Wiring thick branches that go straight up

[BonsaiPancake]

I came across the below before and after images and I'm amazed at how they have been able to wire down those branches. I've had a few trees in the past that grew similar branches straight up and any attempt at wiring just snapped or damaged them.

Can anyone offer advice or link to videos/tutorials which could help me accomplish the same? The Facebook page this was posted on said "Very strong branches and hard to get down, so very heavy wiring and a twisting motion to achieve this result", so I understand the theory of what they have done but have no idea how to do it myself!

Sorry, image quality isn't great, so videos here: before and after.

[Matt S]

This isn't answering your question but if I had the tree your pictures show I wouldn't be bending those branches at all, rather I'd cut them back hard and use the resulting shoots that point in the direction I wanted, maybe with a bit of wire to coax them. The resulting bends would look more natural and you'd get some taper. I understand that wiring some flowering trees increases the number of flowers but in those cases young, flexible shoots are used.

Extreme bending can work well with conifers, in which case you get out the raffia and heavy wire or even remove some of the heartwood to help, but for me I'd rather not do that with most other species.

Matt.

[SquatJar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeZuPNp ... e&index=21

I agree with Matt, I do not enjoy the aesthetic of branches having smooth arcs curving down, but it is still pretty impressive skill to achieve this. It can also vary on the tree. I have two cultivars of prunus cerasifera which like to split and snap even with close wiring and twisting when bending, compare them to 5 or so wild prunus cerasifera I have found and they bend no problem, thumb thick branches can do sharp 180s even without wire. The fibres still split but the branch maintains its structure.

[shibui]

David from Bendigo has been styling collected prunus with weeping shoots for many years. It allows him to produce a good shaped tree in just a few years whereas traditional grow, wire, prune and grow can take many years to achieve good ramification. Most of the trees I've seen styled this way look very impressive.

Apologies but I don't know any tutorials so hope SquatJar's link is helpful
To get more bend and less snap:
1. Allow the tree to dry out as much as you dare. I've found that a few days after bare root and root prune I can get much better bends than fresh shoots.
2. Make wire turns relatively close together which supplies more support and less spaces for the shoots to bend abruptly and break.
3. Twist the shoot as you bend. Twisting the shoot shares the bends with fibres from different sides of the shoot so all the strain is not one one side. Coil wire in the same direction you intend to twist the shoot ie the wire coils will tighten as you bend and twist.

[treeman]

I came across the below before and after images and I'm amazed at how they have been able to wire down those branches. .

Can anyone offer advice or link to videos/tutorials which could help me accomplish the same?

You don't want to do that. You just think you do. It's an absolute catastrophic disaster.................... IMO

[Grainer]

I came across the below before and after images and I'm amazed at how they have been able to wire down those branches. I've had a few trees in the past that grew similar branches straight up and any attempt at wiring just snapped or damaged them.

Can anyone offer advice or link to videos/tutorials which could help me accomplish the same? The Facebook page this was posted on said "Very strong branches and hard to get down, so very heavy wiring and a twisting motion to achieve this result", so I understand the theory of what they have done but have no idea how to do it myself!

Sorry, image quality isn't great, so videos here: before and after.

These species are very easy to bend.. it will be species dependant and based on your wiring skill
These stylings are designed to entice a buyer with no idea so they can see a future direction.. sometimes not the best way fi you want a great tree as mentioned above. Follow the advice above.