Why are you doing that? The tree is a natural broom, and looks just fine the way it is. I will presume it is on your land? You know, a very famous bonsai teacher (John Naka) said that bonsai are meant to look like trees, not the other way around.

Well said Lucy.

However, to answer the question on the subject of how long will it take for the branches to fix, I would suspect never. The reason why branches retain a position after wiring etc, is becasue there is some damage caused to the internal structure of the branch which the tree repairs. It is the scar tissue developed around the damage in the new position that holds. The more accute the bend the more scar tissue will be developed and more quickly, so severe bends when done correctly may retain the new position more easily and quickly. Correspondingly, gentle bends take longer to fix in position. The reason why certain old trees in nature have branches that bend down is due to the weight of the branch and foliage, this of course remains in place all the time.

There is a tendency by some people in bonsai to think that bent down branches is a requirement, this is not the case. Look at trees in the wild and see which species have branches that bend down.

Sorry I didn't mention the reason. The location I was standing when taking the following picture is in our front yard. It's the basements only external door and we plan to put a patio there in the future. We desire more privacy. So if those branches were closer to the ground the would help out a lot more. I think the tree is ugly to begin with, so if this will make it "uglier" that is fine. I have several old bosai books from my grandmother (1950-60's). The have picture of old people hanging large stones to huge trees to alter the shape. I thought this would be easier than trying to tie up a 200lb.+ rock

{{gwi:5818}}

need a big one of these....
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Being somewhat closer to the ground now (even if it 'works') won't help much in future as the tree will continue to grow higher, along with the branches, and you still won't have much privacy. Why don't you just either put up a fence (even just lattice if necessary) or plant a few bushes?

harleysilo, LOL