When to start shaping bonsai
Beginners Guide to Bonsai Shaping
would you say that looks like a well we
like to think that you can make bonsai
from aging all these plants here
including this silver bird seedling can
be made on don't worry
anything can be created as long as it
has a new trunk so let's deal with it
this is a Japanese launch when it's
blown vigorously they get these very
bushy leaves it's a deciduous conifer by
the way but as they get older and they
are kept in the pot for all time they
get these beautiful rosettes which is
just like a party the Japanese and
Chinese called a large a deciduous kind
or drop leaf pine these little seedlings
by the way they are seedlings they're
Silverbird seedlings if you put it in a
little bonsai pot I can guarantee you
you'll make a beautiful little on sight
so don't waste anything this hour I used
to start when I started my hobby things
like that so remind me so let's as plans
go when new shoots come the old shoots
die off for that nowadays most of the
shaping is done by words in the olden
days the Chinese used to make bonsai
using a method which they called cutting
home and in cutting draw what they did
was simply create these shapes by
cutting at the point they want the tree
to grow supposing I want to treat to
have a bend this way so I cut everything
off there the tree will grow there
if I want to shoot back this way I put
it out there and just shoot back that
because these curly and angular shapes
and Banzai are what makes the Banzai
look distinctive but ever since war
started coming into use which is I would
say less than having a hundred years ago
people have not used the cutting room
method very much on door in China there
is a school that does use the cut and
grow method is called a ling Lyle school
and in that style of bonsai the trees
are grown in that angular fashion so
that's distinctive of that style but by
and large today most people do the
bonsai with wires they shaped of trees
with wires and why we use most commonly
with aluminium wire back in the
seventies and even in the early 80s when
we were just getting serious and bonsai
we couldn't get bonsai 101 imported
bonsai why it was a luxury so all we
ever used was coat hanger wire the
insides of electric cables overhead
transmission wires for big trees so
that's the why we use but ever since
bonsai one came into use what's easy
assuming you use the right grid of wire
you can bend the tree into any shape you
will notice that we have different
grades of our this is aluminium one
which is coated brown or hammered iced
because most trees have a brown trunk so
it blends with the thing you can use
clear why you can use copper wire you
can see steel wire iron wire but how you
minimize the easier to use for bonsai
you've got to use the right grade
how do you know it's the right grade I
think there is something we call common
sense if I wanted to bend that trunk I'm
not going to use a thin wire like that
no way will that bend it common sense
tells you it won't bend it I don't need
to use something as thick as a pencil
because that would be a stick of the
trunk but something in between also
there's no hard and fast rule as to what
gauge Y will
then what thickness trunk because
different species will have different
flexibility and pliability the older the
tree the more rigid it becomes and it's
hard to bend the new tree is probably
harder to bend and a large and so it
goes on certain trees are very difficult
to man and can snap like the maples are
very brittle
so we bend it very very little or we
bend it when it's very young okay so we
use the correct gauge wire and once you
put the wire on what we're trying to
create is that issue
someone Halliburton has Chinese out can
I just have the Chinese that's shaped
what we call the S shape or the informal
approach shape this curly shape is
largely created by wiring although there
are other medicines like sticking it in
the ground and then wrapping around a
bamboo pole you can do it that way but
the more common way is to wire with y so
assuming you use the right grade of wire
you can create that shape we are going
to make what is called the S shape and
the S shape is not just a flat test it's
a three dimensional s so you think of a
coil of wire and opening the coil of
wire out that is really an issue so that
is the shape we are trying to create not
just flat so to make that think of
stirring a pot that's the action you
make like that just tear apart one piece
of wire would create actually one piece
of wire how simple is that
not difficult so that is what you do if
I want to use that branch I will but
that is the shape I get with just that
front being one now although it came out
of the pot at that angle
I think it looks better if it spotted at
this angle so we position it like this
if I use this branch I don't know I
could use it as a sacrificial to take in
that but I won't confuse your complicate
matters now let's just wire these now
when it comes to wiring the branches we
find similar thickness branches to wire
with one piece of wire so we have a
thing called the
- Braun's principle where we use one
piece of wire to wire two branches
together now please try and remember
this because it is absolutely
fundamental to wiring bonsai although I
tell people to do it during the class
someone will invariably go back to their
old habits of wiring each branch on its
own there's nothing wrong with wiring
supposing I want to wire this branch I
could easily wrap it around the trunk
and take it out to that branch but if
you keep doing it the trunk will get
congested with water and it will become
very untidy whereas if you use one piece
of wire to use to do the two branches
you get a very neat appearance so you
get a better looking tree tidier tree so
this is the essence of the true branch
principle as I'm using wire cutters to
cut it and then the next pair is that
one or I could even do supposing I
didn't want to go up the trunk I can
wire an existing branch so the existing
branch is this one I'll show you what I
mean and then hook it to this branch so
I'm still using the true branch
principle although this branch has
already been watched so you if you get
three branches you can still use this
principle then the next one will be
these two and so it goes on let me just
finish it I remember back in the 80s
some of you may be old enough to
remember a programme on BBC called
Pebble Mill at one this was a lunchtime
like a magazine programme and part of it
they have a bit of gardening and a chap
called Peter Seabrook used to
do it and the corresponds I was quite a
novel thing in those days I did quite a
lot of his programs I must have gone up
about three four times and when I told
him that we can produce these lodges in
three minutes he says that's an ideal
time for television so I actually
produced these lodges in three minutes
so this is how long it should take you
because I'm talking so much it's taking
longer but if I set myself to three
minutes I could well do it
within three minutes so it just shows
you I'm not trying to be very clever
anything but it shows you it's not
difficult if you go to commercial
nurseries in China and Japan a lot of
this work is done by women and you would
see that they can produce this literally
in three minutes or less so that's how
long it should take you so the point I'm
trying to make is that it's not
difficult it's not difficult how
difficult is this one piece of wire to
do the trunk and a few watch maybe four
four wires to do the branches there you
are and now all I need to do is put it
in a bonsai pot and I've got three that
look quite quite different from what it
started off with so if you've never worn
before I would suggest that you actually
practice this dessert English you can
use the same principle makes it
beautiful little tree you'll get
confidence just from wire so go ahead
always cut wire with the wire cutters
which look like this do any of you
Cossack returns
these are called fur coats with circuit
test and the fur coat secretaries have a
little notch here can you see that not
cell that can cut wire but don't cut
with that although you can cut it it
would block the bling so if you're using
fur coats you can cut it down but block
with the blade
there are few tools if you want to buy
tools you could buy some tools and do
the class with them because if you
haven't got tools I can mention that
there are really only one tools you
really need is with your pair cut tuning
scissors you can buy cheap Chinese ones
I think 10 pound it so cheap and
cheerful is not always the best then
there are better quality ones made in
Japan which are like 39 pounds these
long handle ones are very good they're
tricksters they could do the same thing
therefore pouring the ends of shoots you
see they're called tricks yes so this is
as I say the most useful tool you can
buy if you've seen me on my youtube
videos I prefer this because I like the
grip of the thing this is the same thing
these two do the same job so this is the
most essential to all the other ones
like the rates you can add to it you can
improvise but the scissors you can't get
away with if you got secateurs at home
that's quite good
so rake is very useful because we tease
the roots when you come to putting up
one such as you could use electric
pliers but the Japanese or the proper
bonsai wire cutters are quite unique
they do a very special job and the
action is quite different from any other
tool so they are so much for about the
tools that yeah I think after being
repotted the tent the roots probably a
bit tender it's a start water to feed
now might like do the more homely career
growth
what I saw in this was true excellent
this little kid seems to be like is that
your best side that's a very small
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