Cjr Mr Twister Ficus

[Cajunrider]

I bought Mr Twister from an fellow old country man trying to make a living. Don’t quite know what to do with Mr Twister yet. It appears he has just been freed from a rebar.
My current plan is to repot and develop the nebari first before working on the top.

 

[pandacular]

Bear in mind I know nothing about ficus. BUT! i think this article presents a strong option. (note that i'm not calling this tree a mallsai! it's just a somewhat similar shape)

Air Layering a Chinese Elm Mallsai into Two Shohin Bonsai

The Chinese elm shohin in this display was air-layered from a mallsai. This post shows the progression of the transformation. Mallsai is a term coined in the US; it refers to mass produced bonsai s…

bonsaipenjing.wordpress.com

 

[Joe Dupre']

It much depends on whether you like trunk as is or not. If you love the tree, do as you see fit. MY opinion.......and only my opinion--- Air layer 2 trees off of it and keep the lower, big trunk for your prized tree. I think you'll eventually have 3 really nice trees instead of one. Much longer to finished products in my scenario, though.

 

[hemmy]

Don’t quite know what to do with Mr Twister yet.

That
Is
Awesome!!!

My unsolicited advice is keep the weird! Up-pot and pot-in-pot for escape roots and then let sacrifice branches from several places. Also pack the trunk with sphagnum moss in plastic and get a ton of aerial roots to intertwine in, out and around the trunk. An eventual styling might make it look like smaller trees clinging to the side of a weird mountain.

Very cool!

 

[Cajunrider]

Bear in mind I know nothing about ficus. BUT! i think this article presents a strong option. (note that i'm not calling this tree a mallsai! it's just a somewhat similar shape)

Air Layering a Chinese Elm Mallsai into Two Shohin Bonsai

The Chinese elm shohin in this display was air-layered from a mallsai. This post shows the progression of the transformation. Mallsai is a term coined in the US; it refers to mass produced bonsai s…

bonsaipenjing.wordpress.com

This one is really not a lazy S mallsai. It is a traditional super tight coil often done in SE Asia. As the tree matures the coils collapse in on one another forming a twisting trunk. Trunk taper is done by tightly controlling the growth up top and sacrifice branches down low. It is rather a slow process.

 

[pandacular]

It certainly looks more 3-D than a s curve elm, and I'd be interested to see more angles.

I learned recently that the entire tropical collection at the Jardin Botanique du Montreal was donated from Vietnam. I would love to visit someday.