How long do I wire?

How long should I wire my tree for? Should I wait for a season [how long is a season?] or should I keep it wired until I THINK it should come off? How long does it take for the branches to grow the way i want them? I'm assuming that they lignify according to the climate they are in.

Thank you
-Roku

It depends on what kind of tree you have, how fast it grows. You keep the wire on until just before it starts cutting into the bark. It takes experience to determine when that is.

JimLewis wrote: It takes experience to determine when that is.

Yes, but you can start with a few generalities. Maples & Ficus set very rapidly. You may have to take the wire off a maple after only a couple of weeks. Conifers are very slow. They are usually wired in the fall, & may take a year or more. With some trees, you see the wire starting to cut in & take it off, & the branch goes sproing! and you have to wire it again.
Iris

bonsaisr wrote:

JimLewis wrote: It takes experience to determine when that is.

Yes, but you can start with a few generalities. Maples & Ficus set very rapidly. You may have to take the wire off a maple after only a couple of weeks. Conifers are very slow. They are usually wired in the fall, & may take a year or more. With some trees, you see the wire starting to cut in & take it off, & the branch goes sproing! and you have to wire it again.
Iris

Okay. I have a ficus. So will it take a few weeks or a few months? I just don't want to take it off and have to start all over again.
Thank you so much!

Wiring trees is an ongoing thing. You cannot expect to only wire a tree once. I have trees that have been wired 4/5 times. When larger branches finally hold their shape the secondary branches need wiring and so on and so on.

will baddeley wrote:Wiring trees is an ongoing thing. You cannot expect to only wire a tree once. I have trees that have been wired 4/5 times. When larger branches finally hold their shape the secondary branches need wiring and so on and so on.

Yes! I understand that! I was just wondering how long to wire the main branches.
Thanks

Most young Ficus will take a month or two for the main branches. But you may have to do some wiring over again. That is better than having permanent scars.
Iris

bonsaisr wrote:Most young Ficus will take a month or two for the main branches. But you may have to do some wiring over again. That is better than having permanent scars.
Iris

okay! Thank you so much. So after a month, should I take the wiring off and see how it looks and then after a couple of days, wire it again?

-Alex