Getting Ficus and Jade to Fill Out

[The Mule]

Now that I have FINALLY (at least I think/hope) eradicated the spider mite infestation of my poor narrow leaf fig, I'm ready to start working on the tree again. This tree used to have gorgeous dense foliage, and after being assaulted by spider mites for such a long time, it's nowhere near as lush. It's putting out good growth this spring, but I'd like to really thicken it up. I'm guessing the way to do this is by pruning the new leaves, but if there are any tips on exactly how to do this, I'd love to hear about them.

Also, I have a couple of old jade plants that I've had for years. They both have nice, thick trunks and some decent branch structure, but I'd love to somehow reduce leaf size on them. Will similar pruning techniques work on jade? Any jade-specific tips to start guiding these plants towards having a more dense/smaller foliage?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[ColinFraser]

When you say "thicken it up" do you mean the trunk/branches or the canopy?

 

[The Mule]

I mean the canopy, sorry. The trunk on this ficus is very thick and beautiful.

 

[The Mule]

Here's a pic. You can see the trunk is nice. But the canopy is pretty sparse.

 

[ColinFraser]

Ficus isn't my forte, bu I would hazard to guess that if any tree has survived a serious infestation you should let it grow for a while. It may be putting whatever reserves it has into replacing lost foliage. Snipping off those new leaves might leave it with even less, or no, reserves and not enough solar panels to replace them . . .

My understanding is that these backbud well. My instinct would be to let it grow and regain strength, and then cut the branches back hard, at a later time when it's vigorous, to build ramification and a denser canopy.

As I said, I'm no expert, so hopefully someone who is will weigh in; I don't think you lose much by being patient in this case (advice that is much easier for me to give than take myself).

 

[The Mule]

Sounds logical. So maybe I'll just let it grow this year and plan to prune it next year. Thanks, Colin. And yes, if anyone else has input, I'm receptive to any and all recommendations/advice.

 

[The Mule]

Anyone have tips on getting the jade plants to produce smaller/denser foliage?

 

[jeremy_norbury]

Sunlight and lots of it and a large amount of soil to grow in; lots of water and lots of fertiliser. If you're trying to do this inside you'll struggle forever.

 

[skrit]

The ficus probably needs a nice rest to recover, but I won't comment further as I've been blessed so far to not have any major infestations. So I don't know what kind of recovery time it might need. Regarding the jade, Jerry is right, bright summer sun = nice small leaves. Density on these comes from ramification, which is primarily clip and grow. Grow out to 3-4 internodes/leaf pairs, then clip back to 1 pair. Get two new branches there, repeat. 1-2-4-8-16 etc. Even by the third clipping, growth on 8 points will be pretty dense.

 

[The Mule]

Cool. Will definitely let the ficus just rest and grow this year - no clipping... And thanks re the jades. I'm giving them as much sun as I can, but unfortunately I'm unable to keep them outside. I guess I'll just go for density then - have lots of branches with 3-4, even 6-7 internodes that can be cut back right now. Will get on that today... I appreciate the tips!

 

[mat]

Good advice above. Let the Ficus regain strength, then cut back to wherever you want. At least that's what I'd do here.

One thing to keep in mind - if you have a standard jade (Crassula ovata), it's leaves will never reduce to those that you see on most "jade" bonsai. Those are generally Portulacaria Afra, or dwarf jade, or elephant bush. I do have a Crassula in training, but Portulacarias are much more fun.

 

[lordy]

I'd cut it now and just above the first tier of foliage. I think that would also make the trunk vs foliage a better ratio.

 

[The Mule]

Good advice above. Let the Ficus regain strength, then cut back to wherever you want. At least that's what I'd do here.

One thing to keep in mind - if you have a standard jade (Crassula ovata), it's leaves will never reduce to those that you see on most "jade" bonsai. Those are generally Portulacaria Afra, or dwarf jade, or elephant bush. I do have a Crassula in training, but Portulacarias are much more fun.

Yes, it's a C. ovata. I had a feeling that was the case. I've had Portulacaria afra before but they didn't do well for me. I think they need to be kept outside to really thrive, don't they?

 

[The Mule]

I'd cut it now and just above the first tier of foliage. I think that would also make the trunk vs foliage a better ratio.

Can you show me exactly where you mean?

 

[mat]

Yes, it's a C. ovata. I had a feeling that was the case. I've had Portulacaria afra before but they didn't do well for me. I think they need to be kept outside to really thrive, don't they?

I can only say that mine do well outside here.

 

[The Mule]

I can only say that mine do well outside here.

Yes, I imagine they would do great in Florida. Here in NYC I could probably keep them outside for the warm weather months and inside during winter, but alas, the NYC pigeons have completely destroyed every bonsai I've attempted to keep on the balcony, so sadly I'm limited to what I can keep indoors.

 

[lordy]

Can you show me exactly where you mean?

Sorry about the elementary virt, but I would remove the bottom two branches, as well as the top.

 

[Giga]

Sunlight and lots of it and a large amount of soil to grow in; lots of water and lots of fertiliser. If you're trying to do this inside you'll struggle forever.

You will forever be annoyed and battling something if you keep these inside. They will survive but not thrive and not do as well as you see in a lot of pics or blogs. They are tough trees-tough enough to survive indoors BUT if you really want a tree to be something- you need to put in a bigger pot, outdoors and good organics fertilizers.

 

[ColinFraser]

Sorry about the elementary virt, but I would remove the bottom two branches, as well as the top.

I feel like the bigger issue design-wise is the three branches/subtrunks emerging from the same place at the top. Not only is it creating some taper issues that will likely get worse over time (if it grows), but those branches are too big to be believable at that height on the trunk.

I think at least 2 of the 3 should go at some point in the future. Keeping just the middle one would leave a tall skinny tree, but with taper at least. Perhaps instead, the one going to the left in your photo could become the new apex (making the direction it's leaning the new front), leaving the large cut from removing the other two on the back side. That would make the tree shorter and more powerful and show off the trunk better . . .

Take that for what it is - an artistic input from someone who doesn't grow these

 

[The Mule]

Thanks for all the input! I've often wondered if perhaps those lower branches should go, but was never brave enough to chop them off. Regarding the three branches near the top... When the tree is full of lush foliage as it was before the spider mite problem, you really don't even see that mess - it's just a big green mass of leaves, which I think looks great. That's what I'm trying to get back to. I see what you're saying though. Maybe once the tree's foliage is back to 100% I'll consider some reshaping... I think it's best to wait till next year though to do any branch chopping right?