryi.
Purple color of winter leaves.
The first step of many this spring was to remove the old leaves.
Leave removed.
With leaves removed, I could see what I was working with and apply wire without interference. I wired out most of the branches and set them into a rough placement before repotting.
After building strength last season, dense roots had slowed percolation, so a bit of root pruning and some fresh soil — two parts akadama to one part lava rock and one part pumice — set it up for continued growth and vigor. For now, it is back into the same unrefined pot until I can find or make a better one.
Roughly wired and roots pruned, ready to go back in a pot with fresh soil.
Once secured in the pot, I refined the branch placement a bit and used a couple of guy wires to set the design.
Repotted and wired, March 2021
Spring growth pushed shortly after, and below is what it looked like by the beginning of May. (Don’t mind the pink ribbon. This is just something I use to mark those trees that should be protected from frost if cold temperatures are forecast. I mark all trees that have been repotted this way until the chance of freezing temperatures has passed.)
Spring growth by early May
Many shoots had extended to 8 or 10 leaves marking a good time for spring pruning. Some were even developing flower buds, but flowers are not important for the tree at this developmental stage, so they were removed with pruning.
Flower buds developing at the tips of spring growth
I reduced strong shoots to just 2 or three leaves, and left weak shoots or branches that need to grow out or thicken (like the bottom branch on the left) with more.
I plan to stay on top of the growth, moving forward, to promote ramification and continue to fill in parts of the silhouette that need it.
That was a lot of work on one tree in just a couple of months, but it is on track to continue developing into a nice bonsai.
I purchased this Satsuki azalea from a local grower last summer. There seems to be a bit of uncertainty regarding the cultivar. Is it Row Koku or Kow Koku?
Have you ever taken a bonsai to a club meeting or a workshop just to get everyone’s unsolicited advice about how you should style it? We have an often repeated joke in our local club that if you ask ten different people you’ll get twelve different answers. That’s especially true when you have an unkempt tree that is in desperate need of styling. And apparently also true if you don’t even ask.
I am super excited about the development of a beech I collected and shared with you two years ago. You can read about that, and see photos from the time of collection here. For a quicker reminder, here’s a photo from autumn 2018, just a half a year after being collected.
This summer I decided to join a study group set to meet with bonsai artist Sergio Cuan multiple times per year. We do our best to bring at least some trees back each time to make progress in their development with consistent support from the study group artist.
I am going to talk about some bad words… the F word and the B word. That’s right my bonsai friends, I want to talk about Ficus benjamina.
Ficus benjamina as displayed, spring 2019
F. Benjamina is a Ficus variety that gets little respect in the bonsai world, and I get why. The leaves are big and the internodes are long. It’s not an easy species, but I’m willing to bet there are a whole lot of enthusiasts who have one. Maybe it was an early purchase before they knew better, a gift from a well- meaning friend, or a survivor from a house plant experiment. Owning one is not a crime, so let me share mine with you.
This Benji has been in my collection since 1997 by my best figurin’. I started in bonsai in 1996, so whatever its origins, I have cared for this tree for far too long to consider discarding it now. (And please don’t judge me for not getting it further along in the twenty plus years since. Remember, I was just wingin’ it for most of that time.)
It wasn’t in horrible shape after the winter months inside, so I decided to show it this spring. At top is how it appeared in the NVBS Spring Show.
Below is how it looked this morning. Getting a bit bushy.
Ficus benjamina before work
It has been enjoying the summer heat and pushing new growth. So, of course, I decided to cut all the leaves off. Well, all but a couple on the end of a branch that needs to thicken up. Leaving those will give that branch a head start on the rest of the tree.
After defoliation, before wiring
As I clipped each leaf, I also removed any growth beyond the first two leaves on new extension growth. With some luck, I will get two new branches on each of these tips (one from the base of each leaf) and continue to improve the ramification.
I am happy to report that this maturing tree in this small pot is maintaining fairly short internodes – relatively speaking. Many of these were just a half inch or so. Not bad for a Benji.
After this pruning, you can see that the shape is still reasonably controlled, but the branches have crept up from where they were last wired. To avoid the potential for wire scarring, I decided to make a tie down ring and use guy wires on most of the major branches. (Note the ring of wire with loops under the lip of the pot, and the rubber tubing wrapped over the tops of several branches.)
After wiring
Some additional wiring was required on some smaller branches, as well, to get everything back in order. I should see new leaves on this tree over the next couple of weeks.
This will never be a world class Ficus bonsai. There are many varieties that do better, but this little Benji has been there through my bonsai journey, and I don’t intend to stop working with it.
If you have a Benji too, I’d love to see it. No judgement here!
This crepe myrtle is very early in its development, and I need to bring some branches down along with a little mid summer trimming. Crepe myrtle has such smooth delicate bark though, and I hate the idea of wire marks on the branches.
Fortunately, this ceramic training pot is just right for a tie down ring. A long piece of wire with a few twisted loops can be secured just below the lip of the pot Allowing me to use guy wires with plastic tubing to protect the bark.
The ring is prepped – better to make more twists that you think you will need!
I positioned the tie down points in the places where I thought I would need them and secured the ring with a twist. Since this pot is round, it was easy to rotate the ring to adjust the position of the tie down points slightly. The same method could be used with just about any pot with a lip, but in the case of a rectangular pot, for example, adjusting the position would be more cumbersome.
I ran each guy wire through a short piece of tubing and secured this around the branch.
Then I could thread the wire through one of the loops and pull it down into position. With this arrangement, I don’t need to worry about wire scarring and I can leave the guy wired on for an extended period.
This tree has a long way to go, but there’s some potential there.
Bonsai Iterate 