Started Work on Ficus

evmibo

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This past winter/spring I received this Ficus, and two more trees from a man who couldn't care for them anymore. I'd been feeding and watering since. About two weeks ago I decided it was okay to take on work this summer, and took it to my first wiring class. My goal was to completely wire the tree and then repot it. In a perfect world I probably would have liked to repot it next summer. But it was Extremely root bound.

A small fraction of the wiring was done the day of the class. I worked for an estimated 8+ hours on wiring the tree at home. This was by far the most time I've spent wiring a tree, but this is also my largest tree. I'm really happy with the outcome, although I'm sure I could have wired better. It's beginning to back bud, and feel confident I will have limited to no die back (I've read various stories of F. Benjamina reacting differently to wire, partial defoliation and repots in one fell swoop).

Critiques, Concerns, whatever welcome.
 

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nairb

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Wow! thats a beautiful tree. Are those roots that are hanging down kinda like ivy or banyan tree roots? It really looks like a tree from the jungle. I didn't know Ficus would grow like this.
 

sorce

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I like how the left is more up, right more down. Indicating direction.

Sun right.

Maybe thin the left a little, or grow the right more. To follow Sun right theme.

Excellent!

Sorce
 
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Wow! thats a beautiful tree. Are those roots that are hanging down kinda like ivy or banyan tree roots? It really looks like a tree from the jungle. I didn't know Ficus would grow like this.

They do in Ft. Myers where it feels like a jungle most of the year.
 

Giga

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Nice ficus, I have one really large ficus that I'm turning into a banyan. They develop very fast and are a fun species!


EDIT: Mine is a F. Benjamina and I cut back to nothing defoliate and the like. Bounces back with crazy amount of buds n such!
 

evmibo

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Thanks for the kind words. Nairb - I'm definitely trying to paint the picture of a jungle tree. I inheritted the tree with the aerial roots already developed pretty well. I may start experimenting with plastic straws soon.

Sorce - thanks for the comment, I will keep this in mind if I ever display it. I think during the next wire job I will preposition a couple branches on the left, but we will see..

Quiet - yes, it is.
11:45am, although it hasn't rained in 24 hrs. ;)


Giga - Thanks
 

Cypress187

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You have a closeup of the defoliation? Did you prune the leaves or the petiole (/leaf-stem)? I got a ficus of my parents neighbour which i like the show to him next year (maybe he want's him back :p)
 

evmibo

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No picture at the moment, just got home from work and it's late. I cut about 75% of each leaf. I also cut most (I think I missed some) terminal buds in half. Hope that helps :)
 

linlaoboo

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You should go to southeast Asia and see them with aerial roots fused to trunks and tons dropping from branches like thick hairs.
 

evmibo

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Would love to get out there at some point in my life. Luckily, these trees (1 , 2) are within walking distance of my house (there's a couple more like those, but they take the cake). :) I'm sure there southeast Asia makes these trees look weak though.
 

Giga

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No picture at the moment, just got home from work and it's late. I cut about 75% of each leaf. I also cut most (I think I missed some) terminal buds in half. Hope that helps :)

A much better approach but I just pull them off as my massive ficus has hundred of leaves and takes forever, even with pulling the leaf.
 

carp

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In reply to the OP and Giga;

Removing 75% of the leaf doesn't do anything except slowly kill the leaf. For some reason, in South Florida, it is very common practice and totally unnecessary. It's better just to cut at the petiole and get the show on the road.

@Giga; pulling leaves is fine when you are developing a tree's primary branching, but even with ficus you can remove the dormant auxiliary buds when you rip the petiole from the branch, which means if you are trying to stimulate a bud at a certain leaf point, you may lose that bud.
 

evmibo

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I'm no botanist, but I like to think the tree is allowed to continue some photosynthesis with 25% leaf left. I know the leaf slowly dies off, dropping itself and the petiole, but the transition is more fluid, and you aren't cutting all photosynthesis instantly. By the time the old leaf and petiole is falling off, the new buds have had some time to develop - so photosynthesis is occurring constantly.

It may only be minimally better for the tree's health, but I wouldn't do it differently.
 

Redwood Ryan

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When I was at a workshop with Roy Nagatoshi, he told me to cut each leaf in half. It stresses the tree and gets it to push buds elsewhere, he said.
 

carp

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Some things work better on paper than in practice. If you think this makes a difference, defoliate 10 trees of the same species leaving 25% of the leaf, and then another 10 by cutting at the petiole and record your findings, and another 10 by pulling the leaf.

The guys in South Florida really push this with Buttonwood also, but it makes no difference. They say you will cause branches to die if you defoliate a Buttonwood without leaving 25-50% of the leaf. It's not true. The branch will die if the dormant auxiliary bud is removed when the leaf is pulled off. By cutting the petiole, the leaf is removed without damaging that bud. Cutting the leaf in half does nothing but slowly kill that leaf before the dormant bud is stimulated.

With Ficus, or most any other species, that are in branch/trunk development, I pull leaves because, a lot of the times I'm cutting back hard for taper and movement. That means I don't need a specific bud in a specific location. With a tree that is in branch refinement, it becomes more important not to damage specific buds, so I cut the petiole.

Not in a million years would I cut a leaf in half on a tropical species here in Florida.
 

evmibo

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I'm talking about Ficus.

Have you done the experiment? How many defoliations did you do before you came to a conclusion?
 

carp

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About 400-500 plants; the specimen trees are defoliated 2-4 times a year.
so, uhh, i think I've defoliated once or twice....
i mean, you can even see defoliated trees in the photos.

Again, cutting the leaf doesn't do anything versus totally removing it. For some reason, beyond me, the guys down in South Florida really push the idea that the leaf should be cut and not removed. They push the idea with all trees...doesn't matter. What matters is that you don't damage the auxillary buds which are dormant at the petioles of the leaf.
 

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evmibo

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I never asked if you've defoliated or not, I figured you have since we're having a discussion about defoliating. I'm curious about the experiment you mentioned in post #16, but, it seems like you only cut at the petiole or completely remove the leaf though..? If you cut the 25% leaf before, how long did you do that before you just started cutting to petioles? I think there could be some long-term positives (although maybe minuscule) from keeping part of the leaf on the tree. As I mentioned before it's able to continue some photosynthesis. At the worst there's no difference, but I really believe leaving the leaves on at 25% when defoliating can help long term health and vigor.
 

amcoffeegirl

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I also cut half the leaf and let it die and fall. For the same reasons as mentioned above.
 
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