More Advanced Techniques


The wiring and reshaping of an entire tree is rare ly done all in one session, it is usually over a period of time.   It is very stressful to the tree and is frequently the reason why trees die after major demonstrations, when considerable wiring and bending are inflicted upon the tree in a few hours.   It is very dramatic to watch and demonstrates the skill of the bonsai master but is not good for the tree.   You need to know a little of plant physiology to understand why this happens.

Plant physiology includes the study of biological and chemical processes of individual plant cells.   Plant cells have a number of features that distinguish them from cells of animals, and which lead to major differences in the way that plant life behaves and responds differently from animals.   For example, plant cells have a cell wall which restricts the shape of plant cells and thereby limits the flexibility and mobility of plants.   Some plant cells also contain chlorophyll, a chemical compound that interacts with light in a way that enables plants to manufacture their own nutrients rather than eating as animals do.

Plant physiology deals with interactions between cells, tissues, and organs within a plant.   Different cells and tissues are physically and chemically specialized to perform different functions.

  • Roots and rhizoids function to anchor the plant and acquire minerals from the soil.
  • Leaves catch light in order to manufacture nutrients.

For both of these organs to remain living, minerals that the roots acquire must be transported to the leaves, and the nutrients manufactured in the leaves must be transported to the roots.   Plants have developed a number of ways to achieve this.

This includes the study of plant responses to environmental conditions and their variation.   Stress from water loss, changes in air chemistry, crowding by other plants, effects of continuous or sudden movement can lead to changes in the way a plant functions.   These changes may be affected by genetic, chemical, and physical factors.

Tropisms in plants are the result of differential cell growth, in which the cells on one side of the plant elongates more than those on the other side, causing the part to bend toward the side with less growth.   Among the common tropisms seen in plants is phototropism, the bending of the plant toward a source of light.

  • Phototropism allows the plant to maximize light exposure in plants which require additional light for photosynthesis, or to minimize it in plants subjected to intense light and heat.
  • Geotropism allows the roots of a plant to determine the direction of gravity and grow downwards.
Tropisms generally result from an interaction between the environment and production of one or more plant hormones.

Placing wire on a tree in itself does little actual harm, however it is still covering parts of the trunk and branches, particularly if covered with rafia or tape; you are depriving section of the tree of light, even if only slightly.   The tree is a living functional organism not an inanimate object, it must adjust its inner workings.   How would your arm be if bandaged and plastered for several months?   It takes time to resume normal functioning, internal adjustments have to take place.

Similarly, once the tree or branch is wired, carefully bend it into the desired position, do not bend and move repeatedly, you will be in danger of damaging the underlying cambian layer and stoppng the flow of nutrients thus killing the branch. The sequence is to:

  • Wire
  • Bend and position
  • Leave alone to recover – this may take several weeks or even if weak, several months.

You cannot do bonsai in a rush, it is not the ‘Great British Bake Off’, you do not have time restrictions on you.   When you impose them on yourself your trees could well die.   Some years ago we visited the garden of a German, well known for his collecting skills.   His garden was a graveyard of the most amazing dead collected trees.   He was always in a hurry.

  • Collect
  • Busy, busy
  • Style, wire, carve and repot
  • Die

He wanted immediate results, he got them - all his wonderful trees died.

 

A quote from Takeo Kawabe, probably one of the most signicant bonsai masters in Japan at present:-

“It was an ordinary day.   I was working quietly on my own at the back of the bonsai nursery as usual.   The work space was like a laboratory of bonsai.   There were trees in various stages of being worked on all around me.   We were trying ambitious modifications on some of the trees, and that can impose a heavy burden.   They all looked so tired and weak!   Suddenly a strong force seemed to take hold of me and I felt an amazing pressure building up and squeezing my head.   And then I heard the voices of the trees.   They were calling out to me, saying: 'We are living things too'!   Truly, that day I heard the cry of the trees.”

“My priority is the life of the tree itself.   Nothing is more impressive than the glow of vitality”

“That experience fundamentally changed my whole approach to bonsai.   Our priority should not be human aesthetic values but the good health and life of the tree itself.   We should carefully examine the condition of the tree and use our knowledge to decide what needs to be done and what kind of actions we need to avoid.”

Wired trunk image