Good morning to all -

I purchased a Bald Cypress from a local nursery here in NC. The trunk has a slight bend and I'd like to get it nice and straight.

Having been an enthusiast for less than a year - I was thinking of heavy gauge wire or a post and a string to train the trunk. Wire being the cleaner looking option and less cubersome. What do the more advanced here think?

The curve is much more pronounced than it looks in the picture and begins about halfway up the tree.

Thank you,

We normally train trunks with wire. But we also normally train trunks for more bends, not less. If you want more straight truk, you can wire it to a bambu stake.

But.......In order to get better proportions this tree eigther needs to grow several years to thicken the trunk or needs to be cut down hard for a smaller sized bonsai. If you go for the later option there are absolutelly no reason to straighten it out as the bend is above any cut point of choice.

I would use a thick straight bamboo stick, and tie the tree to the pole with aluminum wire.
Loosen the wire from time to time to check if the wire is not biting into the bark, and change their position vertically.
Nice tree. It does not have to be too thick.

An aluminum wire with a stick would work just great. Don't keep it in too tight.