Securing a Tanuki/Wraparound

Hi. I'm going to try my first attempt at a Tanuki / Wraparound and I'm unsure on how to stabilise the driftwood. I've read securing the base with chicken wire and also just wiring through pre drilled holes and attaching to the to the base of the pot. Having seen many excellent examples on this site I was wondering what method best to use.

Hi Dave, you have probably read Dans Book... and he has a good suggestion. Can you post a photo of your surrogate deadwood It my be that you can secure with wire into the pot and not have to go to the trouble. I have two Tanuki on the go at the moment and neither have any 'work' done on the base

regards

Tony

The above trees are all Phoenix grafts or Tanuki.
The method I use is as follows.
I prepare the driftwood in advance. Its soaked in preservative and left to dry. The bottom is soaked in wood hardner and left to dry.
I cut a shallow channel in the drift wood for the Juniper whip to lie in.
The Juniper Whip is shaved on one side to give a shallow D profile.
A very thin layer of Gorilla glue, as suggested by Peter Adams in an article, is place in the channel.
The whip is then placed in channel and secured temporarily with plastic cable straps.
When I am happy with the placement I drill pilot holes through the whip into the dread wood.
I then permanently attach whip to drift wood with inert brass screw.
The gorilla glue as well as attaching the whip will swell and fill any gaps. The excess can be trimmed with a sharp knife. When dry I remove the plastic cable straps

The trees above are now in the second year and obviously need to fill out so that further styling can take place. Trees three and four are variation on a theme , here older thicker trees have been attached to the drift wood.

Hi Phil,

Thanks for posting Inspirational images of Tanuki Bonsai . These are among the finest I have seen. Truly amazing.

Ravi

Nice examples. I hope my effort turns out half as good. I've prepared similar but still looking for suitable whips to attach. What method did you use to secure the driftwood at
the base ?

tony wrote:Hi Dave, you have probably read Dans Book... and he has a good suggestion. Can you post a photo of your surrogate deadwood It my be that you can secure with wire into the pot and not have to go to the trouble. I have two Tanuki on the go at the moment and neither have any 'work' done on the base

regards

Tony

Yes one of my collection of Bonsai books. I was going to follow his method but saw a demo where wires were just attached to the base and secured as you would when potting up a tree. I just wondered whether it was on the size of driftwood. Iwill try and post my pieces.

Hi,
I have used various methods to secure the driftwood into the pot, from making a base from car body filler to simple wire ties. Phil