Surprise Ficus Bonsai : Advice needed

[Abhi2407]

I received 3 Ficus trees from a relative. These had been sitting in these pots in his backyard for the last ~15 years. Being in his advanced years he was never able to get to take care of them beyond the regular watering. Getting to know my budding interest in Bonsai he offered these to me for taking better care. I have very little experience working and shaping such large and mature Bonsai. So thought of reaching out to people here for advice on how to shape these and other tips.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Growing seasons around the world vary widely and it is difficult to get a perspective on what someone says when we don't know where in the world they are. If you go to the upper right hand corner and click on your Icon, you can add your location and people will be able to customize advice for you, and you might connect with another local.




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[Abhi2407]

Growing seasons around the world vary widely and it is difficult to get a perspective on what someone says when we don't know where in the world they are. If you go to the upper right hand corner and click on your Icon, you can add your location and people will be able to customize advice for you, and you might connect with another local.




<<<<< It will show here.

Thanks, just updated.

 

[sorce]

You could probably do the old hack em back!

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[Forsoothe!]

How big do you want them? For outdoors, or indoors?

 

[HorseloverFat]

Greetings, friend!

Glad to hear that your love of plants and art has led you here, to the Tiny Forest. The Woody Dwarves (Pa-is) are pleased to accept.

India, eh? Indian immigrants are/where amongst some of my favorite to “party” with.... back when I was crazy...

And, surprisingly, the “palace-dwellers” partied JUST as hard as the farmers.

Columbus called ME “Indian”.. that asshole.

Regarding your ficus... I’d get it “back” in two steps.. first, pruning back to lowest growth. Then... back to lowest(choice)-growth again... that would give you a good “starting point” in my opinion.

 

[Abhi2407]

How big do you want them? For outdoors, or indoors?

Outdoor primarily. All of these are currently ~65inches. I was thinking bringing 2 down to ~36 inches, while letting the other stay around ~60

 

[Abhi2407]

Greetings, friend!

Glad to hear that your love of plants and art has led you here, to the Tiny Forest. The Woody Dwarves (Pa-is) are pleased to accept.

India, eh? Indian immigrants are/where amongst some of my favorite to “party” with.... back when I was crazy...

And, surprisingly, the “palace-dwellers” partied JUST as hard as the farmers.

Columbus called ME “Indian”.. that asshole.

Regarding your ficus... I’d get it “back” in two steps.. first, pruning back to lowest growth. Then... back to lowest(choice)-growth again... that would give you a good “starting point” in my opinion.

Thanks for your response. I am still getting used to the fundamentals, so pardon my ignorance. When you say 'pruning back to lowest growth' do you mean hacking the trunk down to where the lowest branch is ?

 

[luvinthemountains]

letting the other stay around ~60

That is a valid choice, but I think that you are then left with a patio plant - not a bonsai. As you have probably seen in your area, ficus bonsai are best styled with short, powerful trunks. Both of these appear to have the potential, but only if you shorten them significantly. Think on the lines of a 1:6 trunk girth to overall tree height ratio, or shorter.

Good luck!

 

[HorseloverFat]

Thanks for your response. I am still getting used to the fundamentals, so pardon my ignorance. When you say 'pruning back to lowest growth' do you mean hacking the trunk down to where the lowest branch is ?

Yes, sir. That is exactly what that means.

After that first “hack”... the tree should give you more options..

..this is just what I, personally, would do.. there are a few avenues of thought.

 

[Forsoothe!]

You can make them more economical by trimming back to two sets of leaves on any branch. Any branch you want to be longer can be left alone. Thin by removing branches/stems/twigs that are crossing or interfering with others or are unattractive. Keep the outer canopy in bounds by removing the leader and a few sets of leaves below the outer surface of the canopy as you imagine it. Do this as often as necessary. When you are happy with the size and shape you can repot. You can safely reduce the roots by 50%. You cut off short heavy anchor roots and keep as many as possible tiny hair-like roots that do all the work of absorbing water and minerals. Repot into vessels of your choice, the larger pots with more soil will need water less often so choose according to the sun conditions of where that pot will sit. You may want to shop for pots to your liking before you do the repots. The media you choose can be anything from ordinary top soil to better garden soil to a bonsai type which others here will describe. The growth rate of the plants will depend upon how rich, or not, the media is. Standard bonsai media is intended to halt or slow the rate of growth so the tree doesn't get bigger. In the future, repot in early summer every 3 or 4 years and trim the foliage whenever it suits you keeping it compact but not crowded. Do this as often as necessary.

 

[Maiden69]

I posted this sometime ago... follow the links, losts of pictures to follow. You can literally cut them anywhere and they will sprout new growth. You are in India, which is the home of the biggest banyan tree. They grow like weeds and in your climate, which is similar to the climate back home they will grow year round.

I know not many speak Spanish but the pictures speak for themselves. I think David Cortizas have one of the nicest Ficus bonsais outside from a tropical environment (Thailand, India, Philippines, etc...)

11 Tiger bark ficus (mallsai) fused over a myrtle dead trunk - https://www.escueladebonsaionline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Unión_Fuerza_parte1_Ebook.pdf
2 BIG ficus into a HUGE ficus - https://escueladebonsaionline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/HUGE-PATATA-ebook.pdf
2 Tiger bark ficus fused together - https://escueladebonsaionline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/TIGER-BARK-COMERCIAL-ebook.pdf

He have a few other books that are still free to read. He did removed a few, I guess since he sold some of the trees the owners may not want the books out there?

BIBLOTECA DIGITAL - Escuela de Bonsai Online​

www.escueladebonsaionline.com

Check that video, that tree is similar in size to yours. His channel is in Spanish... again, but you can activate CC and change the auto-translate language to yours (I know English works) to have a close idea of what he is saying.