Will this branch survive?

[CWFowler]

Greetings!
I am very new at bonsai and definitely need some specific advice. I was wiring a branch and the tip of the wire twisted under the bark and completely removed it as I wound the wire around the branch. I realize my mistake there (should have left some slack on the wire where I started) but at this point it is what it is...
Any help or advice would be appreciated, will definitely try to save the branch if that’s possible. For reference the branch slightly larger than a pencil in diameter and the bark did indeed get removed around the entire circumference of the branch.
Thank you in advance!
-Colin

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

The mistake is to wire a juniper in the season when the bark slips off easily.
So it's not your technique, but the plants current state of affairs.

The branch might 'bridge' the gap but it's rare that this happens over large areas and over the full circumference. If you have cut paste or parafilm to protect it and maybe push the remaining strips of bark back in place, it might live. Otherwise, consider airlayering for experience. This is about the right time of year to do so.

 

[CWFowler]

Thank you for the advice! Getting some experience air laying will be the way to go it seems. How long do you think that I have to get the supplies in-hand and get the air layering done before it's too late?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

A branch like this can survive for a couple days without 'feedback' from the rest of the tree. The main issue is that the wound tissue is exposed and likely to dry out and die. They can actually live for a couple years like this, but it's best to not take any chances.
If you wrap a wet cloth or paper towel around it, cover it with some plastic wrap and keep it damp, you can probably get away with a couple months of gathering materials. Since it's a procumbens ( I believe? Judging from the warts on the bark), it might even root in the cloth or paper towel. Sphagnum moss is better though.

 

[Tieball]

It shouldn't take that long to gather the supplies you could use for a layer. Keep it moist and find this today or tomorrow.

 

[Tieball]

I’ve layered before using crushed oak leaf compost (found below the bed of oak leaves on the ground...very rich in ingredients...humus) along with a suitable covering to keep the moisture moist. There are better ways, better materials, but in the end they all can work if done properly. I think of layering as ground layering...I simply raise the ground up higher to meet my objective. I usually add a cloning gel though...needed or not...I just use it.

 

[CWFowler]

Yes it is a procumbens.
What I definitely do not have is the cloning gel. I am such a noob at this that I had to research how to air layer. I have it wrapped with a damp paper towel until I get the gel, moss and parafilm. I should also most likely look up a good local place to get these things in Austin rather than Amazon or a big box store.
Thanks for the help!
I am going to have to resist posting every single question I have.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Don't get parafilm for air layers.
Saran/food wrap or simple plastic bags and some tape will suffice.

Parafilm is expensive bro! Use that for grafting or wound cover IF you have plenty of it. Cut paste for wound cover pays itself back, parafilm prices are only justified if you do fancy grafts.

 

[CWFowler]

Sorry, was not clear - was going to get the parafilm just to have it on hand. But I will not get it, because I don't plan on grafting any time soon.
I tend to get ahead of myself though, so thanks for telling me that! My next door neighbor has a mature Mimosa tree and I am already wanting to propagate it and create a bonsai from one of the cuttings, without even knowing how to air layer...

 

[Shibui]

Any reasonable plant nursery should have rooting hormone on the shelf. It does not need to be clonex or gel. The powders work just as well but a little more fiddly to apply.
I find that food wrap is not UV stable and falls to bits in a few weeks when exposed to sun. Wrapping in foil should help it last through to rooting.

I was wiring a branch and the tip of the wire twisted under the bark and completely removed it as I wound the wire around the branch. I realize my mistake there (should have left some slack on the wire where I started) but at this point it is what it is...

Not entirely sure what happened here but it definitely makes more sense to wire 2 branches with one wire. Any piece of wire has 2 ends so makes sense to use both. I can see the branch opposite has been wired so I would have used one longer wire to do both these branches. Pretty sure that would have saved the wire twisting.
@Wires_Guy_wires is correct about time of year. Wiring juniper in particular while they are actively growing is possible but more risky.

Hope the branch makes it.

 

[CWFowler]

Any reasonable plant nursery should have rooting hormone on the shelf. It does not need to be clonex or gel. The powders work just as well but a little more fiddly to apply.
I find that food wrap is not UV stable and falls to bits in a few weeks when exposed to sun. Wrapping in foil should help it last through to rooting.

Not entirely sure what happened here but it definitely makes more sense to wire 2 branches with one wire. Any piece of wire has 2 ends so makes sense to use both. I can see the branch opposite has been wired so I would have used one longer wire to do both these branches. Pretty sure that would have saved the wire twisting.
@Wires_Guy_wires is correct about time of year. Wiring juniper in particular while they are actively growing is possible but more risky.

Hope the branch makes it.

Thanks, the other parts of the tree I had wired a couple of months back upon the first repotting/trimming from the store-bought container. During that time I was not planning on wiring the branch which got damaged today, but as I looked at the tree every day and moved different limbs around I decided to go for the additional wiring. I am so ignorant that the time of year did not even come to mind, so thanks to you both for bringing this variable up. Really appreciate the help and guidance.