How long for wiring to "set?"

[Mudroot]

I wired a mugo 3 weeks ago and used VERY heavy wire on the limb I brought around to the front and lighter but ...doubled... wire on a lesser bend on a different branch.

As I often do, if there's a nearby branch that just needs a slight directional change, and if I have a long ...end... on the wire I've used, I will pin the small branch under the uncut wire end.

Well, it's only been 3 weeks and that small branch seems to have set in the new direction.

I've made the mistake of leaving wire on TOO LONG and getting ridged bark but not much in the way of pines.

How long would you leave wiring on?

Thanks

 

[larlamonde]

Hey Mud is differs from species to species and even tree to tree. You just have to check it every couple weeks or so and make sure it does not bite in. Some trees its 3 (ficus or juniper) months to sometimes a year (boxwood). If the tree is in active growth keep an eye on it. I the tree is dormant obviously it's not going to grow much. I hope this answers your question.

 

[0soyoung]

Three weeks is not enough time and there is no reason to panic!

Two things cause branches to set in their wired positions: new wood (thickening of the branch) and 'lignification' (hardening of the wood, in effect).

Very little new wood is being created now and even less will be created (each day, each week) until after winter (i.e., branch thickening is markedly slowing down now). Next spring branches will start thickening again and the pace will be increasing until shortly after the summer solstice. In other words, the wire is not going to 'bite in' until sometime next spring.

Lignification (I use the term loosely) of the wood created this year is happening now - a regular feature of the late growing season every year.

So, you chose an opportune time to wire - leave it on until late next spring (no need to watch closely until then).

 

[Adair M]

Osoyoung, I beg to differ. I have seen my JBP thicken considerably over the past couple weeks.

The right answer is to watch each tree carefully.

Some species are naturally springy. They will need to have wire put on, taken off, put back on. Several times. Over and over.

Others, once they're set, they're set. Decididuous mostly.

 

[bennybenben]

Just watch the wire carefully, if it starts biting into the bark then take the wire off and if you take it off and it hasnt stayed in position, just rewire that branch.

 

[bwaynef]

Very little new wood is being created now and even less will be created (each day, each week) until after winter (i.e., branch thickening is markedly slowing down now).

Osoyoung, I beg to differ. I have seen my JBP thicken considerably over the past couple weeks.

I too usually notice the most thickening occuring during the next 4-5 weeks.

 

[Adair M]

Graham Potter has a YouTube video on this very subject. I think it's titled something along the lines of "The most asked question".

 

[Adair M]

Mud root,

I'm not at all sure I understand what you mean by "pinning the small branch" with the extra wire. You should always wire two branches at a time. If the wire is too long after you've wired what needs wiring, cut it off.

 

[jkd2572]

For most pines I leave the wire on for a full year, but yes you should check to make sure the wire is not digging in too much.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

For P. ponderosa and P. strobus, the branches take what seems like forever to take a new shape. I put the wire on, remove when I notice it starting to bite in, and not before it bites in a little - for slower growing pines this can be more than 12 months. Then I remove all the wire, then rewire the tree again. For one of my ponderosa, only after about 5 years of wire, remove, wire again did the branch finally hold its position. I have not got experience with mugo, but it seems to stay flexible longer than a JBP, so expect to have to wire several times over several years to get the tree to hold its shape.

The reason I let it bite in a little, is because is a good indicator new wood has been laid down in the wired position. Remove the wire too soon and you will have wasted the time and effort. If the grooves created are not deep, they disappear fairly quickly, usually within 3 years. A good practice is to alternate direction of wire each time you wire, so the grooves, if there are any, form a cross hatch pattern. This blends in better than having parallel grooves on the branch. Most grooves heal smooth with time. And by the time the branch ages enough to form bark, they will have disappeared.

 

[Kelly]

It varies ...

I think that you can tell by the differences in the answers that there is no "standard" rule ... not mentioned so far are the variables caused by climate zone, health / vigor of the tree, a cool summer, variances in wiring technique, diameter of the wire used, how hard it is bending a branch, fertilizer, soil, etc. Many variables.
I did a lot of wiring this year on junipers, ficus, Fukien tea ... I have had to remove wiring from a couple as they responded to fertilizer and new soil and grew really well. Others still have their wire on as it is not cutting in ... I live in Canada so they really do go dormant (conifers) when winter starts ... Can't speak for TX, CA, etc.
Watch and shoot ...
Hope it helps!

 

[Adair M]

Graham Potter's YouTube video is entitled:

"Bonsai Wiring Part 2 - The Burning Question"

I would post a direct link, but I can't see the URL from my iPhone. Easy enough to find on YouTube, though.

 

[ChrisV]

It all depends on the species how long you have to leave the wire on. Most of time when I wire pines or junipers I leave it on for about a year. Spruce almost two years.
Most of the time not all branches stay in place so I unwire them and put guy wires on the larger branches. Wire stresses the tree because it has to adapt to the direction you want it to grow constantly so just a couple guy wires and letting it grow free for a season will sure benefit the health of the tree.

Than after that year I wire them again and because they grew freely for a season they are healthy enough to be set in a position again. After that year most of the times the branches will stay in place.
So after three years in total with one year in between should do the trick, however it still will always depend on the specific tree.

 

[Adair M]

All well and good. Let's not forget that the trees are constantly growing, and will need to be rewired constantly. It's not a "do once and you're done". It's constant, ongoing maintenance.