ADO wrote:Hi,

firstly, thanks to everyone who replied to my initial post.
well I went ahead an defoliated my little ficus. It revealed a pretty nice taper for its size and girth. My next step will be to wire some of the branches and get some more movement in the upper trunk. The first thing I don't like about this tree are the many thin twigs and woody off shoots and the branches are all over the place. I would really like to clean it up and wire some more movement in the upper part of the trunk and straigthen some of the thicker branches out. However, having said that, if I want to grow this on and put into a grow box, can I still wire it and give it a basic shape? or is it a case of once wired, thats it?
I am learning a lot on this forum and I appreciated any help afforded me on this subject
you guys rock!
Merry Xmas
Adrian
Hi Adrian,
The basic principle of wiring applies to all trees. This principle is that if you can bend it, you can wire it. Sometimes it takes a bit of extra oompf to get wiring to hold, but the principle stands. What you need to do is check whether you can bend the bits you want to wire, and then anticipate how much thicker it can get before wiring becomes difficult. Ficus is a pretty bendy tree, but be warned

if you put it in a grow box, it ain't gonna hang around!!

In fact it is going to thicken quickly, so be very careful to check any wiring for wire bite as the tree grows. Once you plant it, it will probably sulk for a week or two before it get legs (or should I say roots) and then don't get caught off guard by a sudden growth spurt! Bite is ugly as can be!
Remember that wiring a tree is a means to an end, and it is not the only one. By putting the tree in a grow bow you are trying to fatten the trunk, and to do that, you have to really let the tree grow. The liklihood is that you are going to want to grow branches out now that you will probably cut off either completely, or nearly completely in a few years once the trunk has thickened. Most of your branching now is going to be useless for anything but the fattening of the trunk. Wiring it is therefore futile. I'd suggest that you get an idea in your head now for how thick you want the trunk, and then grow it hard and fast until you are 90% there. Then you can start to work on your branch structure.
If on the other hand you are talking about wiring the trunk for shape, consider two options, a.) wiring it, and b.) trunk chopping. Trunk chopping will give you more dramatic movement which is often pleasing on a trunk. It saves the problem of wire bite, and if the tree is in a grow box, it is probably as good as, if not a better option. It's always painful to chop a trunk, but the end result is more than likely worth it. It all depends on the design you are after.
When thickening the trunk in the grow box, leave more branches down low and fewer higher up the trunk. This will give you exaggerated taper in the future. If you leave too many branches higher up, you'll just end up with a thick trunk with not enough taper.
If the tree is roughly the end height you want it to be now, choose a front and then keep as many low branches at the back of the tree as possible. These you will grow out to a meter or even more in length as sacrifice branches. If you can keep the main sacrifice branches at the rear of the trunk, it will minimise the obviousness of scarring later on once they have been removed. When you have the tree in the grow box, face the back of the tree north. That will promote budding on that side of the tree, and give you more branches to work with for sacrifice and thickening.
Hope this helps, and I'm open to correction from our more experienced members!
Merry Christmas,
Andrew