Many years ago, when I was a teenager, my mum bought me this Ficus ginseng, hoping it would encourage a future bonsai master 
. It grew slowly in our less-than-ideal indoor conditions (fortunately, ficuses are very forgiving, as we know). Hereās the first photo I found of it after a few years of growth. Forgive me for not knowing the exact dates, but this was probably about 20 years ago.
Because the only available space I had at the time was a small shelf near the window, I decided to repot it into an even smaller container (or maybe just to make it look cooler
).
After many years of growing in this cramped container, it still managed to thriveāficuses really are that forgiving! (I have to mention this again, as part of my bonsai master wisdom
)
As you can see, I used āprofessionalā wires (actually meant for wire mesh fences), but a bit of shape started to emergeā¦
A few years later, I did some more wiringā¦
I know that after about 20 years, many would expect the tree to look better, but this is how it looked just 4 years agoā¦
Then I finally moved to a house with a garden! Iām in zone 6b, so in winter it will always remain an indoor bonsai. But now I can grow it outside from late spring to early autumn.
I decided to put it in a colander pot for two seasons to help it regain some health. It did really well, so in the middle of summer, I completely defoliated it to get a better view of the branch structure, made a few adjustments, and then let it grow freely until the end of the season.
And the last photo, for now, is from today. The tree is healthy and ready for further development, but for now, it needs to rest through the coming winter months.
. It grew slowly in our less-than-ideal indoor conditions (fortunately, ficuses are very forgiving, as we know). Hereās the first photo I found of it after a few years of growth. Forgive me for not knowing the exact dates, but this was probably about 20 years ago.Because the only available space I had at the time was a small shelf near the window, I decided to repot it into an even smaller container (or maybe just to make it look cooler
).After many years of growing in this cramped container, it still managed to thriveāficuses really are that forgiving! (I have to mention this again, as part of my bonsai master wisdom
)As you can see, I used āprofessionalā wires (actually meant for wire mesh fences), but a bit of shape started to emergeā¦
A few years later, I did some more wiringā¦
I know that after about 20 years, many would expect the tree to look better, but this is how it looked just 4 years agoā¦
Then I finally moved to a house with a garden! Iām in zone 6b, so in winter it will always remain an indoor bonsai. But now I can grow it outside from late spring to early autumn.
I decided to put it in a colander pot for two seasons to help it regain some health. It did really well, so in the middle of summer, I completely defoliated it to get a better view of the branch structure, made a few adjustments, and then let it grow freely until the end of the season.
And the last photo, for now, is from today. The tree is healthy and ready for further development, but for now, it needs to rest through the coming winter months.
