So, here it goes.. Ficus!

Hmm, Im in a bad situation atm. I cant let me trees be! I keep wanting to cut, wire and change them. I have too few trees.
Im going all summer, waiting for them to grow. I cut a bit, and then I just have to wait again. Think I have to invest on more pots and trees. I really need some experience.
So. I cut down a ficus. Its probably the worst time to do it, but I took a chance and did it. And if it dies. Ill learn my lesson. So here it is. Please come with your thoughts. Even if you hate it, say so, and plese tell me why.
I know its not a standard way to have a ficus..
The pics arent so good..

Before:



After:



Thanks

Well, in picture 1 she's a happy dancer. In picture 2 no one liked her dance and she's sad and droopy, like to expire at any moment.

Which image would you prefer?

And what is that on top of the soil??

Get some bonsai picture books. Stare at pictures of bonsai and see what the trees look like. None of them look like picture 2.

Make her happy again!

I know there isnt much in pic 2, that shows how ficus'es really are. But ofc, it has to grow again and get new foliage. I would like to make a.. certain "wheeping" look. And not like a dead tree. The leaves were too big before, so I am going to remove several leaves, untill they are smaller.
I also wanted to try something new. I actually like it better at pic 2, but its just a start. What you see on top of the pot, is stones. More like gravel. I used the green colored on my elm, but just threw this in on this one, to make the tree even more different. On the pic it just looks like salt.

I like the idea of extreme bends but I agree that droopy look is just not pleasant. Also, they are all the same lengths and angles making the tree look unnatural.

I'd leave the downward bend from the main branches but then go back up on the last 1/2-1/3 of each branch, each in different directions to make them asymmetrical.

Thanks for the replies. I appriciate everything you tell me.
Now, I have cut alott from it, and have to make the best I can out of it, what would you do? Maybe make me a virtual, so I know what you mean? Its a small tree, and not really a good bonsai as it is, but it was the first one I got, so its got some value for me.
I assume none of you like the white "sand" its planted in? Also used it on my bigger ficus, with a black pot, and I think it made a nice contrast.

Go easy on that white rock unless it is marble then use all you want. How is that apple juice? Good luck!

Yippee Ti Yi Yo.....Leonardo

Where do you keep your Ficus for the winter? If you grow under lights or in a greenhouse, you can work on it now. If it is on a windowsill, let the poor thing alone until spring. If you want a weeping fig, use F. benjamina. There are other genera that lend themselves to a weeping effect. It looks very unnatural here.
Tiger bark fig, F. microcarpa 'Kimmen,' responds well to severe pruning. If I were you, I would cut all those branches back to almost nothing to get some back budding further down the trunk. Also, I would pot it in a large pot in coarse, sandy soil to thicken the trunk & develop nebari.
Iris

Thank you for the virtual. -The juice is good.
And thank you bonsaisr for good advices.
I think the tree needs to stand for a bit. Recover and getting some new strength.
I will again, consider what to do with it after a while.
I really appriciate your point of view, and thats what great with this forum. Grown-ups with something clever to say.
Maybe I just need to make more natural trees for the future, and not mix species and styles like I have done untill now.

Storm wrote:
Maybe I just need to make more natural trees for the future, and not mix species and styles like I have done until now.

Your assignment for the winter, weather permitting: drive & walk around, observing trees in nature over and over again until they are imprinted on your brain. For tropicals, get books from the library & study pictures. You can find pictures of some of them on the Internet. Don't bother looking at bonsai pictures for now, look at pictures of the real trees.
Of course for Ficus salicaria, that is a joke, because it has never been seen in the wild.
Iris

Thank you, I will
I actually do that all the time. Friends are almost complaining that I talk too much about the trees. I only have a very few tropicals and im not gonna get anymore for several years, since I want to mostly go for pinus etc.
The tropicals I have, I started to make a more.. abstrakt, or twisted. The tropicals I have, I got from gardencentres and they all have stupid twists at the trunks at the bottom, and a straight trunk upwards. They cant be good or natural bonsai from what my untrained eye can see. So I just took a chance and made something else. Too bad the idea wasnt good, and it didnt come to the liking for you others.

This is why critiques are so important. It really depends on who you are trying to please...yourself, friends, friends that are bonsai smart, judges at a bonsai show and so on. What ever level is practical for you is where to set up camp.

ciao....Leonardo

Storm wrote:The tropicals I have, I got from gardencentres and they all have stupid twists at the trunks at the bottom, and a straight trunk upwards.

The story I got somewhere is that the exporters in China train the saplings like that because they think that is what Westerners want! If we stop buying pretzelized mallsai, they will get the message.
One consolation is that as the tree ages & the trunk gets thicker, the curves will be less pronounced. You can speed up the process by planting the tree in coarse soil in a large training pot.
At the other end, hopefully the straight part of the trunk is not too stiff yet. Using heavy wire, train it into gentle curves to match the curves in the lower trunk. Alternatively, you can trim it back to the curved part & use it as a shohin bonsai. If there are too many curves, air layer it.