Ficus Tiger Bark progression

[Maiden69]

I think I am finally going to start making threads of my trees to keep up with the progression as I rather enjoy reading the progression threads posted here by many members.

I bought this ficus last July last summer discounted at Lowes. Going to try to dig up some pictures but the tree was not more than 1/2" in diameter planted into a huge square with rounded edges ceramic. I moved the tree into a rectangular woven plastic basket less than a 1/3rd the size of the ceramic and used Bonsai Jack organic conifer soil, as that was the only soil I had available at the moment. The tree grew slow as it was kept indoors as soon as night temperatures dipped into the 40's and was moved outside mid March once temps were above 50's continuously. During June-July we had an abundance of rain that is not normal to the area and the tree loved it. I thought I was going to be able to keep it in the same pot for another season, but with the rain and fertilizing the roots were pushing the old soil above the rim of the basket.

Last time I planted the tree I completely bare-rooted it, this time I cleaned out the bottom and tried my best at teasing the roots out, cutting the thick roots and trying to keep as much feeder roots as possible. It is planted into 50/50 monto clay/bonsai block from Bonsai Jack in a 2 gal rootpouch, this will make it harder when it comes to move the tree indoors. I decided to save my akadama for when I place the trees in refinement as I noticed that the trees that I have in akadama are growing at a slower pace than the ones without it. The benefit I am seeing from akadama is tighter nodes, but I don't need that with this tree right now. My plan is to air-layer the top 2 branches to graft them into the tree as branches or additional trunks if I decide to go the banyan route.

Basket - May 2021


The tree has a big gap in the nebari between a big root in the back and the side of the right side of the tree, I used a cutting I took from the tree in January while it was still indoors. You can barely see it in the picture above, its the foliage behind the tree growing straight behind the main trunk. The way ficus approach graft work, that will be fused before fall, once that fuse and takes off I should be able to remove it enhancing the nebari and the taper of the trunk, but I plan on adding some wire in case I can make it my fist branch. The wound in the trunk in the middle of the graft was a failed graft, you can see the stub of the branch that was grafted there. I didn't have the grafting pins when and we had a night with strong winds and hail that knocked the branch off right after it was cut.


Branch on the front side of the tree, this one was done at the same time as the failed on, but it wasn't ready to be cut off and survived the hail damage that killed the first one. I got the pins and hammered one in to make sure it will survive.



This is where the tree stands right now.

 

[Maiden69]

Small update that I posted on another thread. Goin to be repotting this ones the this weekend or the weekend of 13 AUG.

April 2022 - the terracotta pot have a few cuttings that I made during last winter indoors, the two round colander/baskets have 2 small shohin trees I am trying to thicken. Cuttings already pushing figs as they have not been cutback since started.

Not the best of photos, but the only one I have right now. This was APR 2022, when I cut the ficus back. The green mass at the end of the top shelve.

Another bad picture, this is the ficus in JUN 2022. Same location on the bench.

Just now

One cutsite

Another

 

[BonScience]

Damn that thing grew!
I just got a tiger bark from a local spot a few weeks ago. I'm looking forward to what it turns into
That white stuff on the leaves, is that bad? Mine has it too and it' only on that one plant and i'm not sure what it is

 

[SWfloirda]

That white stuff on the leaves, is that bad? Mine has it too and it' only on that one plant and i'm not sure what it is

I am fairly certain that those are just hard water stains.

 

[BonScience]

I thought it was something simple like that. Plant came with it and still thriving! Gonna clean them all off when i get a chance. I use filtered water and it doesn't seem to leave residue on anything else

 

[Maiden69]

Yes, water stains.

I use filtered water and it doesn't seem to leave residue on anything else

Filtered water still have minerals on it, unless you are talking about reverse osmosis or deionized water.

 

[Maiden69]

We finally had some rain this week, and coincidentally the humidity has been at 1000%. Decided to check up on the ficus to see how it was doing and I think it is extremely happy with the weather right now. I think I will take some time tomorrow and clean up the top of the soil, add new soil and some sphagnum moss after rearainging those aerial roots to take advantage of them.

 

[Maiden69]

Did a quick trim on the ficus today. I almost ended up airlayering all the branches I cut, but in end decided to cut away. Maybe next year I will plant a ficus in a big pot and use it as a mother for propagation, I don't have the space right now to store up any more trees inside during the winter.

I said I was going to clean up the top of the soil to move some of the air roots in, but none of them was in a good position to improve on the tree, so 90% of them were cut off. There were very few that had already touchdown and were in a good place, those were keepers. I did attempt to clean up the soil, but there are quite a few thick roots running around that will need to be cut. I don't know if it may be too late for repotting, so if I don't brave up enough to do it next weekend it will be in spring once it heats up.

Before, ficus is in a 3 gal Rootpouch inside a 5 gal can with perlite filling in the void to prevent drying out with the wind and hold extra moisture during the day.


The aftermath... that main branch is almost 2.5 feet long.


This branch was the strongest I cut, it's slightly over an inch


End result for now.


A little closu-up of the union of the "root graft" that will probably end up being an additional trunk. I have a picture in my mind of what I want the tree to look at. It will be similar of a ficus tree that existed in my first school where I did K-2nd grade. The base of the trunk is a little over 6", and I'm sure it flares out a little more under the soil as it is screwed up into a terracotta platter.

 

[Maiden69]

This are cuttings taken from the tree in this thread. One of them was used as the second trunk grafted, with the plan on just adding to the root flare, but since it took over so quickly, I am leaving it as an addition. More to follow on the main tree this weekend.

The ones in the terracotta pot were cuttings taken during winter, I just grabbed some old bonsai soil, place the pot in the saucer water it, then poke holes with a chopstick and pushed the cuttings in. Have been in the same pot ever since. I think its time to move the one in the middle out, starting to flare, so I'm going to move it into a tile.

Thick cuttings... about ready for shohin pots, I may venture into a mame if I can reduce the smaller one enough to fit in. Internodes are a little long on this, as they sit between the BCs and the fence, but once I cut back hard they will go into full sun. The terracotta in the back have some older cuttings, you can see the thick trunk in the middle. The two in the front started to push aerial roots as soon as I installed the spot-spitters instead of the drip system.

 

[Carol 83]

This are cuttings taken from the tree in this thread. One of them was used as the second trunk grafted, with the plan on just adding to the root flare, but since it took over so quickly, I am leaving it as an addition. More to follow on the main tree this weekend.

The ones in the terracotta pot were cuttings taken during winter, I just grabbed some old bonsai soil, place the pot in the saucer water it, then poke holes with a chopstick and pushed the cuttings in. Have been in the same pot ever since. I think its time to move the one in the middle out, starting to flare, so I'm going to move it into a tile.

Thick cuttings... about ready for shohin pots, I may venture into a mame if I can reduce the smaller one enough to fit in. Internodes are a little long on this, as they sit between the BCs and the fence, but once I cut back hard they will go into full sun. The terracotta in the back have some older cuttings, you can see the thick trunk in the middle. The two in the front started to push aerial roots as soon as I installed the spot-spitters instead of the drip system.

It is amazing how quickly the cuttings grow.

 

[Maiden69]

I decided to bring these guys in since we will be in the 30s for the next few days. Cut them back hard like I did last year since I will not have strong enough light for them. I cut off most of the air roots, as I don't need them for the design. Left a few that were in a good spot for thickening the trunk.













This is a pic from September and below are the cuttings now.

 

[Maiden69]

Probably going to clean up the top of the soil on this one this week... if I can! I tried to clean up a little with my hand and there are solid roots running all over the surface.






Those roots on the bottom left, next year when they swell, they should even out the nebari on both sides.

 

[Maiden69]

It is time for an update... in the words of Ryan Neill, "Kill it or make it a bonsai"

I knew I wanted to repot this tree now, but I wasn't sure if I was going to prune it at the same time. I did some research and found some blog posts from @Chuah where he also defoliates if the tree is strong... well, I did all that. Bare-rooted, easy since it was in Bonsai Jack Monto Clay, Bonsai Block, and pumice, so no gunky organic soil to fight with. Hard prune to start developing secondaries, and defoliated to hopefully force the tree to back bud everywhere.

Roots were starting to appear out the bottom of the pot, mind that this is a pot-in-pot, so inside a Root Pouch, that is inside a 3 gallon nursery container with the void filled with small perlite to maintain moisture in the bag.



From the floor to the top of the tree, around 6'.



After a hard prune, defoliation, some wiring, and removed from the 3 gallon container. I left a leave on teh branches that I cut back, if the tip of the branch was left intact I defoliated entirely.



Some roots escaped through the seam at the bottom, but they were minimal.



The only HEAVY root, I think this was one of the big roots that I didn't prune when I moved into the bag. Yes, I had a few circling roots, but they were nothing compared with a tree in a regular pot.



The long roots on the top were the ones that grew over the bag and into the perlite. I saved them so I can place them back to help the flare thicken through the next few years.





Flat top haircut... or should I say flat bottom courtesy of DeWalt.



I test fitted several pots, This was the only one I have that I liked, and still gave me some space for continuing the development. I think once it fills up nad I transition the apex I will be able to get a pot that better suits it.



100% akadama...

 

[Maiden69]

Front/Back, or Back/Front... I'm not sure, I think it looks decent from both sides. Don't mind the wiring, I moved the crap out of the branches after I wired them attempting to cut the roots on the bottom until I decided to give the reciprocating saw a try. I sealed all the cuts with Karusmate when I did the pruning, and sealed with brown cut paste after taking this pics. While ficus heal very fast, cut paste accelerates the process. The big prune cuts from last year (around 1.25"+) were almost entirely closed. I wonded the edge and sealed again. I think that the ones done this year will take slightly longer, since the tree is in a pot now and will not benefit from the proliferation of roots that the Root Pouch provides.





Final resting place while it recovers. Should get some sun in the early morning, but dappled shade throughout the day. Also, since it is under the bench, the area is very humid with the evaporation of the excess water from the watering system. No direct watering at this time, it will get some spray from the minisprinklers watering the seedlings.

 

[Colorado]

Nice ficus and progress! Isn’t it crazy how much these will thicken even in a container?

I will offer one piece of unsolicited advice, since I believe you mentioned that you haven’t used akadama super extensively yet. I apologize in advance if I am mistaken about that. Anyway, I always use a top dressing with akadama. I consider it a mandatory part of the system if you’re going to use akadama. I think a big reason that people have problems with akadama breaking down prematurely is because of no top dressing. This allows water and perhaps UV rays (?) to break down the akadama on the surface.

Anyway, just my 2 cents. Nice ficus!

 

[Maiden69]

@Colorado thanks, yes, I just received a block of white sphagnum moss today. Going to do some shredding later to cover both ficus. I ordered some from Amazon as the Besgrow was out and it was full of twigs, I will probably use it for something else.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

It is time for an update... in the words of Ryan Neill, "Kill it or make it a bonsai"

I knew I wanted to repot this tree now, but I wasn't sure if I was going to prune it at the same time. I did some research and found some blog posts from @Chuah where he also defoliates if the tree is strong... well, I did all that. Bare-rooted, easy since it was in Bonsai Jack Monto Clay, Bonsai Block, and pumice, so no gunky organic soil to fight with. Hard prune to start developing secondaries, and defoliated to hopefully force the tree to back bud everywhere.

Roots were starting to appear out the bottom of the pot, mind that this is a pot-in-pot, so inside a Root Pouch, that is inside a 3 gallon nursery container with the void filled with small perlite to maintain moisture in the bag.



From the floor to the top of the tree, around 6'.



After a hard prune, defoliation, some wiring, and removed from the 3 gallon container. I left a leave on teh branches that I cut back, if the tip of the branch was left intact I defoliated entirely.



Some roots escaped through the seam at the bottom, but they were minimal.



The only HEAVY root, I think this was one of the big roots that I didn't prune when I moved into the bag. Yes, I had a few circling roots, but they were nothing compared with a tree in a regular pot.



The long roots on the top were the ones that grew over the bag and into the perlite. I saved them so I can place them back to help the flare thicken through the next few years.





Flat top haircut... or should I say flat bottom courtesy of DeWalt.



I test fitted several pots, This was the only one I have that I liked, and still gave me some space for continuing the development. I think once it fills up nad I transition the apex I will be able to get a pot that better suits it.



100% akadama...

Excellent write up Iron @Maiden69 . Great stuff for ficus noobs like me.

 

[Apex37]

Dope! I’m always so impressed with the growth you get in your garden. Excited to see how this one progresses.

 

[Blksmth88]

Wow this is a really good thread. Excellent transition and growth. If you would like to part with any of the cuttings shoot me a message. I'd pay what ever the costs may be. Or I'd do some trading. Either or, but no big deal. Definitely gonna follow this thread. I know these trees grow fast but dang! Those things put on some growth!

 

[Maiden69]

Budding slowly, but on the right places... it is slowly moving into full sun.