I am a Juniper branch murderer! Frustrated!

[KevDog]

Hey guys!

I recently got the chance to join Rey Nesci’s workshop and got to wire a pre-bonsai juniper I have to quite a nice look. Clint was extremely helpful so thanks a lot Clint!

However, of the juniper (and another 2 of mine at home) i have tried wiring, i keep finding that some of the branches are dying off once wired and left for a few weeks. Extremely frustrating as I thought I was quite delicate with the flexible plant junipers are!

Upon further inspection, i saw that some wires may have peeled back some of the bark but I applied cut paste to protect it at the time of wiring.

Any tips of suggestions on wiring and care post-wiring?
Or maybe I’m just frustrated and need to live & learn!
Thanks all!

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[Grant Bowie]

Juniper squamata prostrate just does that, it sometimes just drops branches for no apparent reason. But I think it is the twisting bending stress that does it, so go easy and they should survive. I have lost occasional branches in the past, but not any more,

Good luck and good skills,

Grant

[dansai]

Juniper squamata bark separates from the wood very easily and also can crack easily at branch junctions, especially when they are in peak growing and full of water. It's often recommended to let them dry out a bit before wiring. Wiring in autumn and winter seems to work well as they generally aren't watered as often, aren't moving as much sap, and you can leave the wire on longer to help set the branches. I got a few a while back and wired them all up when the weather was hot and raining lots. About half of them lost either a branch or the top. One I did a jin and shari on and the wood underneath was saturated. The bark came off easily though.

[shibui]

This is definitely a known thing with all junipers.
As Dansai has explained, when the trees are actively growing the bark is not well attached and slips off easily so when you bend or twist the bark can separate from the wood underneath leading to dead branches. The damage does not show up immediately. Usually takes 2-4 weeks depending how badly damaged they are.
I wired some long shoots on shimpaku growing in the garden with the aim of layering off twisted trunks at some later stage. I felt one snap while bending and it turned brown in a few days but a few weeks later 3 more turned brown. That's not a problem as I knew it was a possibility and have allowed for some losses but it is much more frustrating if it is your only one and unexpected.
You can test this phenomenon by trying to strip bark off a branch at different times of the year. In spring and summer the bark will peel off like a banana skin but in winter you'll need to scrape every fibre off the wood.
Many experienced growers only wire and bend when the trees are dormant as such damage is far less likely then. The better you get at wiring and bending the less likely dieback will be too.

Luckily you appear to have a backup branch so the dead section will hardly be missed on your tree.