Ficus Ben over Rockish type Material.

[sorce]

Here is more tiny details I like to keep in order.
I wasn't kidding about doing bonsai from the neurotic side!

Simply.
Watch the light on the low branch change
(not the yellow tape one!)
when 3 leaves get removed.




Now for more Madden!

Here's why I did it.


This pink dots need a healing!
The red blips are new top branch buds.
The dark blue is a low branch branch.
The light blue is where I need a bud!

I can remove these 3 leaves because I don't need more than tip growth here to heal that little top wound.

A future projection.


When that low branch pink dot wound gets healed (or close. Time/growth dependent) I will chop at the green.
In front of what will be my 2 blue branches.
If the new light does not produce buds there, when I chop the sacrifice, I am 90% sure I'll get a bud there. 60% sure the location will be usable!

The top will be cut at the green when I get a few big leaves on the new buds.
This 3 leaf cut also gives them more light.
So they will do better, shorter internodes.

I always leave stubs when pruning this. And come back to trim them up later.
This IS crucial!

Thanks for watching!


Sorce

 

[sorce]

It's been like 4 months since I seen it.
And haven't been able to get a good picture. A gift for a friend!

A riddle for all!

Sorce

 

[sorce]

I keep walking this line between present and future with this tree.

A line also between OCD and ATD.
Attention to Detail.

A line between ramification, and ramifications.

Questioning. ...whether this will Always be Benny Big Leaf, or if, by always thinking about these things, and balancing health, and determination, I can make this believable. ...
Before the Rockish thing falls apart!

It's futile !

But there is education, in all of it.

Here's a look up my sleeve.......

In the above picture, note the "guy wire", this was placed there to catch any spring back when I took the wire off the taped branch.
It set, but if it hadn't, That wire would've held it till it set, and I could allow that wound to breathe. As here.


Ugly....what to do?
Not much taper in that branch.
The low hanging branch, is only there to help heal the wound.

But I'm balancing still.....pretty nuff now, and future, evenly.

I could keep that low hanger, but it is beat up......Lotta energy gong into healing it's own self. The keeper above is healthy.
And with a chance of backbudding before the ugly wound, giving me more taper, and a more delicate front...with less visible scarring. ....

TCB. CTB.
Take care of Business.
Cut that Beeeeoch!

Do you see the Math?
The Equation, that is like a "word problem", only Bonsai, equalled cut it.

More in the apex............

Sorce

 

[sorce]

You see the Y in the apex?

It looks ok now, but there is a lot going on there.....too much......Its shading out some of my low stuff, and USELESS!

Zoomed
I'm only gonna Madden by request. ....

But at the base of that Y, there is a leaf on the right, this bud was knocked off, and a new one is now showing itself, that is where I will cut back to in 2-3 years.

For now. That top part comes off, and I still have too much going on up there,

Balance.

How bout a "will kill for taper" t-shirt!
There goes that patent!



Soon as these new shoots get woodyish, I'm gonna wire it again.

Maybe use some simple pull wires on new stuff that needs a new initial direction.

These leaves are about 1/3 of average Ben Leaves. Long way to go!

Sorce

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

You really are OCD when working on a tree. Love what you have done so far. Benjamina normally tend to be very straight, you have managed to create movement. Nicely done. I need to apply your attention to detail to my "Chiapas" willow leafed ficus. I have been neglectful. I will start a separate thread for it - someday, I promise. Maybe in spring.

The hard part will be to keep what taper you have. It would be nice if lower on the trunk a bud sprouted that you could use as a sacrifice to get the diameter of the main trunk larger without fattening up your branches. Cross your fingers.

Looking forward to what you do with this next.

 

[JoeR]

View attachment 87073
TCB. CTB.
Take care of Business.
Cut that Beeeeoch!
Sorce

My new favorite phrase.

Some woman is holding up the line at walmart? TCB and CTB!

Someone at work insulted you? TCB and CTB too! Lol!

 

[sorce]

Cross your fingers.

Oh yeah.
I've been hoping for one sure. Hoping it's on the back too!

I've also been tossing around wrapping the lower part of the trunk for a few roots too.

The futility.

Thanks Leo!

Sorce

P.S. @JoeR Cut em deep! Lol!

 

[sorce]

Well....I watch this thing daily.....and listen to it for when it uses its brain, vocal cords, and mouth to talk to me.....and what it said was....

If you cut me now....I will reward you!

Couple days later and I got the most microscpic buds poppin from a couple place I need em.
I like microscopic, because they tend to have really small leaves for longer than big buds, so if this thing ever "gets there", the good show window just got a little bigger. Like from 2 days...to 5!



This cutting might still get me some buds further in...it's got a lot of things going on, the nubs, some splitting fissures on the ass. Hopefully that trunk thickening branch.

Still a couple long things have to go...
Hopefully I'll update in 2 weeks with all the buds generated showing.

Sorce

 

[Nwaite]

Hey its looking great!

Quick question .. not sure if I missed it or not and sorry if you already mentioned this.. but did you grow this guy's out for a wile then cut it back to just a small thing and started over or just kept trimming it back?

Mines growing fast and and I lm not sure if I should start trimming it a bit now or wait tile the trunks up to a good size.

 

[sorce]

trim

I got a couple old pics on the previous page.
I never really let anything get over about a quarter inch thick.
You can see where a couple sacrifices and things were removed.

It was more or less grown to this....

I'll say this....in my situation....a 1/4 wound heals pretty fast, and can put on good meat if its grown in the right place.
Of course the trunk is barely a half inch itself.

Sorce

 

[sorce]

Figlets.

See that lil curly q? That's branches thickening.


Threw a smaller bucket there so it could get some sun....back up to the light in about a half hour.

Spriiiing!

Sorce

 

[sorce]

This root started about March 19th.


3 days before the full moon.

It is in the same pattern as the other....so I kind of like it.
Definitely adds good character to the front.

That moss was put on a month or so back. It really helped!

Wow....first baseball game today...
And it seemed more like spring in January!

Sorce

 

[sorce]

Supreme wiring job!

Sorce

 

[barrosinc]

View attachment 99332

Supreme wiring job!

Sorce

At least it is better than your MSPaint skills!

 

[Tentakelaertje]

Jibberisch on the pictures, jibberisch in the writings. Sorce, dude...

...Nice tree! Coolest benji I've seen in a while!

 

[just.wing.it]

Nice tree sorce, I haven't seen this til now.

 

[sorce]

Front


Front an hour CCW.

Left

Back

Right

Hopin to encourage some laterall surface roots at this level. The rock undercuts after here and I don't want these big roots just sinking into the ground.

I fully mossed it as a reminder to not fertilize. And to overcome boredom.

I'm tryin to pot this this year for S&g.

Sorce

 

[LanceMac10]

Looks cool, bro.....
Really starting to get some interesting character at the base.
Load one up and look at the moss for four hundred twenty seconds.....

 

[Nwaite]

Ya I can't wait to see this guy in a nice pot.

Any ideas one yet?

 

[aml1014]

Looks cool, bro.....
Really starting to get some interesting character at the base.
Load one up and look at the moss for four hundred twenty seconds.....

But he should wait like 17 days, then it'll be four hundred and twenty minutes of staring.

Aaron