Bonsaify | Wiring Yaupon Holly Starters - Are You Up for the Challenge?

Wow, there is A LOT of tension in this video, as Eric works through a flat of Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) and shares the risks and rewards of wiring to create movement. Can you count how many branches were split in the making of this video? 00:01:05 Yaupon Holly is a broadleaf evergreen with characteristics that Eric likes. They have shiny small leaves and make tight dense foliage pads. He wanted to explore how to use this species to make mame and shohin trees, and began by propagating to have a lot of trees to experiment on. 00:01:53 Close-up of base of one of these experiments. How do you get a good size trunk with movement in it? 00:02:27 Wiring demo illustrates a downside. 00:03:32 Eric learns that by wiring the more herbaceous or fresh growth, he can actually create some good movement. 00:04:05 Cut back "Clip and grow" provides another option. 00:05:02 Eric works through a flat, wiring and clipping back, to give some character to his starter plants. 00:05:15 Subject #1 - using 2 strands of 3mm aluminum wire spaced apart to see if he can get a bend in a relatively established (with bark) trunk. 00:06:27 Is this a failure or a potential success? 00:07:39 Does twisting while bending sometimes give you a better shot of not splitting the branch? 00:08:22 Subject #2 - remember to go down into the soil to find the trunk's junction with the major roots. 00:09:58 Smaller twig = much more flexible! 00:10:24 Subject #3 is really small, so Eric will easily put movement into a new, tender shoot. 00:11:17 Subject #4 is from older plants Eric originally used for propagation, and he see a pretty common pattern in growth from these. 00:12:13 Subject #5 is an example of previous wiring. 00:13:00 Subject #6 - TENSION - will it split? Remember to give young plants interesting movement in 3 dimensions. 00:14:01 Subject #7 "The isty bitsy spider, crawled up Eric's pointer finger." 00:14:20 Subject #8 - Another previously wired example that Eric snips to demonstrate "clip and grow" to create movement. 00:15:26 Subject #9 - Good example of creating movement in 3 dimensions. 00:16:37 Subject #11 - Eric pulled it out of the container so you can see base of trunk. This is a perfect example of what to try and avoid with this species - a perfectly straight trunk. Eric makes a deep bend that may not survive. 00:18:36 Subject #12 is a better size to create movement. 00:18:55 Unlucky #13 ends up with a big crack. 00:19:05 Eric summarizes tips for wiring this challenging but rewarding species. What are your tips for creating movement in Yaupon Holly? Share them in the comments below! Thank you for watching; please like and share this video. Subscribe to our channel for more instructional and inspiring bonsai videos!