Totally Wired

Some of you may remember that Dad bought Mom a Bonsai Tree for her birthday some months back and it has been growing like a weed. Mom is snipping it every day to keep it in shape. Amazingly she also found a Bonsai Tree at Walmart for only $10.00. It was in need of some pruning, shaping and wiring so Mom and I decided to give it go.  We ordered some special shaping wire and some special paste you put on the little branches after you clip them so they don't get any nasty fungus growing on them. Oh and look what we found as we trimmed back a few leaves - it is flowering - teeny tiny flowers! They are not very spectacular but it shows the plant is happy and growing well.














Here is Mom winding the wire around the branch. She has to be very careful as they are so thin it is easy to snap them. I told Mom we needed to give it a weeping look so she did. The wires get left on for about 12 months by which time the branches thicken and harden and stay where they are. Now this new tree also has much bigger leaves but mom hopes that with regular snipping and root trimming they will get smaller each season like the one dad bought her which is a much older tree.