Callistemon wire bite

[Mickt_77]

I have a little alpine callistemon pre bonsai that I wired up in Dec, I have just checked the wiring and found some pretty bad wire bite. Will this affect the growth of these two branches or will it grow out?

[shibui]

I've seen a lot worse.
One of the reasons we wire in a spiral is so that sap can still move up the trunk, even if the wire is tight. It just starts to follow the spirals instead of going straight up and down.
Wire marks rarely affect the growth of the trunks. Sometimes I've noted more new shoots growing from the wire damaged areas because sap is not flowing as freely through the damaged areas. If one of those new shoots gets going well it can sometimes replace the damaged section which will gradually die off but that's usually only areas that are much more damaged than this one.
Wire damage can often stimulate callus to help heal the damaged sections so you'll often find the damaged parts get thicker than any undamaged areas. Some pine growers take advantage of this by deliberately leaving the wire to grow into the lower trunk which makes that section thicken more quickly.

Your trunks are still very small so lots of growing and thickening ahead of them. The more the trunks grow and thicken the quicker the new wood will close over the damaged parts. I suspect you won't notice those marks in 3 or 4 years.

[Mickt_77]

Thank you Shibui.
I have only been practising bonsai for 12 months and was worried.

[GavinG]

Well done for getting wire bite in two months! Maybe check whether you are wiring too tightly, and getting bite from day one. It should be just a touch loose, to allow for growth - it will still hold the shape easily. And good luck! If you grow them long, and cut back hard in, say, September, the trunks will thicken more quickly. Spend time now thickening trunks, and design the branches later.

Where are you? Joining a local club might be useful.

Gavin

[Mickt_77]

Well done for getting wire bite in two months! Maybe check whether you are wiring too tightly, and getting bite from day one. It should be just a touch loose, to allow for growth - it will still hold the shape easily. And good luck! If you grow them long, and cut back hard in, say, September, the trunks will thicken more quickly. Spend time now thickening trunks, and design the branches later.

Where are you? Joining a local club might be useful.

Gavin

I only put the wire on to get initial shape as they were too straight. This one will now grow for a couple of years before I do any more.

I'm located near Goulburn.
My work roster doesn't really allow me to attend the local club.