a few figs

Although there has been much snow and cold weather this winter and  more to come, it is always a pleasure for me to take some time to enjoy a few of my  tropical bonsai. Hopefully spring will arrive sometime this year.  Enjoy Hank




Two Ficus Burtt davyi shohin




 A fused trunk Ficus Natalensis which has been defoliated 6 months ago and regularly leaf pruned

i especially like the lil guy in the lower right of top picture !
(nice stand too)

btw - in the lower one, you say "fused trunk"...
how do you mean ?
multiple trunks fused together over time ?

On your Natalensis, the trunks look totally fused. How long did it take? I have two ongoing trunk fusion experiments and it is taking a long time to fill in some of the gaps. On that subject, can you air layer fused trunks and, if so, does the fusion need to be mature/complete before doing so?

Thanks for the pics. A little winter blues boost!

Lovely work and display, Hank....thanks for posting.....a breath of fresh air in the midst of this winter.

Best regards,
Tom

Thanks for the comments.   The fused trunked trees are made from rooted cuttings which are wrapped together for 6 months to a year.  The Ficus Natalensis is about 5 years in the making.  To get a smooth trunk I generally use larger cuttings in the middle  and thinner cuttings to fill in around the circumference of the the trunk.   It takes a bit longer to make a smooth trunked tree than one with a bit of texture.  If desired the gaps can be filled in anytime with additional cuttings. The trick is not to prune anything until the fusion has taken place.   I have never air layered any of my figs but I quite often root cuttings from fused sections of the trunk..
Regards
Hank

For the laast month or so I have been busy defoliating some of my figs.  I enjoy them in this state particularly when the have some ramification.





A larger fused trunked Ficus Natalensis after defoliation

these are all dynamite examples of what can be done w/ fusion...

if you have more, please share !

Im nervous about defoliating my ficuses in Summer, let alone Winter- the common understanding I've been exposed to is to do it in the heart of the growing season. Obviously you are successful, so I learned something new today.

Please bear in mind that Natal figs are very hardy and that I have my tropicals in a heated greenhouse.  With my other varieties I do not defoliate until early in the growing season.  I think that not only is the temperature important but the amount light the tree receives after defoliation.  Unfortunately I do not have a proper lighting system in my greenhouse.

Absolutely great development of the trees and the artist since I last saw them in South Africa. Congratulations

Walter  Thanks for your kind words. 

Kevn  I have selected a few on my smaller fused trunked Natal Figs at different stages of development. I have indicated the length of time since the cuttings were fused together. Unfortunately I do not keep good records so the times are from memory.  All the trees have been defoliated this year. The wiring has not been completed on all of the trees. Hopefully  it will give you some  idea of what is possible.

By the way almost all of my figs have fused trunks.  When I have some time will post images of the larger ones



.

a little less  than a year (shohin)



2-3 years



around 5 years



around 6 years

Thanks for sharing Hank. I do have a question. When you fuse the trunks, do you just bind them together or do you remove the outer surface as if doing a graft? Thanks again for sharing.

thanks hank... i will be exploring this further with some ficus cuttings, which if one has ficus trees, there is no shortage of !

and thanks doug for asking the question that i too have often wondered about...

When I fuse figs I do not remove any bark. Natal figs are strangler figs and with time will grow onto anything.   For this reason they fuse easily.  
Regards
Hank