Ficus - styling help needed

GinaRothfels

I have now repotted the tree in a much wider pot.

As the soil was full of tiny insects which I believe may have been springtails (according to a houseplant book I have), I had the plant soaking in water in its pot for a few hours a couple of days ago, then briefly today without a pot, so that nearly all the old soil was washed away. Because of this I am reluctant to do anything else until I am sure it is healthy after all the trauma it has been through. If it looks good I may wire the trunk in about two weeks time.

It lives in the middle of my lounge, half way between two windows. So far it seems to be happy with its position, so I am hoping it can stay there, though if the branches grow too long it may be a problem later on. Would it slow down growth if I shortened branches slightly to try to make the growth thicker instead of longer?

I don't want to move it outside as it seems happy, also I had a lot of possible bonsai material badly damaged by a dreadful hail storm (which also broke several of our windows) two weeks ago. I'm still trying to work out how to protect my plants in the event of future storms.

As far as cuttings go, I have tried with ficus in the past with mixed results. Benjamina with darker leaves seem to work, but I have had no luck with Benjamina with paler mottled leaves. I believe this one is Nitida, something I have never tried rooting before, so I have no idea whether it will work for me or not. But that's something I don't have to worry about just yet if I'm not cutting the tree.

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flehmann

Hello,
I know South Africa can be a bit hot by that dates(my wife is from Durban). But it would be better to be outside. Don't you have a shady part in your garden or a protected part or a big tree where you can lay your ficus next to it? If not you can put a protection/shade net (bug net would do) on top there is many articles about that on the forum.

Ficus loves sun. Here in Switzerland we are not getting so much now! But Ficuses are leaving outside during the nice season and they are thriving.

They like water as well but not to soak in. Use the stick technique for watering it, plug the stick (I personnaly use toothpicks) in the soil if wet no watering if bit dry wait more. If completely dry then give with a water can a good quantity of water. And so on.

If you move the tree in the sun watch out that the plant is having enough water it can dry quickly! And may be you will have to water several time a day. This is depending on your soil composition.

Do your cuttings when ficuses are thriving.

For cutting that is so easy with ficus. Take a cutting remove the leaves but keep three leaves at the end (not too much to feed for the plant at the begining of rooting). Then put them in a small container with sand mixed with soil like your bonsai. OR take a glass fill in with rested water (24h rest if tap water or rain water is better) put a sheet of aluminium foil on top (avoiding the cutting to fall in the water), do a small hole with the point of a knife for each cutting (remove leaves like above) then place the cuttings in the holes. Check all the time your cuttings based in water. Wait a week or two in hot weather and you shall see appearing little white roots. Wait more and when you have a good portion of roots pot the cuttings individualy.

Very good article about cutting propagation here:http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/i...=130&Itemid=134

If really it's not working get rooting hormones but I doubt you need it for ficuses.

GinaRothfels

When I started out with Bonsai I really wanted to specialise in indoor trees. However over time I have accepted that not all of them are happy inside and most of my plants have now been moved into my back yard, where they get morning sun. After many got badly damaged in a hail storm three weeks ago, I almost started to regret the fact that I had not stuck to my original intentions. I have always found that ficus are happy inside though, as long as they are in a reasonably bright position, so I would rather leave this tree where it is.

Next time I want to do some cuttings I will try rooting them in water. I like the idea of being able to see the roots growing. Thanks for this tip.

Salvelinus

You should read on Jerry's site his discussion about indoor lighting. Ficus will survive in low light conditions, but they do not thrive there. They need bright light to grow well, with short internodes. I put my ficus in full sun (shade in afternoon) all summer, from May until October. They really love that time outside, and grow profusely. When I bring them inside, however, they slow to a crawl. If I had Jerry's light setup, I'm sure they would keep growing well, but I cannot provide that amount of light.

Considering where your tree is located, you will need much, much more time to develop it. The tree will have longer internodes and larger leaves, and will grow much more slowly without the sun. It will take a very long time to develop into a bonsai.

Believe me, I understand about storms. I grew up in Southeastern Kansas, in "tornado alley." When I expect severe storms, I try to put my trees under their benches or under the eaves of the house. The better ones, anyway. I have found that this practice has effectively prevented severe weather such as hail. I am also quite sure that if I left out even one nicer tree, the whole city would be pelted.

You just have to decide what your goals are, and then provide the environment for the tree that it needs. I wish you well!

__________________
Namaste,

--Scott ><>

"There seems to be no survivors to interview, but I suspect [kamakazi pilots] did not shout 'traytree' the moment before their personal sacrifice." -Herb Gustafson

flehmann

I clearly understand your fear of hail storm. But notice that bonsai trees are shaping for expressing some torture that the nature could have implied to the natural trees. A hailing storm might damage some branch or may complete leaf lost but if your tree is healthy and strong, it will thrive even better. It could be like a defoliation. Now if your are getting tennis ball size hail sure it can be really damageable.

Can't you place your tree along the wall of the house like that they are a bit protected ? Or don't you have like a protected place even half shadded place?

Depeding where you are in SA, ficuses in your climate could stay outside all year long ( resistant winter at 10°C for short period) and when you want to profit of a tree take it inside for several days.

GinaRothfels

I can see the advantages of putting the tree outside and will have to give it some serious thought. But I've got a back yard full of plants (which I hope will be worthy of the name bonsai one day) and space if becoming a problem. I also WANT some of them inside so that I can look at them when I don't have time to go outside. As my ficuses are among my better looking trees at the moment, those are the ones I like to have around. Also they are better suited to indoor conditions than most.

As far as the hail is concerned, this storm was the worst I've ever seen and not likely to happen again in a hurry (though I have a habit of fearing the worst). All my outdoor plants are near walls but there is little protection available for them there. Some were damaged a lot worse than others, but none were untouched by the hail. Had it come from the opposite direction, there would probably have been very little damage. But there's no predicting such things and I'm doing the best I can.

GinaRothfels

Okay, so I've put this tree and several other ficuses of various varieties outside a few days ago. Some of them had now got badly marked leaves which are going soft; all are losing leaves - some more so than others. Those with larger leaves also have branches which started collapsing under the weight of the leaves as soon as they got wet. I know ficus often drop leaves when they are moved and there are some signs of growth, but I'm still unhappy with the way they look right now. How long must I expect it to take until they look 'normal' again?

Initially they were in a position where they were getting sun until early afternoon, but I have now moved them to a position where they get shade from about midday. These are the only possible outdoor spots I have for them so where are they better off? Would it have been better to start them in the shadier position before putting them where it is hot for longer? There are a couple of trees I really like among them and I'd hate to do the wrong thing.

MarcS

I think this tree is too far developed to bother about the thickness of the trunk. You won't be able to give it a 6:1 ratio without totally ruining what you already have.
Put it off center in a shallow and much wider pot (as used for group plantings), suggesting a tree in the landscape seen from a distance, and it will become a nice looking tree.
Marc

MarcS

Oops, sorry, I was commenting on the tree Salvelinus posted.
Well, this would enhance his tree:
Put it off center in a shallow and much wider pot (as used for group plantings), suggesting a tree in the landscape seen from a distance.