Repotting, etc. Ficus salisicaria "89

Work done on August 11, 2014 in East Central Florida. Our first frost will not be until about Thanksgiving ( late Nov.) at the earliest. Don't try this in cooler parts of the world. I will begin wiring a new growth develops.
This is a Ficus salisicaria '89 in my collection and needed repotting.
The pot is Chinese 24 x 16 inches (about 60 x 40 cm)
The tree is about 24 inches (60 cm) high and about 29 inches. (70 cm) wide.


The tree at the start.


The tree pruned to its basic structure


Root pruned


The tree back in the same pot with fresh soil.

Hi Billy

Thanks for the post, nice tree.

Can you expand a bit on why you chopped all the leaves?

I have a similar F. microcarpa that seems to be at almost the same point in development......so I was wondering...   

Cheers
Gerhard

Thanks Billy!
I am looking forward to the update of new growth.
Could we also see the back side, please.

GerhardGerber wrote:Hi Billy
Can you expand a bit on why you chopped all the leaves?
Gerhard

With Ficus we can cut back to the basic structure and develop the tree again. Because of their fast growth in our climate they can too busy (maybe not the right word).
Removing all the leaves forces the tree to redevelop more or less evenly. If some foliage is left it will draw more energy and the tree can get unbalanced and even cause the death of some branches.

Billy

What % of roots did you remove?
Thanks!
Bryan

rrubberbandman wrote:What % of roots did you remove?
Thanks!
Bryan

Probably 40 to 50%.

its probably too late to do this to mine, here in VA.???
Thoughts?
Bryan

rrubberbandman wrote:its probably too late to do this to mine, here in VA.???
Thoughts?
Bryan

Yes, I responded to your post in questions.

Billy

Hi Billy,

A very nice ficus. I read your response about cutting back everything but would like to know why you didn't just defoliate leaving some of the finer ramification that would surely have developed by now. Would this not have the same effect balancing the tree?

Also, the main trunk seems to have a lovely right to left curve but the dead straight root growing up from the base to the left primary branch hides this flow. Would it be option to remove that section of root? If it is your choice to keep it because you like it that way by all means it is your tree. I was merely commenting and appreciating.

Cockroach wrote:Hi Billy,

A very nice ficus. I read your response about cutting back everything but would like to know why you didn't just defoliate leaving some of the finer ramification that would surely have developed by now. Would this not have the same effect balancing the tree?

Thanks, I just find it works better for me to cut back to the basic structure every few years.

Also, the main trunk seems to have a lovely right to left curve but the dead straight root growing up from the base to the left primary branch hides this flow. Would it be option to remove that section of root? If it is your choice to keep it because you like it that way by all means it is your tree. I was merely commenting and appreciating.

Thanks for the suggestion, looking at the tree, that is something to consider. I did remove one large aerial roots from the back.

Billy

Billy, thx for sharing your work! I admit to being shocked to see complete defoliation, as I had learned this could kill all or part of the plant. A bonsai myth apparently. In your original post you said not to try this in colder climates. Did you mean this late in the year, or at all?

Precarious wrote:Billy, thx for sharing your work!  I admit to being shocked to see complete defoliation, as I had learned this could kill all or part of the plant.  A bonsai myth apparently.  In your original post you said not to try this in colder climates.  Did you mean this late in the year, or at all?

I think you would want three months of warm weather (80 + daytime 70+ night) for a tree to recover. So, if you did it at the beginning of your summer you should be OK.

BTW, I noticed a lot of new buds yesterday (August 25) and rubbed off some that were on the trunk or inner branches. This is two weeks since the defoliation/repotting. Our daytimes are in the 90's and nights in the 80's.

Thanks!