willow leave ficus - restyle

This tree has been grown indoor near the window. we worked on the branches for several years. i have a greenhouse at my place now. the tree is moved into the greenhouse. it grows stronger. the branches on the tree seem leggy. it has not been wired for a while. the curved was almost not there now.



We decide to start it over. and cut all those old branches off. this ficus will send out new buds where it is cut. in mid June, new branches grow everywhere on the trunk. we thin some of the branches out and let it grow. those new branches were too young and too soft to wire.




a month has passed, we look at the tree and decided that new branches has grown a bit more. we decided to wire new branches and shortened it. next work is to let it grow freely.


after wiring and pruning

Howzit Boon,

Nice job, mahalo for sharing!! I too have a willow that I'm working on and your example has given me an idea.

A Hui Hou,
-Tim

Going to be a great sumo Ficus. What kind of pot are you thinking of for it?

Tim,
This is the best way to improve bonsai. i grow them in the green house. it will take longer to finish. pls post some pictures. i 'd love to see how your trees develop,
Thanks
Boon

Rob,
probably oval cream or blue
or unglazed soft rectangle with cloud feet.

boon wrote:Tim,
This is the best way to improve bonsai. i grow them in the green house. it will take longer to finish. pls post some pictures. i 'd love to see how your trees develop,
Thanks
Boon

Howzit Boon,

This is one that I'm working on. Any help would be appreciated.

A Hui Hou,
-Tim

That is going to be a great little tree Boon ! Can't wait to see it in a couple of years under your care. And grown indoors too!! Good start on yours too Tim. Just need to select a line, remove everything you don't need & go with it.

Ed

Great job Boon. Keep on posting. Can't wait to meet you in person one day and hopefully take lessons from you.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!
Sam

Tim, I second what Ed said. You might also want to start working on the roots by trimming them (and covering the cut end with soil or spaghnum moss) to induce ramification but mostly to keep the tubers from swelling too much.

Nice base, looking forward to seeing this one develop. Might have to get one of these...

Chris

Mahalo Rob and Ed..... will work on it this weekend.

A Hui Hou,
-Tim

thank you Ed and Sam,
Tim,
i thing it should be ground layer first. Ficus should have good nebari and good taper. this ficus will send out several shoots in one spot. they need to be thinned out to one or two and let those branches grow. the scar will heal quickly when you let it grow. wire those branches when they are young.
the trunk shape and taper is not visible right now. it is hard to say what it should be done. i like this species. it is easy to take care of and easy to correct. i work on several of them in Florida.

here is one of the exmple of correction that was made during study group.

before pic



After correction work


then plant in growing pot and seal the cuts. then it need to grow.

here is another tree.
it was damaged from the cold snap. ice burn several branches. we decided to cut some of branches that are too thick and restyled it. first pic is a year after we made the correction. we cut some thick old branches off and then let it grow.
before


now it is healthy. we do some more cut and repot it.
after

Mahalo Boon,

Will work on it and post up latter.

A Hui Hou,
-Tim