Willow leaf ficus

Saw this guy and the bug bit me again this time for good and for 40$ it's a pretty good deal. It was sooo root bound almost no dirt came off when I re-potted it. I had to take a saw to it to trim it down. Also had horrible surface roots-looked like someone wrapped them around the tree and left it to grow. So after a good root prune and decent trim(about 35%) this is where we stand. I planted it in a standard deep pot for now to let it grow some.Also pardon the cellphone shots

Also should I remove the branch 3/4 up the trunk?


after trimming it I noticed this branch and is it to thick? I need advice on what I should do from here


Base-wedding ring for reference(don't pay mind to the root to the right, it's not part of the tree)

Looks like a good start for a broom style. Lower branch could be left on for a while to thicken the trunk.
Keep us posted.
Jerry

If it was my tree I would cut most of the branches out of the top and cut the one or two remaining back an inch long. You would do this to force energy down to the lower branches. Let the lower branches grow unchecked to thicken them and the trunk.

Is it ok to work the tree since I just root prune and already cut some of the branches. It's been about a week since I reported

Just a little update. After the last pic above I cut the branches down to about 1 inch and left only about 5 branches

Also the tree is 8" from the rim of the pot

One more

horrible surface roots-looked like someone wrapped them around the tree and left it to grow

that sounds strangely familiar..wait a minute!

by man on the mountain on Sat May 14, 2011 11:35 pm
horrible surface roots-looked like someone wrapped them around the tree and left it to grow

that sounds strangely familiar..wait a minute! Very Happy

lol seems like a lot of willow leaf grow like that. Anyway I leave for 8 months(military) so once I get back(wife taking care of the bonsai(plural?))it will be a year. I will chose a few good branches to start the canopy for the broom style

First off, thank you for your service. The wrap around roots are the main reason I've yet to purchase a narrow leaf, haven't found one that has non-grotesque nebari. I need to find a way to not stare at my plants everyday, I left for 4 days and I didn't recognize my elm when I got home. Sorry your time away is unfortunately not recreational

^Great start to what looks like what will become an outstanding broom someday! (forgot to type that up there before I hit enter...)

The nebari on most of these Willow Leaf will fuse, smooth out, and look awesome given a few years of growth.
Jerry

Cool! Thanks, Jerry, that makes a big difference to me. Never would've thought about the roots fusing, maybe I'll go pick one up this week if I find a nice one.