Wiring

[Tousabella]

Hi;
I'm wondering what to use for wiring some wayward branches. My 'saved' copper wire seems to have disappeared and the cost of it now is ridiculous. What can I use 'instead of'?
Thanks, You have all been so helpful in the past. I really enjoy the forum.

[TomM]

Generally speaking bonsai wire is offered in either copper or aluminum - the latter being less expensive, and preferred for most beginners and hobbyists. Other than that your best bet might be found at your local hardware store - electrical wire of various types. Check the tensile strength and "feel" of 2 or 3 gauges of wire and go with your gut.

[Tousabella]

Thanks, Tom. I'll check out the hardware when the smoke finally clears here and we are no longer on evacuation notice!! Wow...what a month this has been!
Thanks, again.

[manIK]

Another option is to buy coated floral wire. The kind of thin stuff you can get at most craft stores. You get a lot of it and its cheap. The thing of it is, you have the option of gauging (hahe wire-pun) how thick you want the wire to be by just twisting multiple lines of it.

So if I need something thin with a little give, I'll twist say 4 wires... If I need something thicker with no give to hold down a particularly thick branch or shape a thin trunk, I'll twist 6 - 10 wires. I've had the same spool for two years now. And depending on how considerate you are, you can reuse them.

[JTred]

You want to be careful of what type of metal is in your wire, as some metals can poison certain types of trees (eg. steel and maples). Depending on the type of bend you want you may be able to use twine as guy wires. Unfortunately this only works for a downward bend.