I fist use a string in the other direction then I intent to bend it, just over the soil to secure it so I don't uproot, I might also use two strings to bend it so the bend don't get to "sharp" so to speak, depending on how easy it is to bend, work it a little before you make the "real" bend, can even do it a little over a few days if your worried about it snapping, use some soft string and do the top bend just below the top leaf`s so the string is hold in place by the leaf steams/grow ..