Greetings all, and thanks for your collective wisdom regarding the
application of Lime Sulfur.
I never thought my simple question would result in such an educational and
entertaining thread.

Last Friday I had the pleasure of spending the day with Mr. Walter Pall, at
Jim Doyles facilities at Natures Way Nursery in Harrisburg PA.
Needless to say, for a newbie with less than two years experience, it was a
very educational day.
His unique application of power tools, fire, and selective pruning and
wiring, turned a number of rather good potensai into very good bonsai.
During the day, Mr. Pall helped me turn a rather "ugly" 20 year old JPN into
an "acceptable" literati, which in another 20 or 30 years, just might be
featured in BT !
However..... during the wiring process, it became embarrassingly obvious
that my wiring skills leave something to be desired.
From 20 feet away, my tree has potential. Any closer and my wiring becomes
the focal point !
Mr. Pall was very kind.
Rather than demanding that I remove all the wire and re-apply it, he smiled
and suggested that I practice my wiring skills.

My next question is .... Other than visiting the local nursery and
purchasing a bunch of sacrificial trees, how does one "practice" the fine
art of wiring ?

Thanks again to all willing to share their experience, tips and tricks.

Mark Hill - Harrisburg PA (Zone 6b)

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Thanks for sharing, Mark. I envy your opportunity there.
BTW, what is JPN?
Most of us could benefit from more wiring practice! If
you are looking for opportunities for wiring practice, usually
most of us have plenty of trees needing wiring. I've certainly
never lacked opportunities for wiring, only time and motivation.
However, if everything is wired out (including secondary and
tertiary branches), then you can always practice on tree branches
cut off of large trees.
Also, check out the video on wiring produced by
Shinkikaku. It is dubbed in English and very instructional. If
you can't find it to buy, (try http://www.infoseed.com/mall/roof/
) I think it is also available to rent through the BCI
Audio/Video Library Service.
VOL.1 WIRING
.. Tools & Wire
.. Pruning & Selection of the Front
.. Wiring Trunks
.. Wiring Branches
.. Rearranging the Apex
.. Black Pine, Juniper, Maple,
.. Azalea & Zelkova
It's all about practical techniques and information on writing
that you can use right away!


Alan Walker
http://bonsai-bci.com http://LCBSBonsai.org


-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Hill

Greetings all, and thanks for your collective wisdom regarding
the application of Lime Sulfur. I never thought my simple
question would result in such an educational and entertaining
thread.

Last Friday I had the pleasure of spending the day with Mr.
Walter Pall, at Jim Doyle's facilities at Natures Way Nursery in
Harrisburg PA.
Needless to say, for a newbie with less than two years
experience, it was a very educational day. His unique application
of power tools, fire, and selective pruning and wiring, turned a
number of rather good potensai into very good bonsai. During the
day, Mr. Pall helped me turn a rather "ugly" 20 year old JPN into
an "acceptable" literati, which in another 20 or 30 years, just
might be featured in BT!

However..... during the wiring process, it became embarrassingly
obvious that my wiring skills leave something to be desired. From
20 feet away, my tree has potential. Any closer and my wiring
becomes the focal point!
Mr. Pall was very kind. Rather than demanding that I remove all
the wire and re-apply it, he smiled and suggested that I practice
my wiring skills.

My next question is .... Other than visiting the local nursery
and purchasing a bunch of sacrificial trees, how does one
"practice" the fine art of wiring?

Thanks again to all willing to share their experience, tips and
tricks.
Mark Hill - Harrisburg PA (Zone 6b)

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Boon Manakitivipart++++
************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

In a message dated 10/23/2004 11:51:48 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

My next question is .... Other than visiting the local nursery and
purchasing a bunch of sacrificial trees, how does one "practice" the fine
art of wiring?

I am told that in Japan it is OK to show trees that are wired, but of
course, the wiring job must be neat and correct.
However, if you are wiring and not showing the tree, I would think, as
long as the wiring accomplishes its purpose and doesn't injure the tree it is
OK.
Having said that, there are some rules that make the wiring most
effective and others that prevent injury to the tree. Yoshimura has a chapter that
I like
Billy on the Florida Space Coast

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On 23 Oct 2004 at 23:40, Mark Hill wrote:


My next question is .... Other than visiting the local nursery and
purchasing a bunch of sacrificial trees, how does one "practice" the fine
art of wiring ?


By doing it. And you might just as well "do" it on a bonsai as
on an odd shrub in your yard. Your first few tries may be ugly,
but ugly never hurt anyone. Next year it'll look better. And
the year after that . . .

I hate to wire, but I'm slowly getting more or less proficient
at it. There's a fellow in our club who loves to wire. I'm
sure his trees get great FM reception.

And, as Walter probably showed you, it takes a combo of wiring
and fine pruning to make a tree look good. Of course, in MY
case, I reverse the process -- pruning, then wiring as a last
resort. ;-)

Jim Lewis - - This economy is a wholly
owned subsidiary of the environment. - Gaylord Nelson

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Mark

Wiring is not *the fine art*! It is a SKILL which is honed with practice.
What you have to bear in mind is that you have to coil it around the branch
or the trunk like a Python dose it on its victim. You don't have to
constrict the branch nor keep it loose, it should just snug. And most
important is that you should select the right gauge. The
pliability/hardness of the wire should match that of the branch. I started
it doing it on a round pencil, then on the garden shrubs and now I think I
am quite good at it.

Anil Kaushik
Bonsai Club (India)
Chandigarh "The City Beautiful"


My next question is .... Other than visiting the local nursery and
purchasing a bunch of sacrificial trees, how does one "practice" the fine
art of wiring ?

Thanks again to all willing to share their experience, tips and tricks.

Mark Hill - Harrisburg PA (Zone 6b)


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****
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****
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Mark:

You're getting good advice, and I won't contradict any of it. (I think I'll
check out that video myself.)

Two points:

1. Arthur Skolnick (from Toronto) does a super presentation on wiring.
Perhaps your club could get him in for one of their meetings.

2. Go to your hobby shop and get some of those long pipe cleaners. They are
great for practice, or for helping figure out a difficult part of a wiring
project. They're easy to work with, and won't hurt your trees.

3. (I lied.) Use wire that is about 1/3 the diameter of the branch to be
wired at its thickest point. Heavier if the branch is stiff. Copper holds
much better than aluminum.

Patience.

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