AusBonsai

After the BSV workshops on Sunday I was inspired to tackle a bending project. I have some possibilities in mind but after bending there are lots more options.
Please feel free to make suggestions. the shari was carved and most of the heartwood removed.
The cavity was packed with 6mm wire and bound with raffia and then rubber, more 6mm wire was used to brace the outside of the bend. It was now that I was faced with a dilemna.
The tree has undergone some serious stress, it should rest, but the buds are ready to burst and the sap will soon begin to flow. So I decided to reposition most of the branch tips. After bending they were pointed to the ground so I turned them upwards.
Does this cause more stress or give the tree a better chance of recovery?
Now the tree will rest and hopefully recover.

gday gerard

mate this is a tough one! such a straight trunk makes things hard and being so tall! did you only put the one bend in it straight over? wouldnt mind seeing a different angle, I think this one is gonna be a challenge no matter what ya do but Im sure if it survives something will come from it!

as for wiring the tips up I can see this being any more stressfull to the tree than what has been done to it, honestly I dont think wiring the tips will stress it that much actually, I beleive it can be good for the tree as it can open up the tree allowing more light in which can help a lot

good luck man

Jamie wrote:gday gerard

did you only put the one bend in it straight over?

This is only the beginning of the bending, but at present survival is the main concern.
I am considering another serious bend between the base and the new bend.
I have also (a year ago) created two shari all the way from the bend to the apex, it seems to not have interfered with the sap flow because the new budding is prolific. This was done with the thought of splitting the trunk in the furure.
I will stick to the conifer rule, "only insult the tree once a year' so there is time to rethink the plan before the next bends

Gday Gerard,

A brave attempt and such a sharp bend.

I did two such heavy bends on a Scots pine this year, a twin trunk.

I bent the lower trunk first and also rotated it by about 90 degrees. I left it about a month with no signs of problems.

I then bent the upper and thicker trunk even sharper and with about 270 rotation. That was abot 9 weeks ago and it looks fine.

Next time I think you need to get more movement all the way along the trunk, top to bottom. I did not have to hollow out the trunk but just used the drillout method.

I did however very tightly bind the trunks with two layers of a thick and broad grafting tape, then vet wrap and then wire and tourniquet.

I will try and photograph it this weekend and post separately and here..

Grant

Thanks Grant,
This is my first attempt at a sharp bend and I was not brave enough to attempt the second one at the same time, I would love to see those pics.

Here is a sketch of what I am considering

Looks good.

The head is now much nearer the base and the long too straight trunk will be more interesting.

Once the bends get sharper and more frequent it is easier to tie off the bends and hold them in place.

Grant

Hi Gerard,

I have been building a new shed all day but it is almost finished. This has been my main project for the last few months with any spare time I had.

Anyhow I did photograph the scots pine tonight.

i had one detail wrong as described above. I only used the broad grafting tape on this tree plus the drill out method.(no vet wrap)

One interesting side effect was that I could see through the plastic as I was bending and could see the various stress points. So as you can see a pretty extreme bend on the top and the branch at its tip was twisted through 270 degrees to its new position.

The lower branch was not as extreme a bend and the branch at its tip was twisted through just 180 degrees,

More photos following

Grant

Now that I am reasonably certain the tree has survived I will finish off the placement of branches etc.

I will post this as a separate thread elsewhere to describe the techniques more thoroughly.

Grant

I like where this one is going grant!

I have used grafting tape before as a binding when severe bends are to be done, I used it on a juniper once and as the tape was a solid colour (i beleive green) when I removed it because it was able to get some moisture in under the tape it had actually put out roots in five or six places up the trunk!

look forward to seeing the thread!

Jamie wrote:I like where this one is going grant!

I have used grafting tape before as a binding when severe bends are to be done, I used it on a juniper once and as the tape was a solid colour (i beleive green) when I removed it because it was able to get some moisture in under the tape it had actually put out roots in five or six places up the trunk!

look forward to seeing the thread!

hi Jamie and welcome back,

I will post once I have done more work on the tree,

Grant

Thanks Grant
I love those tight bends you have achieved

Gerard wrote:Thanks Grant
I love those tight bends you have achieved

I learnt a lot myself doing this series of bends so I will definately give more detail it soon.

Grant

Hi Gerard I am very interested in what you have done as it very similar to mine a few months ago, but mine not quite as tight

interested to see what becomes of yours in time.

Grant I love yours and this sort of work will improve our tree quality immensely

Ken

Hi Gerard,

I missed this post too. I like what you have done, I would not have the gut to do such a sharp bent.

I like your sketch too. Once you are certain that it survived, I am sure you can achieve what you have set out in the sketch.

Good luck and best regards.