Sometimes quite a bit of pressure needs to be applied to a branch to get the desired effect. This can often cause unwanted unsightly wire scars which can take years for the tree to grow back to normality
A good tip to stop your wiring cutting into the branches and trunk is to wrap a small piece of foam around the desired branch before wiring. It usually works best on a branch where a large amount of pressure is about to be applied.
How long exactly should you leave wire on your trees? I must admit that I have scarred one or two myself from leaving wire on there too long. Although if you take it off too early the branch will not stay in place. We need to find somewhere between the two extremes to gain the perfect result. (more…)
One of my yamadori finds from this winter was this lovely willow tree. At least I’m pretty sure it’s a type of willow because it is a lot harder trying to identify trees in the winter. Only time will tell if I’m correct.
It’s quite a bushy looking tree at about 2 foot tall. I’ve trimmed a few of the major branches off the bottom and also reduced the height a bit.
I’ve bought some mega 4mm wire from eBay this week so decided to give it a go on this tree as you can see. Some of the branches are slightly too big for the wire to manipulate and I’d probably do better with a bending jack.
I think it’s going to look very good come spring when it’s all leafy and I should be able to develop a good crown quickly on it.
