Suggestions for old, large ficus (with pics)

PS. the saw above is only half opened and the blade can be stowed away when not in use. I use one of these for severing the larger roots when lifting ground grown trees.

OK now, here are the choice of weapons. If you can put a razor charp edge on a wood chisel, it is a great tool as well but is has to be scarry sharp. Please note blade in proper locked position on saw.

__gary

Considering the size of the tree, I'd be tempted to use a reciprocating saw or spiral saw to do most of the work, then use hand tools to cut whatever the power tool can't reach.

[quote="Ted Clausen"]

Rob Kempinski wrote: Ficus trees are tough. There is no need to fear cutting the roots so saving the pot is doable. Start by cutting the roots in the back of the tree and trying to wedge it out of the pot.


I am from Hawaii.

When you say "cut the roots," I am wondering what you would use to cut them out with? Would you use some sort of power tool? I can't imagine cutting them out with a hand saw?

You are in Hawaii, perfect, then you can be very drastic and still have a good tree in a couple of years. I'd cut where the red lines are in this drawing and try to get the tree out of the pot. Use a sharp pruning saw, or perhaps a bonsai sod cutting repooting saw (available at bonsai nurseries) like this link

http://www.oldtreebonsai.com/saws.html.

Cut all those deformed branches off and regrow the top, Believe me your tree will be much better in no time in your tropical climate.




To prove that I am not BSing you, look at the results you can get. I routinely do this to my Ficus trees when making the initial styling, because frankly your tree needs to go back to initial styling in order to become great. The reverse taper and embedded wire is never going to look good.




There are other examples on my blog. I'd suggest joining a bonsai club in Hawaii. There are some very knowledgeable ficus experts in Hawaii.

thanks for your input Rob. I am actually a club member already and will definitely be seeking out advice and assistance from more experienced artists. I am not in any rush to make major any styling decisions at this point, my top priority being restoring the tree to a more healthy state.

But I admire your work and very much appreciate your advice. I think at this point I am leaning somewhat to your view as far as branch removal goes.

Whatever decision I make ultimately, I will be sure and post some pics.

ted

Ted Clausen wrote:thanks for your input Rob. I am actually a club member already and will definitely be seeking out advice and assistance from more experienced artists. I am not in any rush to make major any styling decisions at this point, my top priority being restoring the tree to a more healthy state.

But I admire your work and very much appreciate your advice. I think at this point I am leaning somewhat to your view as far as branch removal goes.

Whatever decision I make ultimately, I will be sure and post some pics.

ted

Thanks Ted,

good luck with it. With some drastic work now you will be well pleased in the future.

I am really curious about the pot. I haven't seen that style before. Usually the Japanese pots with the faces are the very expensive ones. Is it possible to get a look at the bottom of the pot to see if there is a chop (an imprint of the maker). That might help reveal the provenance of the pot. It is very possible that the pot is worth much more than the tree. Large ficus trees are fairly common in the tropics but this pot is not especially in this size.

Lifting that thing is easier said than done. But I will be dragging it over to my mentor's home next weekend for some preliminary evaluation, so maybe I can get a look then.

This one is one of the finest ficus (already a bonsai by itself) i have seen,agreed ,break the pot do not disturb the tree,its very precious..

Any updates here? I would love to see what you have done with it. Great looking tree to start with.

Hi Ted,
Dont worry too much i own lots of ficus it is o tough tree..you can even top cut it at it still will survive..taiwanese do a lot of fusing to creat old tree.you can saw around it and gradually lift it and cut through it even if you retain 20% of the base root,i do a lot of repoting in my trees..what i can suggest is after all the triming you can seal it it a big plastic to keep its humidity and when u see new buds coming out under the plastic open it and you'll see it will grow well...once the tree is strong enough then do the neccessary cut back...hope it helps
Regards,
Alex