Your Place to Bonsai! - Free Tutorials and Information. Wiring Bonsai trees to shape the branches. Wiring is a crucial technique to train and style Bonsai trees. By wrapping copper wire around the branches of a tree you are able to bend and reposition the branches. It will take a few months before the branches are set in their new shape; the copper wire should than be removed. How to wire a Bonsai tree When? Wiring can be done year-round for most tree-species. During the growth season branches grow thicker quite fast and as a result the wire will cut into the bark, creating ugly scars. Material? Using the right material is essential for wiring Bonsai trees. How? Try to wire two branches of similar thickness located near each other with one piece of wire (double-wiring, see photo 2, above) where possible, and wire the remaining branches separately (single-wiring).
Both wiring techniques will be discussed in more detail now and information about how to safely bend the wired branches will be provided at the end of this page. Double-wiring a Bonsai Single-wiring a Bonsai And then? Wiring Bonsai Tree. Beginner's Workshop Manual. Pine Bonsai Pruning. Page 1 of 2: Pines are one of the classic tree genera used for bonsai throughout the world, however they are also one of the most difficult to understand how to style and prune. Deciduous species (and many conifers, such as Junipers), continuously produce new leaves and shoots throughout the growing season which require continual removal using techniques that can be applied to a tree, whichever variety it is.
These techniques however are inappropriate to the growth patterns of pines. Unlike deciduous species, most Pines in Northern temperate areas have only one flush of growth and a different set of pruning techniques need to be applied accordingly. Pine pruning techniques in reality are very straightforward, however trying to learn them can be very confusing as there is so much contradictory advice offered in Bonsai publications and books. My personal opinion is that it easier to learn to prune pines by observation of the growth pattern of your own tree in your own environment.