Willow Leaf Ficus #1

I was interested in any suggestions and opinions regarding this willow leaf ficus, which I acquired a year ago (November 2011). I was looking for a ficus to "learn" on, and this one had a decent trunk size for the price. It also had (has) a scar/deadwood feature on the trunk that I thought might be interesting.

Here is the tree today. It is doing well after spending the summer outside. Tree has been indoors under lights for 2+ months and has maintained its foliage well, though new growth has stopped. For reference, height above the soil is about 9" and the trunk base is a little under 2". Since the tree arrived in a weakened state with almost no roots, I've basically let it grow since repotting in May, no wiring or pruning.



Here is how it looked last winter (February), from the same angle as the above photo.



You can see the dead part of the trunk, and the current branch structure. The lowest heavy branch extends slightly to the back, and the smaller branch above it extends directly to the left. The remaining branches all originate on the reverse side of the scar. There has been no evidence of budding on the lower part of the trunk, and I suspect that most of the trunk below the scar may be dead. It's difficult to see in the photos but the surface roots spread out over approximately 5".

I'm interested in thoughts on how to develop this tree. Keep in mind that I live in the frozen north, so any significant re-building of trunks or sizable branches would take a long time. As much as possible, I'd like to work with the existing structure. Following are a sequence of images rotating the tree counterclockwise. Let me know if additional photos or info would help, and thanks!







For completeness, current view from same angle as last photo (above). From this view the surface root spread is the smallest.

Nice ficus! i think a great front for it is the first photo after the pharagraph that say ''frozen north''. Just try to get the branches more to the side.. The biggest branch to the left, and the second to the right.
Greetings

I think one of those two lower branches has to go. From the pictures, it would be the largest (lowest) branch.

I have a very similar tree:



The pic -- the latest I have -- is from 3 years ago.

Victorghirotto wrote:Nice ficus! i think a great front for it is the first photo after the pharagraph that say ''frozen north''. Just try to get the branches more to the side.. The biggest branch to the left, and the second to the right.
Greetings

Thanks for your reply. I don't think that view is the best. The left branch is pretty much un-movable, and the branch above it comes straight forward...but nothing is set in stone at this point, will keep your suggestions in mind.

JimLewis wrote:I think one of those two lower branches has to go. From the pictures, it would be the largest (lowest) branch.

I have a very similar tree:



The pic -- the latest I have -- is from 3 years ago.

Wow, that is an amazingly similar (and quite nice) tree! Thanks for posting the photo, it helps see how mine might be developed over time.

Does anyone have any opinions on whether the deadwood should be featured to any degree? I don't often see deadwood features on ficus and don't know how well the wood holds up, calluses, etc. Anyone who has experience with deadwood on ficus, please let me know!

Chris

First of all the thing looks great, very healthy! I also really like all the interest in the trunk and the dead wood.

I think wherever you go with this tree that bottom branch probably won't be able to go their with you. I can see a few possibilities with the tree, changing the planting angle, featuring or hiding the dead wood, but that number one branch seems problematic.

Of course if you do cut it off wait 'till summer then stick it in some turface and root it out!

-Jay

Here's a quickie with that lowest branch removed and the deadwood featured forward, 20 degree change in planting angle...
-Jay

Well, here's my only other Ficus. It's the only one I'd ever seen with deadwood, and I carved it out because it was developing a humongous root and I wanted to cut it in half. I just extended the scar up the trunk to where I'd chopped a branch.



A pic from early summer when I defoliated. Newest one I have, I think.

Interesting that Jim has posted this latest creation. I was biting my tongue, thinking that some more carving should be done to induce taper in the original subject. I also like Jay's idea to tilt to create some more interest and bring the new first branch a bit lower.

Thanks,
David

drgonzo wrote:Here's a quickie with that lowest branch removed and the deadwood featured forward, 20 degree change in planting angle...
-Jay

Hey, thanks for the virtual (first one I've seen you post?). You may very well be right about the lower branch, but I'm not convinced (yet) about the planting angle. I might just want to leave it upright. I'm not sure how well the nebari will work if the tree is tilted, there is potentially a pretty nice surface root display if the tree is left upright. Will have to evaluate that next time I repot. Thanks for the suggestion!

JimLewis wrote:Well, here's my only other Ficus. It's the only one I'd ever seen with deadwood, and I carved it out because it was developing a humongous root and I wanted to cut it in half. I just extended the scar up the trunk to where I'd chopped a branch.



A pic from early summer when I defoliated. Newest one I have, I think.

Nice looking tree! How long ago did you do the carving? Is the wood holding up well? Have you applied any sealants? Is it a willow leaf or another ficus?

MrFancyPlants wrote:Interesting that Jim has posted this latest creation. I was biting my tongue, thinking that some more carving should be done to induce taper in the original subject. I also like Jay's idea to tilt to create some more interest and bring the new first branch a bit lower.

Thanks,
David

No need for that! I posted the tree for any and all suggestions. I'd say it's almost certain that I'll have to do some carving work on that trunk down the road...

coh wrote:
Nice looking tree! How long ago did you do the carving? Is the wood holding up well? Have you applied any sealants? Is it a willow leaf or another ficus?

It has been 3-4 years now. No sign of punky wood. It is callusing well. No sealants. It's another willow leaf. I got it at the same time I got my other one -- at a Florida society meeting in Cape Canaveral; one was a workshop tree. I got this one from a vendor.

I'm trying to decide which (if any) of my tropicals to keep...the willow leaf ficus in this thread looked pretty decent most of the winter, but the leaves started to look "cruddy" recently. I found some scale and decided to defoliate...to get a fresh set of leaves and also to see what the internal structure looked like. If anyone wants to offer opinions/suggestions now that the entire structure can be seen, please do so!

By the way...has anyone ever counted the leaves as they removed them? I did for this tree...anyone want to guess how many there were?

So this series of images should roughly match those in my original post. Tree is being turned counter-clockwise varying amounts in between each image.

Thanks for any (additional) suggestions...

Chris

CHRIS,,, Your tree has came a long way.. I think per the suggestions bring the dead wood down like Jims.. i think the low branch needs to go also.. could you bring the branch above more to the front with wire??? may i ask where it came from,,I have been wanting another ficus,,i have one but it is mallsi curved trunk.. please show what you deside to do with it ok??? Thanks take care john

Chris for what is worth, ficus wood just rots at any age. On my side the trees keeps trying to heal, and I just allow them to do that.

Our willow leaf is not the same as yours, it likes to live on stone, cement/stone walls, and rooftops on gutters. I have only just begun to test ours on mostly inorganic with a small quantity of organic. It seems to prefer a stone that is not porous and going to barely moist, as soil goes. Full sun or very light shade.

You look as though you are getting to a good understanding of your tree and perhaps a chat with Jerry M. might help [ apologies if you have already done this.]

I think you should just grow and at a later date do what you think is best.
Thanks for showing.
Khaimraj

moyogijohn wrote:CHRIS,,, Your tree has came a long way.. I think per the suggestions bring the dead wood down like Jims.. i think the low branch needs to go also.. could you bring the branch above more to the front with wire??? may i ask where it came from,,I have been wanting another ficus,,i have one but it is mallsi curved trunk.. please show what you deside to do with it ok??? Thanks take care john

John, the tree came from ebay...sent you a PM about that.

Those lower branches are pretty stiff so I don't know how much they can be moved. Will look into that.

Khaimraj,

Thanks for your thoughts. If I keep this ficus, I think I would like to maintain the deadwood as a feature...as it's something that one doesn't often see on ficus bonsai. Jim hasn't noticed any problems with his so it should be possible, I think.

What, no guesses on how many leaves were on the tree? Big prize for the closest guess! Just kidding, but you do get the bragging rights that go along with such an important competition.

CHRIS I will bite ! you pruned off 150 leaves.. how did i do ?? hows the tree doing now ??? take care john

JimLewis wrote:

That pot... very nice! (oh, and the tree too, that's also good... )

moyogijohn wrote:CHRIS I will bite ! you pruned off 150 leaves.. how did i do ?? hows the tree doing now ??? take care john

John,

I can give you the participation trophy, but since you were off by about an order of magnitude, I must withhold the first prize. I counted 1179 leaves, many more than I expected!

Now waiting for the tree to push out new buds, which should be helped by the warm weather.

That pot... very nice! (oh, and the tree too, that's also good...

Thanks. I get VERY mixed reactions from this pot (and another, slightly larger one by the same Tallahassee potter, now deceased). Some folks absolutely hate it. I'm quite fond of it, myself. Here's a better look at both.