Variegated Ficus

SiNguyen

Hi Corbin and all, I am Si ( from Lake Forest , CA). I have some experience with ficus bonsai too. The quickest way to make a decent bonsai from a small ficus grouping like yours would be to tie the trunks together ( and don't reduce the trunk at all, because your tree is too small already). I would use the green plastic gardening tape and wrap the trunks together almost all the way to the top branch (but don't wrap all the side branches too), and twist the trunks around each other gently but don't criss-cross them ( be careful not to make it look so artificial like some kind of topiary), then wire it to give the entire trunk a few gentle curves (again, don't make the curves too predictable or artifìcial looking). If you happenned to have alot of small trunks, then maybe you can tie them up into 2 to 3 separate trunks , for a clump style bonsai (Kabudachi), which would make a good banyan tree. In about six months, the trunks will have fused together completely, giving you at least one large trunk to work with. But I would leave the tapes on for at least a whole year because you can get alot of aerial roots by then (if it's warm and moist enough). Then cut away the tapes carefully, and gently straighten out any aerial roots, then let the tree grow freely for at least one year before you begin working on wiring and layering out the branches into canopies. For a natural banyan look, you should have at least a few long and low hanging branches, so don't cut away any low branches in the beginning. In about 2 years, you should have a nice tropical bonsai of about 18 to 24 inch tall (judging from your current material). The Ficus Too Little is perfect for this. It is cheap and almost indestructible, and it can grow into a giant banyan. If I can figure out how to attach pictures, then I will include some pictures of the few I did years ago for you to see. But you get the idea.
Good luck! Si Nguyen