giventofly
Shohin
going strong
Ficus Tiger Bark progression
- Thread starter Maiden69
- Start date
Maiden69
Masterpiece
The ficus is pushing a lot of growth, in some places I have 3 branches coming out of the same spot along the trunk. I started working on it last weekend and will try to finish today and tomorrow doing some branch selection on those areas and light wiring to set the structure. Ficus likes to go straight up once the new growth starts to lignify, so it is now or never...
Maiden69
Masterpiece
Organized the mess a little bit. New leader is wired down to the area that I think will be used for the primary branching. There are 2 branches coming out of the trunk facing up and right. Once the trunk thickens to where I need I will chop it to those branches and develop the crown from then and the branch below them to the left.
I think on the next repot I will move the tree slightly more to the left out of center to take advantage of that first branch.
This is my biggest pot at the moment, will it be a good size once the tree ramifies?
Proposed front
Back
From above
I think on the next repot I will move the tree slightly more to the left out of center to take advantage of that first branch.
This is my biggest pot at the moment, will it be a good size once the tree ramifies?
Proposed front
Back
From above
luvinthemountains
Chumono
Hard to say, but I think so. It looks a little bit oversized for the trunk, right now, but once you have a canopy it may be just right.
Vincent Tanner
Mame
This is incredible progress! Thanks for sharing all these pictures along the way.
Are the lower side, branches growing as sacrifices? The base on this thing has turned out really great.
Are the lower side, branches growing as sacrifices? The base on this thing has turned out really great.
Maiden69
Masterpiece
Definitely not a sacrifice branch. Ficus tend to be styled this way, with a very heavy first branch.
How I would probably develop the tree.
From David Cortiza's trip to PR.
From Bonsai Tonight
Random image online
First branch kind of like the Japanese white pine that is styled with the overly big first branch.
Mirai
Stone Lantern Kimura tree
How I would probably develop the tree.
From David Cortiza's trip to PR.
From Bonsai Tonight
Random image online
First branch kind of like the Japanese white pine that is styled with the overly big first branch.
Mirai
Stone Lantern Kimura tree
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Vincent Tanner
Mame
That’s awesome! I love it.
(My image was more to explain what I was asking than suggest it!)
That Mirai white pine is sick.
Thanks for sharing all these good examples.
(My image was more to explain what I was asking than suggest it!)
That Mirai white pine is sick.
Thanks for sharing all these good examples.
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Maiden69
Masterpiece
I would like to add... what a pain it is to wire a tree with leaves! And that I wish I had used thicker wire. I went with the traditional size "guessing" of 1/3 the size of the branch in copper, 1/2 with aluminum... but I am beginning to think that the branches that were very thin will start to overpower the aluminum wire once they start to grow and probably lose the shape I gave them. I guess I will have to be very attentive and apply additional wire if that starts to happen.
luvinthemountains
Chumono
I agree, particularly with this species. The leaves are big and stick out in every direction! I almost always cut them all off before wiring, but of course then you have another problem having to keep in mind where the axillary buds will pop out, so you can try not to wire over the top of them.
Maiden69
Masterpiece
Had I not just defoliated the entire tree and repot it this year I would have done so. I never pull the leaves, but cut the petiole on ficus so that would be the indicator for where to wire. I think next year it would be much easier, I will do it at the same time I defoliate. I have 2 more ficus to repot this year, it is getting late but they will be inside under lights so should they be fine.
HENDO
Shohin
Great progress on your TB! The nebari is looking amazing.
Definitely a pain to wire these with foliage. Not sure how these react in your part of TX but when I was in Houston we'd just defoliate Tiger Bark (or mostly defoliate) before styling, as long as the plant was healthy.
Not meaning to photobomb but here's my old TB the last time I defoliated and styled before handing it over to my friend. The last picture is the most recent styling. I can't imagine doing this work on a Tiger Bark full of leaves! It generally responded well to this and it could be done multiple times a year if necessary.
HENDO
Shohin
Just read this, it makes sense now - maybe a bit early for full defoliation considering you did it recently!
Maiden69
Masterpiece
Nice tree! Was that a ground layer?
I did the repot/cutback/full defoliation mid June, so there was no way I was going to defoliate now. I did remove some branches that were growing from the same spot and left the most vigorous of the group. I'm about to start feeding it to get it to push more, I think I will work on it at least twice next year if not more. It grows pretty strong here.
HENDO
Shohin
Thanks! It wasn't a ground layer but that collar around the nebari was placed to bury/thicken the roots, came from a suggestion from Mike Lane. It worked out quite well but your TB has a wayyy better start - loving the flare on in.
Don't be shy with the Osmocote/Florikan!
One similarity I noticed between your TB and my old one is the thick second trunk/branch sticking almost straight up - left side / back on yours, and was on right side on mine. I cut mine down to the first branch so it didn't interfere with the main trunk too much. I can't say for sure, but I think yours could be cut down too at some point if you wanted the same look.
Please keep the updates coming, your Tiger Bark progression is awesome!!!
Maiden69
Masterpiece
That is the plan, it was supposed to be a root graft to balance the nebari, but it took off and I let it stay. If you look at the pic I posted earlier, the lower pad on the left starts were I plan to chop that trunk. I'm going to try the Ebihara technique where he chop the branch in sections to speed up recovery, don't think it is necessary with ficus, I just want to try new things to see how they work.
Maiden69
Masterpiece
Love how predictable ficus are. Almost every time when I wire the new branches and give a bend on the leaves I get the new buds to come out. I have tried the same on other species and it is not that reliable. Also, this is even without trimming the growing tip. I wired the first few leaves at the start of the branch where I would like to start the ramification and then let the shoot extend after the bends.
Some examples below, but almost every branch that I wired have the same results.
Ficus as of yesterday. I'm going to have to move it to a different spot, birds are coming in to drink the water from the BC and the ficus clumps I am creating on the shelf above and they are landing on the branches pushing them down... I did reset a few of them after the picture, but I think moving it will be safer for the tree.
Some examples below, but almost every branch that I wired have the same results.
Ficus as of yesterday. I'm going to have to move it to a different spot, birds are coming in to drink the water from the BC and the ficus clumps I am creating on the shelf above and they are landing on the branches pushing them down... I did reset a few of them after the picture, but I think moving it will be safer for the tree.
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giventofly
Shohin
REally enjoy seeing this progress, was letting my ficus grow without wiring for a bit, but will follow your tip
Maiden69
Masterpiece
Starting to fill up. I decided to bring down one of the branches from the area I plan to cut back to graft straight out, as there is nothing on that side of the trunk facing out. Both branches below the cut are facing front and back. If I get impatient I may just chop it in spring and use a bud that develops from the cut.
Maiden69
Masterpiece
The tree is growing steady, thinking about reducing the long shoots this winter, since it is sheltered inside the water heater small closet with lights on 15 hours. There were a few wires that dig into the bark way more than I would want it, but ficus grow so fast that they will probably be gone in a growing season. Since this pictures were taken I updated the wire rack to a 4'x2'x6' to have more space and place the lights straight above the trees. I also ordered some reflective material to cover the area around them to retain heat, light, and moisture. The small trees to the right are in desperate need for a repot, I have neglected them because of the move. I'm probably going to handle those this week and do a "forest" setting allowing for one more year of growth before moving into a bonsai pot.
Right now I have them sitting in 1" of water, they love water...
Wire scars.
Continuation of the main trunk, I removed the wires about a month ago, they were more than 60% imbedded, as the pictures show they are well on the way to heal away. The scar right under the branch was full of some tiny ants, I didn't notice while the tree was outside, but they became obvious when I moved it indoors. I treated with Ortho Orthene as it was the only thing I had on hand, once I cut back I will re-injure the cambium and patch up again. It should had been healed by now...
This ones were the same, but I removed them no more than 2 weeks ago. Should be gone by the end of next year.
This ones were removed at the end of August, almost gone now.
I am fertilizing this tree soon, will do the Miracle Grow with RAW supplementation. I added a little Osmocote Plus early October and the tree color improved, it was looking a little pale.
I did notice one water root coming out from the bottom of the pot. Will probably lift and cut soon, don't want them to thicken up and cover the drain hole.
Right now I have them sitting in 1" of water, they love water...
Wire scars.
Continuation of the main trunk, I removed the wires about a month ago, they were more than 60% imbedded, as the pictures show they are well on the way to heal away. The scar right under the branch was full of some tiny ants, I didn't notice while the tree was outside, but they became obvious when I moved it indoors. I treated with Ortho Orthene as it was the only thing I had on hand, once I cut back I will re-injure the cambium and patch up again. It should had been healed by now...
This ones were the same, but I removed them no more than 2 weeks ago. Should be gone by the end of next year.
This ones were removed at the end of August, almost gone now.
I am fertilizing this tree soon, will do the Miracle Grow with RAW supplementation. I added a little Osmocote Plus early October and the tree color improved, it was looking a little pale.
I did notice one water root coming out from the bottom of the pot. Will probably lift and cut soon, don't want them to thicken up and cover the drain hole.
Vincent Tanner
Mame
Sweet indoor set up. How much winter pruning will you do while they’re indoors? Mine is growing strong and I was wondering if I should prune it back or wait until it’s outside in the Spring.
Thanks and great tree.
Thanks and great tree.
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