AusBonsai

Want to know people's thoughts on when they wire there natives? I usually wire my banksias when the branches harden off in autumn/winter, with mixed results I might add. I have some Melaleucas and Banksias that I would like to try wirings now while the branches are still young. Is this a good idea?

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I wired a Melaleuca about two weeks ago and it seams fine. The wiring was easy as I trimmed before wiring.

I wire any trees whenever they need it. With deciduous it is easier to wait until winter so it is easier to see where you are going but no point waiting with natives because they don't lose the leaves.
There is a small risk that the bark can separate from the wood while they are actively growing but I have not actually seen that often. The occasional dead bit soon grows back on young native stock anyway and will probably enhance the movement more than just bending.

Do the banksias really need wiring? I seem to get a better, more natural look using pruning to direct the growth.
Mels take wiring and bending really well and I think now will be as good a time as any.

Agree with above... wire now is perfectly fine in my experience. I just wired several Mel species and Casuarina without a second thought. On those for certain I wouldn’t be concerned, in fact I think it’s a good time.

So with my B.Eric....i can chop off the other 6 leaders and leave a stump?

shibui wrote: ↑January 30th, 2020, 6:29 pm I wire any trees whenever they need it. With deciduous it is easier to wait until winter so it is easier to see where you are going but no point waiting with natives because they don't lose the leaves.
There is a small risk that the bark can separate from the wood while they are actively growing but I have not actually seen that often. The occasional dead bit soon grows back on young native stock anyway and will probably enhance the movement more than just bending.

Do the banksias really need wiring? I seem to get a better, more natural look using pruning to direct the growth.
Mels take wiring and bending really well and I think now will be as good a time as any.

How hard do you prune back your Banksias to get movement in the branches? Do you have any pictures of this? I am just a novice but I wire for movement and also prune them. Am keen to learn.
Matt

I find that the eastern banksias I've worked with will sprout new buds all over whatever is left after pruning. It does not seem to matter how much I cut off. They will bud from the remaining stump or remaining branches. Note that younger branches occasionally die back to the trunk after pruning and new shoots will grow from the trunk. I've worked mainly with B. integrifolia, B. marginata, B. serrata and just a couple of B. ericifolias and B. spinulosa.


I managed to find these 3 progression shots of a young B. integ I pruned years ago.
I don't think I have any photos of pruning branches but I just lop them off where I want sub branches or bends and use any new shoots to grow the branch again.
Most of my banksias are smallish trees so most pruning now is pinching the new shoots back to 1 or 2 sets of leaves to maintain overall shape.

If you haven't seen my thread on digging banksias it may give a few more ideas about what is possible with them.
https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/forum/view ... =9&t=27838