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♫ bluegrass music ♫
>> Narration: Winter creates a lot of down time,
Trees have been taken care of for the winter as they lie dormant and
protected from the elements.
Soon, they're going to be coming out, and there are many things that must be done.
The snow that comes down will have insulated them and provided some
moisture to prevent them from drying out.
spring and summer branch training.
This particular wire happens to be from renovations my wife and I
did to our house. I saw no sense in ordering online or buying from the store
if I have this wire already laying around. It just takes a little bit of
extra work and a small fraction of time for more important aspects of your day.
Once wire has been completely stripped, it is wrapped around a cylindrical object,
in this case PVC pipe. It allows for a useful and compact form.
Next, it must be annealed.
I have a wood stove in my basement which is the perfect place to
anneal copper wire without any special equipment.
I wait until the wire is cherry red before pulling it out.
Once annealed, the hot wired can be withdrawn from the wood stove and
quenched in water. But, it isn't necessary with copper.
A cool basement floor will suffice.
This small gauge hobby wire from a hardware store is now annealed.
You can see the cherry red color. This will be used for smaller branches.
Annealed copper wire is very soft and pliable. It wraps easily around branches and trunks
but, as it cold forms, it becomes more stiff and doesn't spring back easily.
Copper wire will hold its shape with less wire than aluminum, and annealed copper wire also has
a dull finish. Fresh copper wire, such as this, has a shiny coating that can detract
attention from your tree
♫ bluegrass music ♫
One of the most important things you can do is soil preparation.
Here I'm using a basket of 3/16" wire mesh, or about 5 millimeters.
I also have a five gallon bucket which will collect the media. For demonstration purposes I'm
only using one scoop, filling the basket with it, and shaking into the bucket.
The smaller particles which I will be using drop into the bucket. The larger
particles I will discard into my garden. To remove smaller particles I use a
1/16" inch wire mesh, or about 2mm. Small particles such as dust
can block drainage holes, which leads to root run and other problems.
It's very important to remove these small particles from your soil mixtures.
As you can see there is plenty of dust that could block a hole and prevent good
drainage
here I have some buckets of sifted material. On the right is Turface, which is
a fired clay. On the left is a diatomaceous earth which is similar to
Oil-Dri, or kitty litter. Mixed together they make sixty to seventy-five percent of my
bonsai soil mixture. Pine bark, sifted in the same way
finishes out the rest of it.
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My favorite preparation in late winter and early spring
has always been scouting material.
I will always look at more trees than I will dig up trees.
Seeing the potential in every living thing out there is just amazing.
Whether you're walking your dog, or you're climbing a mountain,
taking a hike, or a leisurely drive down the road
It's amazing what you'll find if you just stop to look.
So, go outside and see what you can find for yourself
And I hope you have a happy Spring!
♫ bluegrass music ♫