roelex14
Mame
absolutely. hopefully by the time i get back from winter break (early january) it'll be pushing new buds. with the warm temp and higher humidity, i don't think it will have any trouble.
I dont know why i dont know what this is
- Thread starter roelex14
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absolutely. hopefully by the time i get back from winter break (early january) it'll be pushing new buds. with the warm temp and higher humidity, i don't think it will have any trouble.
roelex14
Mame
i also put spagum peat moss over the top of the soil to help retain moisture. is this a good idea?
BonsaiMon
Yamadori
Don't think you need to do the spagnum moss if the humidity is 60-70% it should be fine...
i can buy 10 yrs sitting there with no roots in the ground.. hard to believe.. is it in the shade?
even in the shade here in VB the roots swell big time in two years. How do they water?
i can buy 10 yrs sitting there with no roots in the ground.. hard to believe.. is it in the shade?
even in the shade here in VB the roots swell big time in two years. How do they water?
roelex14
Mame
just checked the plant 2 days ago, its already pushin buds 
BonsaiMon
Yamadori
) .. Where from?
roelex14
Mame
the couple that i saw were on the center trunk about 1 -1.5" from where the cut was made. at this rate, there should be a whole bunch that will push out while im at home for winter break for about a month.
BonsaiMon
Yamadori
Feed it again gently before you go on winter break. Sounds good so far.
roelex14
Mame
roelex14
Mame
roelex14
Mame
what would be a good soil for this?
Tink32
Yamadori
check back in the earlier post, Tom mentioned something about 1/4" lava rock and pine bark soil conditioner, just stopped by to say that your tree is very nice, a diamond in the rough. Congrats!!!
BonsaiMon
Yamadori
Opening 'soil-can-of-worms' ..
A good mix for tropicals is 1/8-1/4" lava rock and some humus .. with less humus if you tree will see cooler (40-50F) periods in the winter.. more if it is going to be sitting in full sun during the summer.
I've grown in straight lava with great results. i was unable to get it in large quantities and had to use other materials like turface(high fired clay 1/8-1/16") .. screened and sized granite paver base..
high fired shale.. chicken grit.. turkey grit.. while in TN i sieved the coarse sand and small rocks from a creek.
Soil mix is a personal thing.. what are you growing conditions? what ingredients are available in your area? how large is the container? how much soil do you need? what are your watering techniques?
but i feel the main premise is to have a mix which drains well.. the coarse particles the same size.
Enough humus to hold water for moist not soggy conditions.
There are suppliers with pre mixed bonsai soil or you can get ingredients and do it yourself.
I like lava rock because it hold moisture and traps oxygen in the soil which helps create feeder roots.. root tip hit oxygen and split.. creating many feeder and less heavy roots.
How is your mix doing? does it absorb the water readily? does it drain well?
I probably wouldn't repot for a couple yrs. Let it get some growth up top and then move it into another mix.
Season Greetings.. and Hopes for a Peaceful 2010 ...
roelex14
Mame
got back to school yesterday and stopped by the greenhouse to check up on how the ficus was doing. has sprouted a lot of new growth and looks to be doing well. Here are a couple pics. Not the greatest bc the afternoon lighting wasnt the best.
ended up removing the large branch on the left side so that it would start pushing growth lower on the trunk.
ended up removing the large branch on the left side so that it would start pushing growth lower on the trunk.
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BonsaiMon
Yamadori
Looking good.. give it time now.. let it grow til early-mid summer then tip prune.
roelex14
Mame
after some questioning, research, and going through some really old documents, I eventually discovered that this is a Ficus benjamina (aka Benjamin's fig). One interesting thing about this is that it was at one time recorded as a variegated variety, but has reverted back to the original solid green... has to do with chimeras (bud sports) -which are mutated cell populations. This is were dwarf plants and variegated hostas are from, but it is common for the cells to basically decide to "go back to normal" and revert to the original green state it is in now.
BonsaiMon
Yamadori
Yep.. just goes to show ya that pics are sometimes difficult to determin species.. the leaves on recent pic 3 looks very much like benjamina.. also weeping fig.. and it can also sprout again with variegated leaves in the future.
it does look like a benjamina and if i may say so, you got really lucky with your trunk chop! benjamina's are known for not budding back after a sever chop like what you did. usually you reduce it slowly by never cutting bellow a trunk without foliage on them.
for the variegated leaves, as mentioned by bonsaimon, it does comeback. mine did, after being just plain green for years.
eric
for the variegated leaves, as mentioned by bonsaimon, it does comeback. mine did, after being just plain green for years.
eric
BonsaiMon
Yamadori
Eric.. Benjamina's will bud back when under the near tropical conditions.. not reccomended for northern trees being grown outside.. nights can get as low as 50-60 in the summer. Roelex has his in a greenhouse where lows are more in the 70 range.. this makes a big difference. While in S Fl. i cut to no growth often with no problem getting it to bud back strong.
roelex14
Mame
another update....
spun the plant around, the back was getting more sunlight, so there was a lot more thicker growth on the back side, but seems to be evening out now.
just a question, for the top parts (where chop was made) to get the apex centered, what will need to be done? will approach grafting be used here i will post a pic to show what im talking about. simple wiring might be able to do the trick... the pic isnt the best, but i'll try to get some better ones soon, no rush beings that nothing is to be done for a while.
what was meant by "topping" the new growth?
but overall, looking good, keeps budding and sending out a few areal roots here and there.
spun the plant around, the back was getting more sunlight, so there was a lot more thicker growth on the back side, but seems to be evening out now.
just a question, for the top parts (where chop was made) to get the apex centered, what will need to be done? will approach grafting be used here i will post a pic to show what im talking about. simple wiring might be able to do the trick... the pic isnt the best, but i'll try to get some better ones soon, no rush beings that nothing is to be done for a while.
what was meant by "topping" the new growth?
but overall, looking good, keeps budding and sending out a few areal roots here and there.
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