weeping fig

I just purchased a weeping fig at a hardware store for $4. It is in an 11 inch pot, is root bound, has multiple stems and is about 24 inches tall. After cleaning out old leaves and roots, it appears to be healthy. I'd like to transform it into a bonsai. Any suggestions on where to begin?

Advertisement

TreeBay

If you're able to post a picture I'm sure you can get some more specific advice. However, in general you will be working to reduce the mass of the rootball and doing some selective pruning of the top of the tree to reduce the plant size sufficiently to accomodate a bonsai-style container.

The first transplant rarely gets you as far as the "final" bonsai container, but it is reasonable to expect that two repottings from now you could be in a showable bonsai container.

We generally begin the process by pruning the top of the tree, because that tells us how much root will be needed to support the remaining foliage.

TRIMMING FICUS

First a point about figs. Ficus exudes a sticky, rubbery sap when you cut a branch, which you should be aware of. It's normal, and in fact rubber plantations use a particular type of ficus to create latex rubber. Sometimes it is a good idea to leave a branch stub to prepare for some level of dieback. This is true of ficus and many thinbarked trees as well as bougainvillea, wisteria and other vinelike plants. A short stub can be trimmed later.

Sharp tools help because they are less likely to crush or tear stems. You can see some basic bonsai tools at TreeBay Bonsai Tools & Supplies*

CREATION PRUNING

There are three main factors in the first pruning. You want to define the silhouette of the tree, select an apex, and choose a front.

CHOOSING THE FRONT

If you place your tree on a table where you can twist it round to examine it from all sides, you will probably find a side that appeals to you most, based on the arrangement of roots or alignment of the trunk. That side is considered a potential "front" for the tree. Often the opposite side may be an alternative front because o fsymmetry, but you may decide it is a definite BACK based on flaws.

THE SILHOUETTE

The silhouette is the outline of the branches of the tree defined by the limits of the outermost branches. Some trees have silhouettes that are triangular, oval or flare shaped. The shape of the silhouette is defined by the height of the tree and the arrangement of the branches. The outline should be slightly irregular so as to appear natural, but a general profile should be discerned. It will be hard to choose an exact shape for the tree until you have defined the apex, so we will look at that next.

THE APEX

Trees are different than shrubs because they are defined by a dominant trunkline, as opposed to a somewhat haphazard arrangement of branches of approximately the same size. The trunkline tapers as it rises but can generally be identified at least through the top 3/4 of the tree before it disappears in a canopy of foliage. The trunkline must either taper or move or it can be considered monotonous and boring.

Some trees may have more than one trunk, but the trunks should be complementary in shape and contrasting in size with thickness in proportion to height.

DEVELOPING THE TRUNKLINE

The next step is to define the trunkline of the tree if it is poorly defined (due to lack of taper, long straight regions, trunk too tall, etc.)

You will be cutting back to existing branches in most cases to try to define a silhouette that is pleasing and interesting. With the weeping fig, it may be necessary to apply bonsai wire to coax the branches into a more elegant, draping appearance in the future.

If you can post a photo, you'll get some more specific advice. It's difficult to make general suggestions, but one can usually identify the points of the tree that are most interesting and those areas that are devoid of interest (long straight branches, areas with no movement or taper). Ultimately you will want a trunk that tapers towards its apex, so you can select branches that achieve this effect, so to create a pleasing trunkline you would probably be cutting the apex at a point at which a smaller branch emerges that can be arranged to represent the top of the tree, and from that branch another smaller branch will be chosen and so forth.

BRANCHES

With the height of the tree defined, you can go back and remove redundant or poorly placed branches to open up the interior of the tree. The idea at this point is to further define the trunkline, create branches which taper and move and are logically arranged in size and position. Multiple branches emerging from the same point or branches that emerge at undesireable angles are points to consider for deletion.

THE ROOTS

You're now in a good position to open the rootball and trim the roots. You will want the root system to be shallow, efficient and well arranged. You need to leave sufficient root to support the remaining foliage of the tree, and definitely error on leaving too much rather than too little. Thick roots do a bonsai little service. It's the fine feeder roots that will do the lion's share of the work.

Rootwork and repotting are really outside the scope of this comment, but if you search this forum on "Camellia Repot" or look int TreeBay Bonsai Tools & Supplies or bonsaiTALK Links >Techniques >Repotting for articles about repotting and soils, it will get you started.

SUMMARY

The development of a bonsai is a process of continuous refinement, but I hope these tips can get you started. The key points to understand are the goals in styling (creating a pleasing plant with appropriate proportions) and using the appropriate pruning techniques to achieve that end. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Best regards,

Matt

__________________

Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today!

bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!

Bonsainut

Wilie C,
* I love those overgrown ficus Bennys. *You can get a whole nursery full of plants from one of those puppys.

* I like to buy them up in the winter when they don't look so good and go on sale. *When it warms up I unpot and break up the clump into single trunks. *Just get a little root with each and you have a new plant. *I cut these trunks down to the first branch. *Shorten this branch back to three nodes. *If not you will not get low branching, you have to be ruthless at this my man.

* *All the left overs make into cuttings. *90 percent is My take on Bennys. *Gotta keep em warm and moist. By Sept. *you can build a forest. *Dont worry about leaf size now a year or two in a shallow pot will reduce them amazingly.

* *You can easily get a forest of 11 to 19 trees in a year for cheap money. * In two years the roots will have fused and the lower trunks will have thickned alot. *Expose the tops of the rootage and they will thicken also. *You can defoilate in the mid summer if you forest is vigorous, if it isnt darn it give it some fertilizer my friend!

* *Remember warm and moist, warm and moist...
* *

__________________
Keep growing,---'Nut



Lethal Use of Farce