Before wiring became standard practice, bonsai
practitioners manipulated the shapes of their plants in other ways. These methods lack the relative unobtrusiveness of wire, but they are still effective training techniques.
Bending Branches
If you need to make a simple downward bend in a branch, there are three reasonably easy ways to do it:
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Tying to the trunk: Branches too stiff to bend by wiringcan often be bent by tying. You simply attach wire to the branch, bend the branch down and tie the wire to the trunk. You can use a thinner gauge of wire for tying than for wiring a bend. Encircle the branch with a loose wire loop, protecting the wood by slipping padding (such as cloth, paper, or rubber) between the branch and the wire. Also place padding between the wire and the trunk where the wire exerts pressure against the trunk. Make the bend gradually in order to avoid breaking the limb. Start by pulling the limb about 1/3 of the way toward its desired position. After two - three months, bend the branch a bit more, and then give it more time
The Ueno Green Club (Japan) on the left is the three story headquarters for the Japan Bonsai Cooperative where exhibits, auctions, sales and meetings are held. During the National Bonsai Exhibition the parking lot is transformed into a sales area, in addition to all three levels of the building.
to adjust to that position. Repeat this process until you eventually achieve the bend you desire.
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Tying to the container: You can also wire branches to theplant’s container to pull them downward. Loop a strand of wire under the pot and up over the soil, then tie the ends together snugly. Now run a separate loop of padded wire from each branch that you wish to bend down to the wire that goes across the pot. Pull down on the wire until the branch is in the position you want, then secure the branch wire to the pot wire. As with the previous method, it’s best to do this in gradual stages so that the branch doesn’t break.
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Weighting a branch: A third way to bend a branch downis to attach a weight to it. Fishing weights suspended from the branch by a string are traditional, but any object heavy enough to exert the desire pressure will work. Choose the weight with care - if it’s too heavy, it may break the branch. Don’t use this method if you bonsai plant is in a breezy location: in a wind, weighted branches can pump up and down to the breaking point.
Spreading & Snugging
If your bonsai has a pair of branches or trunks that are either too close together or too far apart and you can’t separate them by wiring, these two training methods off a simple solution to the problem.
Spreading: a simple wedge can permanently spread apart two branches that are growing too close. This works particularly well to separate parallel trunks and forked branches. Take a small piece of wood, cut it into a triangular or trapezoidal shape, and gently wedge it between the limbs until they are separated as far as you want. Be very careful when separating forked branches; too much pressure can cause a split down the fork. Remove the wedge after 4 months. If the branches
If you grow just a few bonsai plants, you will have no problem displaying them. All you need is something that elevates the pots so that you can view them from the front rather than from the top down.
return to their original positions, put the wedge back in place. Eventually the branches will lose their tendency to spring back when you take away the wedge.
Snugging: to bring branches closer, especially parallel ones, loop a soft cord or a small belt around them and pull them into the desired position. Or form a piece of sturdy wire into an “S” shape, hooking each branch into one of the curves of the “S”. In time, the branches will stay in place on their own.
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