How to Wire Your Bonsai

As you've probably guessed, bonsai is not the simplest type of gardening out there. In addition to choosing the type of plant, the pot and the soil, you also need to learn how to properly wire your bonsai. Wiring a plant probably sounds a little weird and more than a little intimidating, but with some planning and the advice of a professional, wiring your bonsai tree can be a piece of cake.

First, you need to understand that wiring your bonsai is necessary in order to the plant to be shaped properly for the style of bonsai garden you have. If you have, any questions about what type of style you should be trying to achieve feel free to contact Bonsai Boy to find the exact answers for your particular plant and style. However, the wire is ultimately necessary in order to train your plants to go where they are expected to go.

Wiring is how a bonsai tree achieves all those unusual shapes you've seen in all the various bonsai styles. How you wire your tree depends on which style of garden you are working on. Each style has its own traditional shapes, and how you wire your tree will determine the shape it ends up in, so be sure to match your wiring technique to the style you want!

Think of your new bonsai tree as a dog. You need to train a dog to sit, stay, roll over, etc. Similarly, you need to train a tree to stay in the shape you want. Trees of course can't hear your commands, so we use wire to achieve and maintain the shape we want. Since there are so many different types of trees in bonsai, there are many different types of wire. Each type of wire is suited to a different type of tree, so be sure to find out which works best with your particular tree.

Most wire used in bonsai is copper which is ideal, however with the high price of copper these days, aluminum is a reasonable substitute. Once you have a wire that suits both your tree and style and you're ready to start shaping your tree, be sure to start be bending by no more than 45%. Aggressively shaping the trunk or branches will almost certainly result in a break.

As your tree grows and is shaped, be sure to check the bark of your tree for damage caused by the wire. If you should find any damaged areas, adjust your wire to relieve the pressure without losing the desired shape. Your tree should stay wired for about 12 weeks to ensure that its new shape stays. Much like training a dog, your tree isn't going to learn overnight. After 12 weeks, your bonsai should be able to hold its shape without the aid of wires.

Once the 12 weeks are up, carefully remove the wire from your bonsai. Watch it carefully for a couple of days to make sure that it is holding its shape properly. If you find that your tree is losing its shape, you can rewire it for a couple more weeks while continuing to monitor it for any damage to the bark.