Too early to wire?

[Dav4]

I know zero about maples, but agree with your choice of beer.

Sweet mother, say it aint so!!

 

[Adair M]

Something similar to this would be nice. I’m guessing a ground layering would be required later on. Haven’t really put too much thought into the end result to be honest, I have just always liked the look of twin trunk trees. My thinking was to let it grow for a few years and either keep it clipped short or do the “bend and grow” method to keep it shortish. I’d like it to be rather large for a bonsai, 3ft tall or so when done. Styling suggestions are welcome.
View attachment 244917

Well, honestly, if you like twin trunks, get another piece of material. The fork is too high. Get one where the main trunk is larger than the smaller trunk. And forks right at the base.

 

[DayDrunk]

I understand what you're getting at and if this tree isn't conducive to that style I'm fine with that. All my trees so far have been collected from my yard and I'll keep a look out for a better specimen. What would your styling recommendation be?

 

[ColinFraser]

What would your styling recommendation be?

Cut off one of the two “slingshot arms” and let it grow for at least a couple of years.

In the meantime, hunt around on here for some good threads about developing a tapered trunk on a deciduous tree through chopping and growing - I think there’s a good one somewhere by @Smoke

 

[Carol 83]

Sweet mother, say it aint so!!

I know, I know, you guys aren't concerned about the calories, or carbs. But for what it lacks in quality, I make up for in quantity.

 

[Traken]

I know, I know, you guys aren't concerned about the calories, or carbs. But for what it lacks in quality, I make up for in quantity.

Thus negating the carb savings. ;D

 

[markyscott]

Something similar to this would be nice. I’m guessing a ground layering would be required later on. Haven’t really put too much thought into the end result to be honest, I have just always liked the look of twin trunk trees. My thinking was to let it grow for a few years and either keep it clipped short or do the “bend and grow” method to keep it shortish. I’d like it to be rather large for a bonsai, 3ft tall or so when done. Styling suggestions are welcome.
View attachment 244917

Ok. That’s helpful. To try and develop something in this direction, I think it’s too early to worry about wiring. What you need is growth. And you probably don’t need to worry about the second trunk yet. The split you have right now is probably too high anyway and building the second trunk can come much later. The tree you show was built by a series of chops. Here’s how I see it:



The numbers are chops, not years. Each chop could represent multiple years of growth. There are at least 11 chops there, possibly representing 15 years or more of growth. The second trunk is much younger than the first. It could be more like 6-10 years old.

All of this is to say that to get to this goal your focus now should be on trunk and nebari development work and less on wiring except to direct new growth.

S

 

[DayDrunk]

What can be done to work on the nebari of such a young tree? It didn’t have many roots when I dug it up so I left them all including tap root when I transplanted it. I had planned on starting root work next year after it had established itself and hopefully grew a lot more roots. You’re saying I should start sooner?

 

[markyscott]

What can be done to work on the nebari of such a young tree? It didn’t have many roots when I dug it up so I left them all including tap root when I transplanted it. I had planned on starting root work next year after it had established itself and hopefully grew a lot more roots. You’re saying I should start sooner?

You’re working on the first trunk section. On the tree above it comes out of the ground at about a 60 degree angle. If your goal is a 3’ tree, your first bend should be about 1’ above the ground. If it were mine, I’d let it grow uninterrupted this year and pull it out of the ground in spring to work the roots and change the planting angle.

S

 

[DayDrunk]

Thanks for all your help, gaining a lot of insight here. Guess if I wanted to cheat I could chop this and use it as a base to skip ahead a decade or so if it’s not too big already. Still lots of root work to do.

 

[Carol 83]

Thus negating the carb savings. ;D

Let a girl have her dreams.

 

[Cable]

You're far more likely to snap a branch that is even partially lignified than you are to damage newer growth due to bark slippage. Wire it.

 

[sorce]

quantity

Exactly!

You can't get @DayDrunk on that.

I'm starting to disbelieve.

Sorce

 

[GreatLakesBrad]

Maples, most trees and marijuana should be wired in autumn or winter. If wired during spring and early summer the cambium will have a tendency to tear, killing anything past the tear.

Your out of focus photo looks a lot like marijuana, even though I thought it might be a maple.

Marijuana does not have true wood, it is best styled by clip and grow.

@Leo in N E Illinois - I am heeding this advice and plan to wire (structural direction of future trunk/major branching, 1-2 year branches) in advance of structural pruning this spring for Ash, Dawn Redwood, Oak, Trident Maple, Bald Cypress. As you are close to my zone in 6a, curious if any alarms are sounding for you when reading this. Much obliged as as always. Most of these trees are years from final development stages.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I wire most species of trees anytime from late July, through into winter. When wiring in winter, make sure the tree is not frozen when you do it. Starting in late August, through the autumn, many trees do a good deal of laying down of lignin, the ligninification is rapid at this time. It is good to have wire in place before this begins. Hence wiring in middle-late summer.

Actually, I just re-read this thread from the beginning. @Adair M is correct. As your skill in wiring improves you should wire deciduous in spring, it takes the least amount of time to lignify by wiring at that time. It does require gentle skill, but you can also use much thinner wire, because the tender shoots have not lignified at all. Often for deciduous, key is getting the direction correct for new shoots in spring, because often we let them grow out, then cut back to just a few internodes, let grow out, then cut back again. This repeat cycle means that getting the first few inches moving in the right direction is all that is needed. So in essence, you can wire anytime of year, but for deciduous, follow Adair's lead, even if it requires being more careful.