Ficus in progress

[Craigm]

This is a Ficus which I picked up early 2015. I was told it's
Ficus macrophylla but remain a little unsure.

When i spotted it I liked the potential of multiple trunks and it had a fairly
good sized base to it.




I left it to grow for some 7 months before deciding the time was right to tackle the beast.



Started out by waiting till summer when the temperatures were warm enough,
then gave the whole tree a defoliation of it's foliage.
This was done to enable me to See what I was working with.



Once I removed it from the styrene box the Roots were real bad, it was no good and I needed to go another step. Cutting All of those bad roots off in one go at a place where I would be able to regrow a nice rootspread.


Gone and it felt really good too. Leaving them in such as mess would be Zero benefit to either myself or
the Tree as it progresses .

 

[Craigm]

After that I gave it some fresh medium to grow in and a new pot with some room
for new roots to grow..




By the end of December 2015 it was beginning to look ok, out in the Sun.



Now that it had gained health again I started to work on reducing the multiple Trunks down to
something useable.
I have remove many branches many of which were coming from same spots.
Thinning and allowing fresh shoots to get some light .


I will be wiring and cleaning it up a little more quite soon and will show the outcome then.

Hopefully it'll make quite a nice Tree in time.
Many thanks, regards Craig

 

[Cypress187]

It's really cool man, never thougth all those beautiful branches where under that canopy.

 

[just.wing.it]

Wow, I dig it.
Very nice multi trunk.
It already reminds me of a "Park tree".
Cool.

 

[sorce]

+1 on the branches under there!

Great start!

Killer Material!

Sorce

 

[Craigm]

It's really cool man, never thougth all those beautiful branches where under that canopy.

Wow, I dig it.
Very nice multi trunk.
It already reminds me of a "Park tree".
Cool.

+1 on the branches under there!

Great start!

Killer Material!

Sorce

Yes it was a very nice surprise for sure to find a good amount of branching.
The gentleman who grew it from a cutting did a nice job, not sure it's ever seen wire
but it will soon .
I should have mentioned that when I defoliated the tree I removed the growing Tips from all strong
branches and left the growing Tips alone on all the small or weaker branches.
This was done to slow the strong and strengthen the weaker branches as the strong one's will mostly
be removed altogether.

thanks for the feedback!

 

[Timbo]

Nice tree, it has a calming look to it! Very smooth.
Good tips, i should have read this before i left half the foliage on my ficus after root pruning.

 

[Hank Miller]

This is a very nice piece of material and you have done an excellent job on the root ball. I have a suggestion you might like to consider, With multi-trunked trees the tendency often is to make a large crown, I find that a more compact crown is more interesting as it accentuates the trunks. You might consider reducing the crown as roughly indicated below. Regards Hank

 

[Zach Smith]

After that I gave it some fresh medium to grow in and a new pot with some room
for new roots to grow..

By the end of December 2015 it was beginning to look ok, out in the Sun.

Now that it had gained health again I started to work on reducing the multiple Trunks down to
something useable.
I have remove many branches many of which were coming from same spots.
Thinning and allowing fresh shoots to get some light .

I will be wiring and cleaning it up a little more quite soon and will show the outcome then.

Hopefully it'll make quite a nice Tree in time.
Many thanks, regards Craig

Nice work, Craig. My only suggestion is to be careful not to let the tree get "overcome" with foliage so that it ends up looking like a bush. The viewer needs to be able to see the tree's structure, meaning parts of the trunks and branches (not all, of course). More lower than higher, more near the trunks than along the branches. It'll look like a real tree that way.

Zach

 

[Giga]

Ur making me miss my ficus!

 

[Craigm]

This is a very nice piece of material and you have done an excellent job on the root ball. I have a suggestion you might like to consider, With multi-trunked trees the tendency often is to make a large crown, I find that a more compact crown is more interesting as it accentuates the trunks. You might consider reducing the crown as roughly indicated below. Regards Hank

View attachment 113401

Thankyou for taking time to virt this Ficus @Hank Miller , I will certainly keep what you say in mind

Nice work, Craig. My only suggestion is to be careful not to let the tree get "overcome" with foliage so that it ends up looking like a bush. The viewer needs to be able to see the tree's structure, meaning parts of the trunks and branches (not all, of course). More lower than higher, more near the trunks than along the branches. It'll look like a real tree that way.

Zach

@Zach Smith , Thankyou for your suggestions my friend

I will be thinking some before I undertake wiring or any further trimming of branches.
thanks for commenting guys,, much appreciated.

Craig..