Author Topic: Wireing avocado for training ?  (Read 696 times)

Plantinyum

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1418
    • Bulgaria , near Sofia city , planting zone 7
    • View Profile
Wireing avocado for training ?
« on: September 07, 2022, 12:38:50 AM »
My avocado got out of hand ,the branchesh are all cramped near the gh top, i want to get them to kinda weep down if possible. Some of them are too thick to be safely lured down, but those i will gradually try to fasten down with ropes. For the thinner ones i want to use some kind of wire to hopefully guide them down and make a weaping habbit out of it.
Is this a safe way to do it, does avocado have a thin fragile bark that would get damaged by wire, i could try to find a wire that is coated with plastic, like a cable of sorts...
The way it is now it just makes alot of shade for the other plants, i cand really let it spread too much..

Plantinyum

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1418
    • Bulgaria , near Sofia city , planting zone 7
    • View Profile
Re: Wireing avocado for training ?
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2022, 05:45:54 AM »
Anyone?  For the thick ones i may use some technices for bending branches from a avocado grower in Japan i think,  from an article that a kind forum member  provided. I still want to try wiring on it, i saw some branch benders that look neat ,but i will need alot and it just gets too expensive this way.
I will just try it with alumminium and/or copper wire...
« Last Edit: September 09, 2022, 05:54:56 AM by Plantinyum »

mattyboydesigns

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 62
    • St. Petersburg, Florida 9b/10a
    • View Profile
Re: Wireing avocado for training ?
« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2022, 07:53:35 AM »
Never tried wire but I have used rope before.  Branches that still have some green on them or branches around 1-2in thick are easy to manipulate. You can stake the rope to the ground or tie it off to the trunk. You can also use weights to bend branches like fruit would. Feel the branch out when bending and start slow. After a month or so of growing you can add more pressure and bend more. The best thing to do though is bend the branch while it's green and young, which can be done by hand. When bending young branches you can slightly fracture them to change position and they'll heal fine. Pay attention while it's growing as the rope can girdle the branches as the wood thickens. I can post some pics later for reference.

Plantinyum

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1418
    • Bulgaria , near Sofia city , planting zone 7
    • View Profile
Re: Wireing avocado for training ?
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2022, 12:39:40 PM »
Never tried wire but I have used rope before.  Branches that still have some green on them or branches around 1-2in thick are easy to manipulate. You can stake the rope to the ground or tie it off to the trunk. You can also use weights to bend branches like fruit would. Feel the branch out when bending and start slow. After a month or so of growing you can add more pressure and bend more. The best thing to do though is bend the branch while it's green and young, which can be done by hand. When bending young branches you can slightly fracture them to change position and they'll heal fine. Pay attention while it's growing as the rope can girdle the branches as the wood thickens. I can post some pics later for reference.
Thanks ! I would sure appriciate some pics!
The branches i want to manipulate are all with green bark, the thick ones are around a finger thick . There is one that is the fattest of them all , on this one i am thinking of making small incisions on the down side and bend it with a rope tied to the trunk, just like you suggest!
I way mess with the plant tomorrow, will take pics before and after, in my mind for the space i have it must be trained in a weeping stile...

mattyboydesigns

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 62
    • St. Petersburg, Florida 9b/10a
    • View Profile
Re: Wireing avocado for training ?
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2022, 08:44:58 AM »
 

Branch with red circle is 1.5in thick brown wood. It was growing straight up so I used a rope and pulled it to the angle you see.


The branch I am holding is green young growth that is as thick as my finger. Circled in yellow on the first picture.

Very hard to break, but they will snap off at the crotch so be careful of that.


Branch is no longer vertical and I filled an empty space in the canopy. All by hand in less than 30 seconds. It's a great way to shape a tree and keep them smaller without pruning so much. I do this with all my trees.

Plantinyum

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1418
    • Bulgaria , near Sofia city , planting zone 7
    • View Profile
Re: Wireing avocado for training ?
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2022, 09:12:41 AM »
Nice, thanks for the visuals !! They look quite flexible, especially the thin one u have bend this hard. I will proceed to bend the thick ones today, and will get a wire that is encased in rubber for the thinner ones, so that the metal doesnt touch the branch directly...

K-Rimes

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2006
    • Santa Barbara
    • View Profile
Re: Wireing avocado for training ?
« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2022, 03:12:08 PM »
I do a lot of training, pulling branches down flat if too vertical or running into another one. Widens the canopy nicely. Some people don't like the look on certain species but I don't care, I just want better sun exposure for more fruit!

Plantinyum

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1418
    • Bulgaria , near Sofia city , planting zone 7
    • View Profile
Re: Wireing avocado for training ?
« Reply #7 on: September 11, 2022, 01:15:53 AM »
I worked on the plant yesterday, ended up using only ropes , it was easier and wasnt damaging on the plant as wire is. I must say that i was extremely surprised at how bendable the branches were, i made some 180 degree turns without any breakage,  not a single branch broke. None of the plants i have worked with can do this, even willows which are extremely bendable,  do not compare.....
So ,enough bragging,  here's the before pics.... i fucked up the post real bad ,the last two pics are the before....

 
And here is the after , ive succesfully created a weeping avocado haha 😂








The tender growth is awready changing its direction and started going up.







« Last Edit: September 11, 2022, 01:23:52 AM by Plantinyum »

vin1

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 21
    • Irvine, CA
    • View Profile
Re: Wireing avocado for training ?
« Reply #8 on: September 14, 2022, 02:22:27 AM »
I once used bonsai wire to train green avocado branches on a Sharwil on salt clonal rootstock from Subtropica. Some branches were oddly curved, twisted even. I wrapped bonsai wire around these branches and slowly bent them straight (or more straight). It worked, although one of the branches broke off in high winds months later.