BURTT DAYVI

hey mac 'ol son, here ye be...

got it last year as a cutting from our lass, irene, but alas the lass didnt specify



my hand for scale as i dont have any of our preferred measuring vessels here at work
the spots on leaves are from sssschpritzing


i reckon it probably a dwarf...
(or is little leaf more politically correct ?   )

and i have it in a pot by our guy johnny menzel...

anyone with tips or suggestion are free to chime in...

Probably a dwarf. Inter-nodal length is pretty compact.


What to do with it? I don't say it as much as I should, but......



Get two trees out of this? I'd try!! Whack it!!

are you kidding me ???

there aint enough tree to make 2 of em...
and then i would have yet still another tropical when i am trying (in vain) to thin the indoor herd

no... i just wanna make this one smaller...
after it gets bigger.

I think that this is a dwarf variety.

A few suggestions which you might like to consider. When healthy, Ficus burtt davyi is prolific in terms of producing new foliage and branches. I have found that it is a good idea to cut starter material back - keeping only what is necessary even in developing a shohin bonsai.  This forces the growth where you want it. Regularly removing the growing tips will increase both the ramification and the foliage mass.

Below is a virtual ( I apologize for the quality) of one possible means of cutting back the tree. The 2 lowest branches on the RHS should be wired in the following manner.  First bring them up (near the trunk) before positioning them. Keep the apex small to retain and develop taper. Hank

Hey Kevin,

see this - http://www.bonsaieneltropico.com/apps/blog/

Should make Lance happy.

Just keep looking and scrolling down, Todos en Espanol.
Laters.
Khaimraj

hank - thanks for taking the time to create the virtual...

i like part of what you suggest (and ALL of the tips for moving this one forward)

as i look at what you suggested, versus looking at the tree in person, i believe we have come up with a plan !
(and i did not even know i was looking for one yet)

when i was looking at the removal of the suggested branches, i did not like the idea at all as it seemed to create a long stretch until the first branches (btw - the two lowest branches in your virtual are not bar branches as they appear... it is just the angle of the photo)

BUT the more i looked at it the more i liked it...

EXCEPT - i think i would like to keep that lowest branch on the right...
(although something better might "pop" in the future)

one more question - commonly accepted wisdom says work on tropicals in the summer...
but what is your opinion on cutting back as you suggested at other times of the year, if the tree is healthy ?

thanks khai !

i will take a look at that...

Khaimraj Seepersad wrote:Hey Kevin,

see this - http://www.bonsaieneltropico.com/apps/blog/

Should make Lance happy.

Just keep looking and scrolling down, Todos en Espanol.
Laters.
Khaimraj

Very cool!!

yeah khai... that "apice (?) graft" looks like something i will try at some point !
(not on the burtt d. but on something else)

in three years after much sweat and tears Kevin,
gave us this.
Laters
Khaimraj

In the winter months I work on my tropicals. I like to wire then as the growth rate has slowed down and I can leave the wire on long enough without worrying about wire bite.  Usually I try to remove wire in late spring - early summer.  In the winter I prune as required and remove older yellowing leaves.  I do not defoliate my Burtt davyi figs until late spring  (then only partiially concentrating  on removing the largest leaves regularly) and I only re-pot after the new foliage appears.

Hi Kevin

You probably mean Ficus burtt-davyi and not -dayvi, silly man.

Rudi Adam (Big bonsai boss) went in search of Ficus burtt-davyi in nature. Along with Ernst van Jaarsveld who was the curator of the Kirstenbosh botanical garden in Cape town, found 5 forms growing in nature. This is definitely not the smallest one.

One doesn't really need to defoliate this kind of ficus, as they are semi deciduous and loose all their leaves just before the new flush.

I also found them growing in nature in the most beautiful Meirings Poort Pass, near Oudshoorn. They cling to the rocks as if creepers. Lower down they have enormous leaves, the higher you go they get smaller, of course it has something to do with the heat, me thinks.

Years ago they found Mermaids in this pass in the deepest pools. There is even bushman drawings on the cave walls, in the Karoo, of mermaids...... go figure! Do you believe it!

Love and Light
Andre

Andre Beaurain wrote:
Years ago they found Mermaids in this pass in the deepest pools.  There is even bushman drawings on the cave walls, in the Karoo, of mermaids......    go figure!  Do you believe it!

Love and Light
Andre

as a matter of fact i do believe it... behind most all myths and legends are kernels of truth...

i do believe "mermaids" exist, though i doubt they are the fetching sirens of lore, but rather an evolutionary anomaly...

thanks for the additional insight and the correct spelling

now i just need some time to dive into your other new posts !!!

and another warm and hearty WELCOME BACK