Categories
Bonsai Tools & Accessories

Bonsai Wire: Copper vs Aluminum

Wiring is certainly one of the most important and probably the most often used technique for bonsai training. Before we talk about bonsai wiring techniques, let’s learn the different types of bonsai wire, their advantages and disadvantages.

Copper Bonsai Wire

Advantage: More holding power

Disadvantage: Cannot be reposition or reused once it has been applied to our bonsai, May be harmful for some tree species

Copper is a strong material.   In order to make copper soft enough to apply on branches of bonsai trees, it must first be annealed. Once annealed, copper wire becomes fairly easy to be bent.  Yet, as it is bent, the copper wire becomes more rigid and resistant to bending.  And this is why copper wire cannot be repositioned and must be removed from our bonsai tree by wire cutters once it has been applied to our trees.

We also need to keep in mind that certain tree species are reactive to certain metals. For example copper is found to be harmful for species like azalea, while iron and steel are found to be harmful for Junipers and other deciduous species.

Aluminum Bonsai Wire

Advantage: More flexibility, Can be repositioned and reused

Disadvantage: Not as strong as copper wire

Aluminum wire is significantly softer than copper wire, and has less holding power.  Yet, it can be repositioned and reused, hence many bonsai beginners prefer to use aluminum wire until their bonsai wiring techniques have been developed and improved.  Aluminum is also the preferred wire choice of many bonsai professionals.  My bonsai teacher, a Lingnan penjing master, uses aluminum wire for most of his bonsai wiring.  Since he always tries to wire branches on his bonsai trees when they are still young and flexible, the raw holding power of copper is not as important as the flexibility of aluminum.

Since aluminum is silver in color, it is often anodized to give it a brownish color, making the aluminum wire less of a distraction when applied to our bonsai trees.

Conclusion

I almost always use aluminum wire.  Not only because I am a bonsai beginner whose bonsai wiring skills still yet to be mastered, but also because I am following what my bonsai teacher always preaches – wire the branches of our bonsai trees when they are still young and flexible.  If we start working on the positioning of our bonsai trees early enough, the strong holding power of copper wire is not anymore important.

But anyways, bonsai is a personal experience.  My suggestion is to experiment with both copper wire and aluminum wire, and find out your preference.

Categories
Wiring

Best Time to Wire Our Bonsai Trees (by Tree Types)

Bonsai Wire

Wiring Deciduous Trees

Deciduous trees can be wired anytime through the growing season. With leaves, it is a bit harder to study the bonsai tree structure and wire the branches at this time. Yet, nevertheless, I prefer to wire my bonsai trees at this time because branches wired in its growing season, particularly new shoots, will heal very quickly. In fact, for fast growing species, we should keep checking every week to make sure the wire hasn’t yet started to dig in.

Many bonsai gardeners like to wire their bonsai trees in the autumn when the branches are bare. Without any leaf on the branches, one can have a complete view of the bonsai tree and wire the branches easily. The branches should heal all cracks, but the most severe, before the tree goes completely dormant for the winter.

Another favorite time for wring deciduous trees is at the midsummer after defoliating our bonsai trees. Again, with the branches bare, the view is clear and wiring is easy. The branches of our bonsai trees should take to their new positions by early winter.

Bonsai Wire

Wiring Coniferous Trees

Since coniferous trees will continue to heal over winter, we can wire our coniferous bonsai trees at anytime from spring till early winter. As it often takes longer for the branches of coniferous bonsai trees to be trained, the branches may often be wired throughout the winter. If temperature drops below -10°C, frost protection is needed.

Spring is a good season to wire our coniferous bonsai trees since the branches will set into their new positions relatively quickly, and cracks can heal in a faster pace as well. Yet, due to the fast growing rate, if any wire is still kept on our coniferous bonsai tree by midsummer, we need to keep checking the wiring regularly to ensure the wires haven’t yet dug into the branches. Some species, such as Pines, may swell suddenly around this time.

The best time to wire our coniferous bonsai trees is from midsummer to early autumn. In this time of the year, new growth will need wiring. Cracks will heal faster than most other times of the year as well. In addition, many species such as Pines, will have made most of their annual growth in branch thickness by midsummer, wiring after this time will allow the wires to stay on the tree till the following year without digging in and scarring the branches.

Wiring Tropical Trees

Since tropical species are protected from frost and have no dormant period, they can be wired at anytime of the year. Yet, due to the vigorous growth of tropical species, the wire can cut in fast, hence, must be checked very often.

Categories
Wiring

Best Time to Wire Our Bonsai Trees (Cold Climate vs Warm Climate)

Bonsai Wire

The best time to wire our bonsai trees is when the branch of the bonsai tree that we want to wire is still young and flexible.  New shoots are not only easier to wire, but also quicker to recover from wounds.  As soon as the branch has grown strong and long enough to let a thin wire wind around it, we can start training the branch by wiring.  Of course, with these young branches, we should be extra careful and gentle when wiring our bonsai trees. Very old branches, on the other hand, can be very thick and stubborn, and may need other bonsai training techniques.

Wiring Bonsai in Colder Climate

As climate concern, theoretically, most species of bonsai trees can be wired almost all year round, though bonsai trees wired during winter in areas where temperatures regularly drop below -10°C (~15°F) will need frost protection.  In such cold weather, fractures that have not yet healed will be exposed to the cold and may possibly cause further dieback of the branches.  Hence, if your bonsai tree is still wired in the winter, give it frost protection when temperature drops below -10°C.

Wiring Bonsai in Warmer Climate

While I wire my bonsai trees almost all year round, from spring till early winter, many bonsai gardeners like to wire their bonsai trees in the autumn when the branches are bare. Without any leaf on the branches, it is much easier to wire and has a complete view of the bonsai tree.  The branches should heal all cracks, but the most severe, before the tree goes completely dormant for the winter.

Categories
Journal

More Bonsai Trees on My Rack

I have dug out and potted three bonsai trees that I have bought earlier. When I bought these bonsai trees in the early winter, they were rooted in the ground. Since spring comes early in Hong Kong, now is just the right time to pot these bonsai trees.

bonsai-tree-rack bonsai-tree-rack

This is a Chinese Elm, and I am intended to grow this tree into the semi-cascade style.  In fact, to be more specific, I want to cultivate this Chinese Elm into a “海底捞月” (literally means scooping the moon from the ocean).

bonsai-tree-rack bonsai-tree-rack

This is an Eugenia uniflora (aka Surinam cherry), and obviously, this tree is perfect for the informal upright style.

bonsai-tree-rack

And the bonsai tree on the left is another Chinese Elm that can be train into the informal upright style as well.

If you want to see how my rack looked earlier, you can check this article – Finally Got My Bonsai Rack.

Categories
Bonsai Trees Featured Articles

Suitable Tree Types for Bonsai

Many people, especially bonsai beginners, wonder what types of tree are suitable for bonsai, and which types of bonsai tree they should buy.

When I first started bonsai gardening, I had the same questions about bonsai trees for my bonsai teacher as well. And very soon, I learned that there is actually no tree type especially for bonsai . We can train almost any tree into a bonsai tree. There are bonsai trees that are easier to train and maintain than other trees. Yet, for a real bonsai expert, who has superb bonsai techniques and skills, trees of almost all tree types can be trained into bonsai trees.

Bonsai Tree - Elm
Elm (榆樹)

Bonsai Tree - Fukien Tea
Fukien Tea (福建茶)

Above are two of my very first bonsai trees – an Elm and a Fukien Tea.

Categories
Bonsai Trees

Tree Species Commonly Used for Bonsai (Part 1)

Here is a list of the tree species that are commonly used for bonsai trees. As you notice, I have only put the Latin scientific name, common name, Chinese name, and photos of each bonsai tree type listed. There is a lot of information about the characteristics of these tree types available online. Hence, I won’t write much about tree characteristics here, but will definitely write more on special care techniques for specific bonsai tree species later on.

This list of bonsai tree species is by no means comprehensive. As said in an earlier article – Suitable Tree Types for Bonsai, almost all trees can be used as bonsai trees, and here has only listed some of the tree species that are often used in bonsai. I would suggest you to first check out this list and find the tree species that you are interested in growing as a bonsai tree. Then, do a google search to learn more about the tree characteristics such as suitable climate, common pest problems and such. You can also find more about care techniques and skills of some particular bonsai tree type here in Happy Bonsai.

Check here for more tree species commonly used for bonsai trees (Part 2).

Abies species (Fir) 杉樹
Bonsai Tree - Fir Bonsai Tree - Fir
Bougainvillea species (Bouganvillea) 簕杜鹃
Bonsai Tree - Bouganvillea Bonsai Tree - Bouganvillea
Buxus species (Box tree) 黄楊
Bonsai Tree - Buxus Box Tree Bonsai Tree - Buxus Box Tree
Categories
Bonsai Trees

Tree Species Commonly Used for Bonsai (Part 2)

As said in part 1, I would suggest you to first check out this list and find the tree species that you are interested in growing as a bonsai tree. Then, learn more about the tree characteristics such as suitable climate, common pest problems and such. In  addition, there are more articles on bonsai tips and bonsai care techniques of some particular bonsai tree types  in Happy Bonsai.

Check here for more tree species commonly used for bonsai trees (Part 1).

Juniperus species (Juniper) 柏樹
Bonsai Tree - Juniperus Juniper Bonsai Tree - Juniperus Juniper
Lagerstroemia indica (Crape Myrtle) 紫薇
Bonsai Tree - Lagerstroemia Crape Myrtle Bonsai Tree - Lagerstroemia Crape Myrtle
Liquidambar formosana (Sweet Gum) 紅楓
Bonsai Tree - Liquidambar Sweet Gum Bonsai Tree - Liquidambar Sweet Gum
Categories
Style

Chinese Bonsai – Southern Style & Northern Style

Since my first bonsai class, I have learned that there are two distinct regional variations in Chinese bonsai (penjing) – the Southern style and the Northern style. My teacher kept telling us that the Southern style is the better one, and I always thought what he said was a bias statement that purely based on personal taste. Yet, after I learned more about bonsai, I have to agree with what my teacher said.

What Have Caused the Differences?

Cultural differences account for some of the variation, but the main factor, really, is the difference in the natural environment and climate. China’s South has high temperatures and high levels of humidity most of the year. Along the Yangtze River, the growing season is much shorter. There, establishing a tree’s shape without wiring would be difficult, if not impossible.

Categories
Style

The Main Categories of Chinese Bonsai (Penjing)

As said earlier in another post – Chinese Penjing & Japanese Bonsai, the main difference between bonsai and penjing (or Chinese bonsai) is one of scope. While Japanese bonsai is about perfecting a miniature tree in the container, Chinese penjing is about creating natural scenes using different elements of nature like rocks, stones, water, sand, and of course, trees.

Here, let me introduce you to three main categories of penjing.

Shumu Penjing (樹木盆景)

Shumu penjing (or tree penjing) depicts the image of one or several trees. Trees are the main material and form the dominant element in the composition. What’s called “shumu penjing” in China and “bonsai” in Japan and today in the west are actually rooted in the same concept. This concept has manifested itself in different styles, yet, the underlying idea remains the same. Here are some examples of bonsai styles: Informal Upright, Twin or Multi-Trunk, Slanting, Semi-Cascade, Cascade Literati, Driftwood.

Shumu Penjing - Tree Bonsai Shumu Penjing - Tree Bonsai

Examples of Shumu Penjing (tree penjing) found in 2009 Guangzhou Penjing (Bonsai) Exhibition

Categories
Journal

Finally Got My Bonsai Rack

Since I joined the bonsai club – Hong Kong Institute of Lingnan Penjing (香港嶺南盆景藝術學會) in July this year, I had been debating on whether or not I should rent a piece of land in the bonsai workshop to practice bonsai. It is a big commitment, for I know that once I have rented a spot in the workshop for practicing bonsai, I will definitely get hooked on these little trees for the many years to come.

But I really couldn’t hold it anymore, especially after seeing all the beautiful bonsai in the Guangzhou Penjing (Bonsai) Exhibition. I just wanted to start making my own!

My Bonsai Rack
It's quite empty on my bonsai rack now