Little fig

I bought this little fig...but they did not know the name of it.
Has little fruits, and looks cute..It is small, around 20cm high.
I have decided t stop digging the plants in my garden trying to turn them into bonsai, and killing them...so I bought it.
Do U think it will make a good bonsai? Is it a suitable plant?
Should I plant it in the ground to thicken the trunk or put it in a pot.
Should I do anything to it?

Green Island Ficus microcarpa? very good for bonsai, but better than f. ben.

Judging from the white spots on the leaves, the water in your area must be very hard.

Nice suntan though when I see your hands in the photos compared to the milk-white complexion of your avatar

Tell me your secret: as soon I can get a bronzy colour, it peels off like, a snake's bark

Billy M. Rhodes wrote:Green Island Ficus microcarpa? very good for bonsai, but better than f. ben.

Thanks Billy!
Now You are his God father! He he he! Glad You like it...now I dont waste my time on FB.
What should I do now? Plant it in the ground to fatten?

AlainK wrote:Judging from the white spots on the leaves, the water in your area must be very hard.
My PH of source water is 8.5, GH 200 and KH 180. We are sitting on limestone deposits and I have a well. I also have Koi so I know all the parameters of my water.

Nice suntan though when I see your hands in the photos compared to the milk-white complexion of your avatar

Tell me your secret: as soon I can get a bronzy colour, it peels off like, a snake's bark

If You are talking about the colour transformation...it might not be peeling. Probably You think I have transformed into one of my gardeners...I did not know where he put it, so had to call him to find it....plus someone needed to hold it while I was taking the photos. I have a jungle in my yard.
But You can still see my transformed fingers pipping between the leaves.
I am very very white with not much sun tun even, as you can see from my avatar.

Neli wrote:I am very very white with not much sun tun even, as you can see from my avatar.

Which is emphasized by the dark skins all around you, I bet (I used to live in Kenya, and even though to European standards I was very dark, working on Savanna Ecology, and being outside 10 hours a day, my field assistents were always making fun of my milky skin.

In Africa You can not help it...You sun tan every time you go outside. Locals walk with umbrellas...My mom always laughs when she comes to visit.
But I love Africa...it is nice here.

OK! I am not getting any answers...So I will have to decide myself.
Maybe I make it a small bosai. It will quench my itch for chopping bonsai for the meantime...
Sice they say the hight is supposed to be 6-10 times the diameter...Then I will just make it a very small bonsai...Just need to find a pot or maybe try to drill some holes on a glaced kitchen dish...Or maybe make something from stones or cement???
Here I go. Will try to make it look at list a bit like a bonsai if You promice not to laugh.

You could make it a very small bonsai. Or you could test your impatience, and leave it to grow for half ayear of so. That should give you some decent growth, where you are.. The 6-12 times trunk diameter for height is for the finished thing. You can always use things like sacrifice branches to thicken the trunk.. Maybe this will help: http://www.bonsaiempire.com/advanced/bonsai-trunk-creation

I love the rounded leaves on it. I have a few different ficus bonsai in the making, but not a Green Island. I've read that their leaves won't reduce in size as much as some of the other ficus trees, so it's best to try to make into larger bonsai. It should grow very quickly if you just take care of it. Give it six months of growth and I'll bet you'll have a lot more options for what direction to take it.

leatherback wrote:You could make it a very small bonsai. Or you could test your impatience, and leave it to grow for half ayear of so. That should give you some decent growth, where you are.. The 6-12 times trunk diameter for height is for the finished thing. You can always use things like sacrifice branches to thicken the trunk.. Maybe this will help: http://www.bonsaiempire.com/advanced/bonsai-trunk-creation

The bougainvillea I have will be fairly large bonsai...maybe around 40cm tall. Maybe I make this a small one so I can practice both types? Also not test my impatience too much? He he he! I have seen the article on the leader brunch...will check it out again to verify what I am doing...That will be fun ..thickening the trunk with a new technique.
Thanks for the advise.

KennedyMarx wrote:I love the rounded leaves on it. I have a few different ficus bonsai in the making, but not a Green Island. I've read that their leaves won't reduce in size as much as some of the other ficus trees, so it's best to try to make into larger bonsai. It should grow very quickly if you just take care of it. Give it six months of growth and I'll bet you'll have a lot more options for what direction to take it.

Oups! Not a small one? Did not know about the leaves not reducing. So much to learn! There goes my dream for a small bonsai.
Here everything grows very fast, and our growing season Just started...Maybe I plant it in the ground after all?
How high do You think I should make it.

leatherback wrote:You could make it a very small bonsai. Or you could test your impatience, and leave it to grow for half ayear of so. That should give you some decent growth, where you are.. The 6-12 times trunk diameter for height is for the finished thing. You can always use things like sacrifice branches to thicken the trunk.. Maybe this will help: http://www.bonsaiempire.com/advanced/bonsai-trunk-creation

That link You gave me is very good. I never saw it before, but the method of sacrificial brunch I saw somewhere. I am busy learning so I dont keep on asking stupid questions.
But need help with the first ones to gain confidence...and learn better.

I decided to plant the little fig over a tile in the garden. Mixed some manure with the soil also.
Just realized that I did not spread the roots???? It was not really pot bound. Should I dig it out and spread the roots?

Yes, spreading the roots would a good thing. The idea of the tile is to keep the roots shallow, if you just put the existing root ball on top of the tile you will not accomplish this.

Billy I am going to go and dig it out and spread the roots. But before I do that, should I shift the tile also upwards to make the space for the roots less? How deep the tile should be from the top of the roots?

How close? Spread the roots on top of the tile and then see how close to the surface you can plant. Your goal is roots as close to the surface as possible so the plant, when dug will fit in a shallow bonsai tray/pot. If you can get two inches that would be great. (sorry, being a stubborn American I don't do metric)

and 2 inches would be about 5cm; 2.54 cm to the inch.

Billy M. Rhodes wrote:How close? Spread the roots on top of the tile and then see how close to the surface you can plant. Your goal is roots as close to the surface as possible so the plant, when dug will fit in a shallow bonsai tray/pot. If you can get two inches that would be great. (sorry, being a stubborn American I don't do metric)

Thanks Billy going to do it now. I am also stubborn, but know them both inches and cm...he he he!

Neli, you could also keep styling and growing it as an in ground bonsai for a few years as one of the threads on this forum showed. Should get pretty solid grow during the summer as I believe the rains just started there.

Cockroach wrote:Neli, you could also keep styling and growing it as an in ground bonsai for a few years as one of the threads on this forum showed. Should get pretty solid grow during the summer as I believe the rains just started there.

Ay Darling,
I am going to check that thread, but that means I will need hhelp again until I am able to gain some confidence and stand up on my legs...I suspect it will mean further harassment for some kind guys here. He he he!
I dug it out, spread the roots and planted it shallower soil. Here it is.
I did not know about this in ground styling but I must admit I was thinking about it...He he he! I was scared to announce it for fear of being labelled too impatient (which I am)

there you go againn with that skin color of yours. Is it your hobby? Or your hubbies hobby

leatherback wrote:there you go againn with that skin color of yours. Is it your hobby? Or your hubbies hobby

He he he! No habby, just some gardeners around. I use his T shirt instead of the bed sheet for back ground..
I think I found this evening the plant you wanted but I am not too sure. Went for a walk, and it has flowers and seeds. Will make a picture for you tomorrow. It has flowers and seeds.lets hope it is the one. If it is not I will find it some how. I found the boabab seeds for Taner...
I have developed a habbit with this new hobby to walk in the bush and look for bonsai. Found one tree between the rocks...dont know what it is but has some very interesting dead wood on it. Will send the gardener tomorrow to dig it out.

Hello Neli,

It's nice to see someone absorbe all the needed info from this forum and hope you find this hobby rewarding...also, here are some real gents that are willing to help you with your project.

Most people are working on trees alone - or with some assistance, simply because their trees are too heavy, or there are other trees they need to attend to, some have health problems, for some there is too much to do on their trees, or mainly because they like company and would like to discuss what they are doing (and have fun)...

One of the most important things in creating (your own bonsai) and most rewarding, is that you do as many steps of the process yourself - taking your time when you can, plan ahead and work on plants when you and the plants are ready.

Theory and practise go together very well in the same person.

Good luck!!!

Gašper

GašperG wrote:Hello Neli,

It's nice to see someone absorbe all the needed info from this forum and hope you find this hobby rewarding...also, here are some real gents that are willing to help you with your project.
Hvala! Hope they will still be here to help with my beginning. I dont have any one here...no clubs, no bonsai...no other hobbyists.

Most people are working on trees alone - or with some assistance, simply because their trees are too heavy, or there are other trees they need to attend to, some have health problems, for some there is too much to do on their trees, or mainly because they like company and would like to discuss what they are doing (and have fun)...
I have no choice...Just get help from my workers...Digging stones 2m deep is not easy for me, when collecting something from the bush...He he he!

One of the most important things in creating (your own bonsai) and most rewarding, is that you do as many steps of the process yourself - taking your time when you can, plan ahead and work on plants when you and the plants are ready.
Thanks...the biggest pleasure is working on the plants...the journey. But I need to learn a bit...it is all still so confusing to me, and I am a bit scared to chop them yet. Still learning...trying...but make no mistake...You will see me in my bonsai...just dont want to go blindly into it in the beginning.

Theory and practise go together very well in the same person.


Good luck!!!

Gašper

Gasper it is not easy to understand it all over the internet. Practice with someone who can teach You physically is very important. There are so many things aspects to this hobby. But all with its time...slowly slowly I might get there.
Hvala.