Ficus salicaria

This is a ficus that I have had for a while. It was pencil thin when I bought here in Louisville and after a few years (8 I think) it is finally starting to look like something. It is currently 13" tall and the base of the trunk is 2" wide. I defoliated the top to let the first branch grow out a bit to widen the overall canopy a little. I'm trying to decide on a pot to transplant it into next spring. Suggestions welcome.

I will be first..I think your tree is really nice,,good trunk and the branches are comming along well.. i like imho oval pots with ficus green or light blue.. good job a lot of paicence SP...Take care john

Thanks a lot for your reply and comments John. I agree a shallow oval would be good for this one, I will go on a hunt for one. I wired this one up but have not had a moment to get outside to photograph it. I'll get one today hopefully. Thanks again

Hi Jim,

Good start on this ficus. If you want to lengthen that first branch, try finding the dominant leader and wire it horizontally, then turn the end up slightly. Reduce the foliage behind that leader, and usually that branch will grow much quicker. Keep an eye on the wire, take it off when it starts to cut in, and then rewire to the strongest leader that has developed. I'm in Zone 10 and this will happen in one season for me, but it may take a couple of seasons in your area. Good luck.

Ed

Thanks for the reply/advice Ed, here is the tree wired and coming back from the defoliation. I am waiting to see if my wife will have access to a ceramic studio at her new job to make me a pot for this one.

Nice work, Jim.
Jerry

Thanks Jerry.

I love your tree! It is good to see your work. I want to get a Ficus some time soon. I think it would be a good change from Fukien Tea trees

Briddell

Very nice. One small comment - have you thought about shortening the tree? I would consider removing everything above the second branch and re-growing a new crown to improve the taper and to make the tree more compact. Hank
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Hank Miller wrote:Very nice. One small comment - have you thought about shortening the tree? I would consider removing everything above the second branch and re-growing a new crown to improve the taper and to make the tree more compact. Hank
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I agree with Hank. It actually kind of appears to have reverse taper the higher up it goes, in that cluster of branches.

Thanks Hank and Ryan for the replies, sorry for the delay in responding for some reason they slipped past me and I have not been obsessively checking my posts as I usually do. I did think of cutting it back actually after I defoliated it but I wanted to wait until spring when I will hopefully be repotting and see with it in the new pot where best to cut and also because my winter set up is less than great and there is usually some minor die back. So I thought I would leave it as sacrificial top. Thanks again.

beautiful, I dream about this species of Ficus, rather unfortunately unavailable in Poland

If you do decide to cut back your fig, it is a good idea to leave a stub when removing large sections of the trunk or a large branch. When the stub dies back (into the trunk) it can be removed and no unsightly bulge will occur (due to callousing) as is often the case when a flush or concave cut is made. Hank