When is the best time of the year to wire Scots Pine bonsai ?

Hello all:

When is the best time of the year to wire a Scots Pine Bonsai ? I live in Buffalo, New York (northeast part of USA).
I wired a Scots Pine in the middle of this summer ( temperatures were in the high 80's ). A few weeks later the needles began to die on the branches I had wired. Then the branches I did not wire were beginning to die also. I checked the roots and there was a fair amount of root rot although the soil was dry. The tree was potted in a screened haydite and screened pine bark mixture. About 70% haydite.
I could kick myself. I had been working on that tree for 16 years.
What did I do wrong ?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks...
Gregg

There are folks on here that know OCEANS more about pines than I do but I believe I read that in the summer the xylem and the phloem tissues of conifers are kinda separated by a layer of sap, somewhat floating between them and thus if you wire during that time its easy to cut off the flow within the branch.

Check out the Valavanis demo thread where Bill just did a Dwarf Scots RAF he wired it up just a few days ago I think.
and he's right up north here with us.
-jay

PS I kicked myself for re-potting and wiring a juniper this spring, lost the whole apex I tried to create due to it dying back. I'm definitely a deciduous guy. I'm no good with pines.

The tree's demise may not have had anything to do with wiring. In my experience, pines don't care when you wire them. I think the problem was our excessive rain. Your soil probably did not drain fast enough. This was a bad year in Upstate NY for anything susceptible to root rot.
I trust you will come to hear Julian Adams next Tuesday.
Iris

"This was a bad year in Upstate NY for anything susceptible to root rot."

Amen,

I'm Down; 1 Azalea, 1 Maple, 1 Spirea, almost lost the Juniper (Saved by long strand sphagnum and a midnight re-pot).

drgonzo wrote:"...(Saved by long strand sphagnum and a midnight re-pot).

Ah, no one ever told me about the midnight repotting trick! Maybe could have saved my cotoneaster and black pine pre-bonsai...

Chris
It was one of those "I have to do it right now or I'm not gonna get to sleep" things.

Wiring branches and root rot is not connected. But do not wire (or prune i.e.) a tree with bad roots, because it will not be able to cope with it. If the roots are good, and the tree is healthy and in good growing conditions, you can wire it all the year. In autumn when branches are thickening a little faster on Scots Pines, the wire just have to sit for a shorter time in order not to make any scars when the branches swells.

Any weak trees should newer be worked on because it will stress and harm them. Only wire and work with healthy growing trees.

Regards
Morten