My poor Birch (Betula Pubescens)

Hi growers and growettes

I'm in a bit of a pickle. My first "real" bonsai, a downy Birch I salvaged from a local swamp three years ago is dying I'm afraid. I've grown it in a big pot for two years and is was very vigorous and healthy, big healthy root system and load of shoots every spring. So healthy I decided it was ready to be wired completely for it's first time early this spring. Knowing full well that Birches are prone to sudden and even complete dieback when they don't feel perfect. I left the wire on longer than I would normally because I had new wire clippers coming in, among other reasons. I also impatiently used steel wire instead of copper or aluminium because I didn't want to wait for the new batch to come in, I know, I should hit myself, I really am.

I'm afraid I wired it too tightly because the only shoots that are leaving now are the ones at the bottom that I didn't wire. I'm also afraid I left the wire on too long because I wanted to wait till the buds opened so I was sure the branches set properly. I left the wire on for about 6 weeks, I just took everything off hopefully restoring as much of the sap flow as possible. The good news is all the branches have set and most of the wood is still somewhat alive under the bark without any real cutting in of the wire. Still I'm afraid I'm too late and have nothing left but a future shohin with very little options.

Is there anything I can do to save it?
I would love some feedback because I would hate to have to cut her back, she was so nice and big with such vigorous leave pads. She reminded me of my girl in a way and I don't want it to remind me of shrek instead if I can do anything about it.

Buy some Rhizotonic.

http://www.kaizenbonsai.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=26_78&products_id=2461

Hihi, I'm quite sure that stuff is developed for cannabis :p

I'm using superthrive allready, although I'm not sure if I actually believe in it.

Often it is the case that hydroponic technologies developed in Holland come out with ingenious technologies that advance knowledge and techniques used in horticulture. Don’t overlook them due to their suggested usages.

Oh I agree completely.
Generally those guys are serious professionals and the gain they made in their horticultural field is very impressive. Nowadays you can get cannabis seeds in dozens of varieties that produce 98% female plants always and that will automatically flower and ripen in a preset timespan nomatter what you feed them or how you light them.

If these products work on bonsai might be different however, remember that cannabis is a very fast growing plant. I used to have a few of those plants myself in my wilder days and I know the brand.

I have had a couple of birches die on me due to my lack of knowledge about them in the past. I have learned that yes they are very prones to die back that is far from being saved once it begins. B since then i have gained knowledge that has seemed to work for me with my current birch to save limbs. It may seem unorthidox but i have had very good results on saving branches and possibly why they may "suddenly" dieback for no apparent reason. I use regular electrical black tape to help with die back. The reason why is because it helps seal off the loss of sap from branches. I have learned that birches are more sensative to die back due to transpiracy of sap than i thought in the past when dealing with other deciduous trees. Before i learned about the whole sap/birch problem i pruned my now dead birches whithout them being dormant and also wired them, i noticed while wiring them small cracks began to form on the branches due to the strees put on the branches from the bends of the wire and shaping. Then i lost those branshes and so forth lost the tree due to so much sap being lost through the cracks of the branches. So now i use eletrical tape to dress the cracks in the branches and from that point on i havent had any die back when wiring or just noticing cracks from moving the tree or wind or what have you after applying the tape to the affected areas, hope this helps.