When to put a ficus on a bonsai pot?

[notforsale]

A question for the most experienced with Ficus:

I'm from Brazil, and here they grow very fast. I know that speed and quality don't always go hand in hand. I recently bought a Ficus Tiger Bark and I'm unsure whether to place it in a large plastic pot to accelerate growth or in a bonsai pot to control it and continue its development.

The trunk is already thick enough and doesn’t have any large cuts to heal, except for a relatively small one at the apex, which should heal quickly since there will be many branches around it. The nebari has been worked on and is well-radial, with the roots evenly distributed. All the primary branches are in the right place, but there is no secondary branching yet, and the primary branches haven’t reached the ideal diameter.

What would you do?

 

[notforsale]

This is a video from the seller when he worked on the nebari one year ago:

https://imgur.com/QDWOezQ

And here it is today:

https://imgur.com/u25alXL

 

[Jorgens86]

First picture would be nice. And i would put it in bonsai pot.

 

[MHBonsai]

I would go right to a bonsai pot that fits your final image, or just slightly bigger. It will still grow plenty fast in your climate!

 

[notforsale]

First picture would be nice. And i would put it in bonsai pot.

the seller only sent me videos, but i will take some screenshots and post here to make it easier to visualize

One year ago:


Today:

 

[notforsale]

I would go right to a bonsai pot that fits your final image, or just slightly bigger. It will still grow plenty fast in your climate!

i have some rectangular pots here that should fit, i also need to check how is the nebari after this year of growing.

 

[notforsale]

tagging some people that i usually see on the tropicals forum. @pandacular @jason biggs @penumbra @Maiden69 @BrianBay9 @SWfloirda @Cadillactaste @Shibui @Carol 83

 

[Cadillactaste]

the seller only sent me videos, but i will take some screenshots and post here to make it easier to visualize

One year ago:
View attachment 586403

Today:
View attachment 586404View attachment 586405

Nice one! I had a chunky trunk like that. Adam Lavigne put it into a bonsai pot and it's developing nicely for me. I'm also a northerner so it's currently under a grow light for winter. But he's a Southern Florida man. And didn't bat an eye on tossing it into a shallow bonsai pot. I trust his knowledge on ficus. He's vault knowledge there. As he has a blog adamaskwhy. He is a good vault of knowledge. I'm only passing along first hand knowledge...for my own tree.

Nice chunk...love those! Tigerbark also a great cultivar. I happen to enjoy. Congratulations.

 

[Maiden69]

In the end it is up to you. If you are ok with it slowly developing the secondaries put it in a pot, with heavy nutrition and water it will still grow decently in your climate. I don't believe that a big plastic pot will give you any faster results vs a development sized bonsai pot. A colander or a rootpouch would give you faster development, but you have to water and fertilizer often, if you don't you will neglect the benefits of the extra air/oxygen coming into the roots.

 

[notforsale]

Nice one! I had a chunky trunk like that. Adam Lavigne put it into a bonsai pot and it's developing nicely for me. I'm also a northerner so it's currently under a grow light for winter. But he's a Southern Florida man. And didn't bat an eye on tossing it into a shallow bonsai pot. I trust his knowledge on ficus. He's vault knowledge there. As he has a blog adamaskwhy. He is a good vault of knowledge. I'm only passing along first hand knowledge...for my own tree.

Nice chunk...love those! Tigerbark also a great cultivar. I happen to enjoy. Congratulations.

Thanks, just checked adam's blog, really great to see the progression over the years.

In the end it is up to you. If you are ok with it slowly developing the secondaries put it in a pot, with heavy nutrition and water it will still grow decently in your climate. I don't believe that a big plastic pot will give you any faster results vs a development sized bonsai pot. A colander or a rootpouch would give you faster development, but you have to water and fertilizer often, if you don't you will neglect the benefits of the extra air/oxygen coming into the roots.

Still pondering, i'm trying to figure out how much of a difference it would make.

 

[Faisal Ahmad]

If you want move bonsai pot then for accelarate growth put some pipe around pot, so root can growth freely

This pic example for my ficus benjamina

 

[notforsale]

If you want move bonsai pot then for accelarate growth put some pipe around pot, so root can growth freely

This pic example for my ficus benjamina

View attachment 586577

View attachment 586580

Really nice ficus and interesting technique, after thickening the roots this way, you will have to cut them back really hard right? How often do you check them to see if the nebari is getting uneven?

 

[Carol 83]

Since you tagged me, I wouldn't hesitate to put it in a bonsai pot, that's one chunky trunk. I wouldn't worry about it impeding growth, it should grow like crazy in your climate.

 

[Faisal Ahmad]

Really nice ficus and interesting technique, after thickening the roots this way, you will have to cut them back really hard right? How often do you check them to see if the nebari is getting uneven?

Yes i will cut it if the size have good enough, how often? Since i come everyday to my garden i always check it if the root have right path. Btw brazil and Indonesia have same climate

 

[Faisal Ahmad]

A question for the most experienced with Ficus:

I'm from Brazil, and here they grow very fast. I know that speed and quality don't always go hand in hand. I recently bought a Ficus Tiger Bark and I'm unsure whether to place it in a large plastic pot to accelerate growth or in a bonsai pot to control it and continue its development.

The trunk is already thick enough and doesn’t have any large cuts to heal, except for a relatively small one at the apex, which should heal quickly since there will be many branches around it. The nebari has been worked on and is well-radial, with the roots evenly distributed. All the primary branches are in the right place, but there is no secondary branching yet, and the primary branches haven’t reached the ideal diameter.

What would you do?

Btw have you try water jasmine?

 

[nuttiest]

This pic example for my ficus benjamina

Wow, good idea. I will use that method if I ever get around to making the ficus bridge I always think about.

 

[vp999]

Why don’t people try this with maple and such here ?

 

[Shibui]

The trunk is already thick enough and doesn’t have any large cuts to heal, except for a relatively small one at the apex, which should heal quickly since there will be many branches around it.

I beg to disagree with your assessment of the cuts. That top chop looks like a large cut relative to the size of the trunk. I've found that leaving many branches around a cut is not the best way to heal the cut. Clusters of branches almost always lead to localised swelling and inverse taper near the apex is not good. Also, while many branches may help close a wound you then have to remove most of those branches which leaves another bunch of wound that need to heal. I have tried this on enough occasions to know it doesn't work.

Having disagreed on that, I DO think it's a good idea to move this tree to a smallish pot that will restrict growth enough to help you maintain control and build good ramification. If it takes a little longer to heal that wound that's not the end of the world.

In my experience, Ficus are one of the few groups of trees that WILL continue to thicken when confined to small pots. I've been developing Shohin sized Ficus and need to upsize the pots every 3-5 years because the trunks have thickened so much they won't go back in the original pot.

 

[rockm]

Why don’t people try this with maple and such here ?

Cold weather. Frozen exposed maple roots. In summer, dry winds. Might be doable in Fla, with a trident

 

[notforsale]

Yes i will cut it if the size have good enough, how often? Since i come everyday to my garden i always check it if the root have right path. Btw brazil and Indonesia have same climate

Btw have you try water jasmine?

We have really close growing conditions, maybe your's a little better because i live in south Brazil. I do in fact have a water jasmine cutting, currently trying to propagate it.

I beg to disagree with your assessment of the cuts. That top chop looks like a large cut relative to the size of the trunk. I've found that leaving many branches around a cut is not the best way to heal the cut. Clusters of branches almost always lead to localised swelling and inverse taper near the apex is not good. Also, while many branches may help close a wound you then have to remove most of those branches which leaves another bunch of wound that need to heal. I have tried this on enough occasions to know it doesn't work.

Having disagreed on that, I DO think it's a good idea to move this tree to a smallish pot that will restrict growth enough to help you maintain control and build good ramification. If it takes a little longer to heal that wound that's not the end of the world.

In my experience, Ficus are one of the few groups of trees that WILL continue to thicken when confined to small pots. I've been developing Shohin sized Ficus and need to upsize the pots every 3-5 years because the trunks have thickened so much they won't go back in the original pot.

Would you remove some branches from the top? Which ones?

Cold weather. Frozen exposed maple roots. In summer, dry winds. Might be doable in Fla, with a trident

Don't you guys have Neagari maples though? It should be similar, right?