Ficus microcarpa 'tigerbark' cutting

This is why I love the Ficus species but especially the Ficus microcarpa for bonsai. You can take as many cuttings as you'd like and stick them in the ground or in pots and you will more than likely get about a 99% success rate. F. microcarpa cuttings root quickly and start growing even quicker. I had so many cutting at one point that I hate to admit that I threw many away when the roots had not developed properly on some of the trees. The first photo is of one of my F. microcarpa 'tigerbark' cutting that I had done about a month or so when this photo was taken in June 2009. Soon after I wired the entire cutting down to the ground and bent it in a slant position as I wanted to develop a slant style tree. Flash forward a short 5 years later (July 2014) and here is the same tree in the second photo that has an approximately 2 inch diameter trunk. The root system on F. microcarpa is amazing and new roots develop from fresh cuts within just a couple of days. After about 2 weeks you have what looks like strands of sphaghetti that have developed from any cut roots. I just recently repotted this tree and planted the impressive root system a bit shallower so I could continue developing it. It will surely be an impressive tree in another 5 years.

 
THat in 5 years?
I am def. in the wrong climatic region. (Think 20 years where I live)

Yes, living in Miami has its advantages. I sometimes hesitate fertilizing my trees because I can't control the growth afterwards. It has been raining heavily everyday for the past 3 weeks. Repotted all of my trees on Father's Day and just hit them all with Osmocote today.

   gotta love Ficus.M! any more pictures from previous years you can show?

Here are a few more photos.
October 2009 wired to develop slanted trunk

April 2011 after defoliation and some wire

September 2012 large branch removed. Large surface roots were removed a year later.

Very good job!

Very inspiring....thank you for posting.

Here is an update on my tree 2 1/2 years after my last posting. It has grown incredibly in these last few years and I recently removed a very large branch that originated from the back of the tree. Enjoy.