When Do You Remove The Wire From Your Bonsai?

So, you’ve wired and styled your bonsai tree and now you are asking how long the wire should stay on your for?

I can’t give a straight answer as there is too many variables. Wire can stay on a bonsai tree for a couple of weeks all the way up to a couple of months. It really depends on the tree, the size of the branch, how much you bent it, the time of year and even how well it was wired.

As a very general rule: the wire needs to be removed when it’s been on long enough for the branch to have set into place, but not long enough to cause any damage.

You need to find that sweet spot between these two, which is going to be a different time for each individual piece of wire you apply.

How Bonsai Wiring Works

Before working out when to remove wire its good to make sure we understand how wiring a tree works.

The goal of wiring is to hold a branch in to a position that you want. You take a piece of wire that is stronger than the branch and wrap it around it. (This is the very basic explanation). You then bend the branch and move it into the shape or position you like.

As the wire is stronger, it keeps the branch in this new position and as the branch grows, it sets in this new position.  

(You can read more information about – Why We Wire Trees)

How Bonsai Wire Should be Applied

Bonsai Wire should be applied so that it is snug against the branch. You can sort of compare it to a ring on your finger. Rings should be tight enough so it touches the skin and doesn’t slip off the finger, but isn’t so tight its hurts or gets stuck.  Wire on a tree needs to be like this too.

You almost want there to be a little bit of space between the wire and the tree to allow the branch to grow in to it. As it starts to grow become tight against the wire, it should have hopefully grown enough to have set into place.

On the other hand you cannot have the wire too loose, or it will not be functional and you will not be able to bend the branch how you want effectively.  

How Trees Grow Into Wire

If you watch a new shoot grow, it will come out soft and green and then as it grows it become thicker and stronger. You will also see it also starts to turn woody and lignify. Even older branches do something similar. As they grow new layers of cells are formed under the bark also making these branchs thicker and stronger.

If you have changed the position and shape of the branch the cells under the bark will still grow. They are going to make the branch thicken and strengthen, however, as you have created a new shape, it will grow in a way that will permanently set it into this new position.

It is at this point where the branch has set into position that you can then remove the wire and of course the branch will remain in the new position or shape that you chose. 

If you did nothing the tree would keep growing and getting thicker and then start pushing into the wire, where it would end up causing damage to the bark.

When Is The Ideal Time To Remove Bonsai Wire?

The goal is to keep the wire on for as long as possible so it can let the branch set into the new position, but also remove it before it causes any damage.

You need to find the sweet spot in-between these two, where the branch has grown enough to allow it to set in place, but not grown so much that it has started to cut it.

There is no set time for how long this can take! This could be three weeks, this could three months or it could even be three years. The wire needs to be removed when it is ready to be removed.

As a general guide you want to remove it just as it is getting a little too tight. If there is a slight mark left, this is usually fine, but anything more than this can be bad.

I will discuss below in more detail about the effects of removing the wire to early or too late.

If you remove it while it is just getting a bit too tight, you should be fine. It is safer to do this and find out you have removed it too soon, rather wait until it is too late and have damaged the tree.

 (I will be coming back to this article to add some pictures, showing the stages of wire getting tight, which will hopefully be more helpful)

How To Check If Your Bonsai Wire Needs To Be Removed

As there is no set time for how long wire should stay on a bonsai tree, the only way to check your wire is to actually look at it. You need to physically inspect each piece of wire to see if any of it has gotten too tight.

You will need to keep an eye on the tree and see how it is growing. The faster it grows, the quicker the branch will thicken and start cutting into the wire.

You need to consider factors such as time of year, how much fertiliser you have given, the thickness of the wire, how you applied it and the general growth habits of your species.

If it is the middle of winter and your tree is not growing, you probably don’t need to check it that often.

If it is the middle of spring and it is having some crazy growth spurts you might want to check your wire a little more often, the branches are likely to thicken really fast.

It is also important to know that throughout an individual tree some areas will grow quicker than others. So you need to look at each branch you have wired individually. Just because one branch is looking fine, does not mean another is not cutting in.

You will also find that a single branch may thicken up quicker at one end compared to the other. So you should check the whole length of the wire to make sure nothing is biting in.

If this is the case, you can remove wire from certain branches or even remove sections of the wire along one branch if it is cutting in. You do not need to remove all the wire at once. You can remove it in stages and leave parts on until it is ready to be removed.

What Happens If You Remove Bonsai Wire Too Soon?

Taking wire off to early will not harm the bonsai tree, but it will harm your artist/ aesthetic goals.

If you remove it before the branch has set it will just move back to where it was originally was.

Basically, if you take it off too early you are pretty much wasting your time. It’s like taking something out of the oven before its finished cooking.

Depending on how aggressive the bends where and how long the wire has been on the tree will determine how much it springs back to its original position.

If this happens, and you are not happy with where the branches are now, you will have to re-wire the branch and bend it back to where you want it. 

What Happens If You Leave Bonsai Wire On For Too Long?

Removing wire too late can actually be a very big problem.

As the tree grows, it will start to push up against the wire. As wire is applied in a coil like fashion, it looks as though the tree is being squeezed by the wire. The reality is that the tree is expanding outward and actually growing into the wire.

As the wire is stronger than the branch, the tree cannot move it so the wire stays in position. This means that as tree expands it will have to grow around the wire.

At first it will push right up against the wire and it will look like the wire is on very tight against the branch.

Eventually it will get so tight that it will start to dig in. This will now start leaving marks on the branch.

As the tree keeps growing it will really start to bite in. The branch will start to grow up and around the side of the wire almost looking like it has started to dig in to the branch.

If this is left the wire will be almost consumed by the branch. The wire will be really deep into the branch and may be impossible to remove at this point.

The branch will eventually fully grow over the wire and you will not be to see it anymore.

What Do You Do If Wire Has Damaged Your Bonsai?

If you wait too long and the wire has started to cut in to your bonsai, you need to remove it as soon as possible.

If it is just starting to cut in, it may leave a mark. If this is the case you might be okay. In some species the mark will just fade away over time as the tree grows and in other more delicate bark trees, it may be scared for life.

If the wire has started to really bite in, you need to carefully remove it. You should cut away small sections at a time. You need to carefully pull the wire straight out, vertical to the angle it is at. Basically you do not want to touch the bark on either side of the wire. It is very easy to pull this bark off.

If the back is removed here it can come off almost in a ring, as it follows the coiling of the wire. If you remove a ring of bark like this, there is a strong chance that you will kill the whole branch.

If you have left your wire on this long it will leave your tree with deep scars. As the branch swells around the wire you will be left with deep grooves along your tree. These grooves are made worse by the branch swelling and growing straight up along the side of the wire, so you will get a number of peaks and troughs along the branch.    

This can look very unsightly and it may never heal over. It will depend on the severity, the species and the size of the branch. In general you want to avoid this. There is no real cure. You will just have to wait and see how the tree heals.  Often you may need to remove the branch and grow a new one, if this is possible.

(You can read more about – Frequently Asked Questions About – Bonsai Wire) 

Can You Leave Bonsai Wire On Forever?

Technically the tree will keep growing around the wire and swallow it up.

In some species, although not ideal, this is harmless and over time the wire will just get buried in the branch.

This is sometimes used to thicken up some species of pine trunks. Wire is wrapped around the trunk and then left. The tree grows into it and then over it. The swelling over the wire actually makes the trunk look thicker.   

In other species this technique is not advised. The wire will cut in and actually constrict the flow of sap up the branch, so it effectively strangles it and it causes it dies.

As a general rule you shouldn’t leave your bonsai wire on any longer than it is needed.  It will usually cause more problems than advantages in the long run.   

You may also be interested in reading about What Is Bonsai Wire?