Size of trees to use (Ficus or others)

Hi everyone

I am going to be camping for a week starting Friday, and if the store still has it there was very large Ficus benjamina (I think benjamina) that had a nice sized trunk on it.

I was wanting to maybe do a shohin (or maybe a bit larger, not very though) if it would work. But I know from caring for other plants that reducing roots or other plant materials drastically could kill said plant.

I am guessing it was in a large pot (if I am remembering correctly, and guessing/estimating closely that it was about five gallon or so?) and a good four foot tall (maybe a foot or so taller)

Two of my biggest bonsai pots are (I measured from lip to lip of outside of the pot):
One 8.5"x6.5"x2" that is glazed on the outside of the pot.
And then one 10"x6"x2" pot, glazed completely on inside and outside but is from the WWII time period.

My problem is, if I got that large of a ficus would putting it in that small of a pot kill it? I do not know how forgiving Ficus are as I have never had one. I would have to chop this one down so it would branch also, which worries me.

Since you don't have it yet, don't waste your time on a full-size Ficus benjamina. It is a poor choice for bonsai in the North. Look for one of the dwarf cultivars of benjamina, or Ficus microcarpa. Tiger bark fig is sold in all the box stores & garden centers these days, & is a much better choice.
Iris

Thanks

Now that I think bout it getting this tree would be a bit of a pain anyways. And I don't think they would have it anymore anyways.

I will still be on the look out for bonsai candidates while I am there I am hoping to find some wild ones possibly.

jreidsma wrote:
I will still be on the look out for bonsai candidates while I am there I am hoping to find some wild ones possibly.

If you are camping in Michigan, there are several wild candidates to consider. Can you get back to the same spot next spring? Of course you know that midsummer is not the time to dig up wild trees. However, look for a few small interesting specimens of pines, larch, spruce, and possibly crabapple and hawthorn (the latter often carry diseases & borers). If you find something worthwhile, prune all around the roots with a shovel. Cut off any dead or impossibly long branches. Mark the ones you want to collect. Then come back early next spring, probably April, to collect them. Larch may be a problem. You have to dig them up before they leaf out, just when the buds are turning shiny.
Iris

I probably won't be able to come back to that campground until this time next year There probably won't be much there anyways and poison ivy is terrible. I can look out for seeds and such though

Next spring I could search around my aunts property (kind of a mini forest) for candidates. There are pines, oaks, and maples mainly. But several year old trees can easily be gathered, its just a matter of getting enough roots and getting them planting quickly enough not to kill them. The ground there is kind of hard to mess with (there are a lot of roots in it)

I am hoping the local store has some Schefflera for a decent price and that are healthy. Or any other indoor/tropical plants to use. I have some nice mame pots I would like to use