Lost my way with a narrow leaf ficus

[Matt B]

I have had this tree for several years, and I am struggling with some creative issues in recent years. The tree is healthy and responds well to any direction I give it, but the biggest problem is when I look at it, it feels... contrived. Too symmetrical, too upright, too linear, too many branches, too novice.

What I want for this tree ultimately is a large outdoor banyan style specimen tree, the kind that will be the focal point of a garden I haven't designed yet. Possibly 4 feet tall or so. I feel it has to undergo some preparatory work to correct its direction so its not delayed on its journey. I need help and ideas to kickstart my imagination.

I feel it has some good points that I like. It has developed a strong base and good-looking nabari. The lower third of the tree has decent taper and ramification, although the bottom-most branch on the left is positioned too fat to the front of the trunk, and bent unnaturally to position the foliage to the left side.

The points I'm not liking are that the current style is remnicent of a Christmas tree, the bends in the trunk are an uninspiring zigzag style, the branches are somehow predictable and cluttered at the same time while varying in thickness fairly little.

Part of my plan for spring is a repot and root trim to slow down the larger surface nebari and promote smaller surface roots to develop and catch up. I want to upsize the pot to promote rapid growth up top, while planting off-center to create some visual appeal. Maybe the pot in the photos or something larger. I was thinking of growing some clippings into whips to approach graft to branches as aerial roots.

The rest of the plan is unwritten, and I need inspiration and ideas on how to correct this trainwreck early and clarify an image to move it forward towards. No input is unappreciated.

 

[MeDupree]

Removing the bar branches and chopping it down to half the size above the second curve from the base would be my initial direction. I'm not an expert tho

 

[TimIAm]

It's helpful if you can post a picture of what you think of when you think banyan style.

When I think of banyan, I see a flat broad base and compact height, spreading branches: similar to how Adam describes it. If this were my tree and I wanted to achieve that I would be thinking to layer the top off as per picture below. It could be suggested to keep the branch above the indicated pink cut line and have that branch as the new leader, but then I can't see how you could encourage new branching to bud below that to create the banyan style. Which is why I would cut and hope for extra budding from the cut site.





That being said, you are really switching styles on what you already have and it's going to take a long time to rework. The purpose of the cut on the lower branch (indicated in the picture above) is to get the wide flat base. However, that lower branch also looks quite nice in the close-up.

Part of developing a tree is conceiving a design and sticking with it to see your plan be achieved. It's OK to pick something difficult or long term as long as you're committed, but sometimes it can be helpful (or just easier) to try and work with what the tree gives.

As with any suggestion for work on any tree it comes with risks and you may not get the budding you want at the cut site. So you need to decide if a drastic change is appropriate or worth the risk, including the health of the tree.

the branches are somehow predictable and cluttered at the same time while varying in thickness fairly little.

The perspective from a photo is not always accurate, but you need to work with angles of branch to ensure the design has some depth. You also want to avoid branches *appearing* to be directly opposite each other (indicated in yellow below). One thing that really helped me with designing trees is also understanding the importance of space between horizontal branches (indicated in purple below). You want to avoid branches horizontally being too close together when viewed from your preferred front. You also don't want too large gaps. You also need to consider how you use utilise the spaces between all branches as part of an artistic composition, even if you don't put any consideration in, it still has an effect on the viewer. Suggested looking at photos of trees you like and consider how negative space is used and think about how the position of branches is used to form that negative space.

 

[Matt B]

Part of developing a tree is conceiving a design and sticking with it to see your plan be achieved. It's OK to pick something difficult or long term as long as you're committed, but sometimes it can be helpful (or just easier) to try and work with what the tree gives.

So if I wanted to listen to what the tree is saying, can you interpret? Since the idea of what I want for the tree is not yet formed, I am keen to get the advice of those with more experience and vision than I have. I know that what I have now is objectively bad. What could be done with less of a pivot from where it is currently to produce a better tree?

 

[Matt B]

Removing the bar branches and chopping it down to half the size above the second curve from the base would be my initial direction. I'm not an expert tho

Yeah, some of the branches aren't bar branches but do give the appearance because of where I directed them. Maybe a major chop might be the best thing at this point. But given that I want the tree to be a much larger tree, and Ficus is fairly flexible, maybe I can incorporate what I have now into the final design, and simply start by wiring to that end.

 

[MeDupree]

Yeah, some of the branches aren't bar branches but do give the appearance because of where I directed them. Maybe a major chop might be the best thing at this point. But given that I want the tree to be a much larger tree, and Ficus is fairly flexible, maybe I can incorporate what I have now into the final design, and simply start by wiring to that end.

Yea I agree you have many options and could play around with it for a bit changing the planting angle or trying to bend the top portion of the trunk some before it thickens more

 

[TimIAm]

What could be done with less of a pivot from where it is currently to produce a better tree?

Short answer:

Keeping the current tree, the things you want to fix...

1. Too busy / too many branches when looking from the front.
2. Gaps between the horizontal branches are messy. Some gaps too big, some too close.
3. Halfway up the tree taper slows down dramatically. You end up with a boring middle section with minimal taper.
4. At the top there is appearance of bar / opposing branches.


Longer answer:



These suggestions are just suggestions, because looking at photos isn't an effective way to shape a tree, compared to being there in person. I'm just sharing my suggestions to give you ideas into how you might guide the tree, I could be off the mark. One problem across the net is depth. The picture I present below is also giving a suggestion to where back branches might be, but depth is something you will need to build into the design. The picture below isn't suggesting a flat tree with opposing branches. The purpose of the picture is to present a basic concept. It is also not an example of exactly how your tree should look. It's an example of a meme.

Buried in what you currently have is this design pattern. It is quite common and there are thousands of willow leaf ficus that follow this pattern. Patterns are helpful because they work at a fundamental level. The downside of memes as you mentioned before is they can end up looking contrived. However, bonsai is an art form and part of the art is taking the fundamentals and adding your personal stamp to it. The upside of patterns and memes is they give you a solid set of guiding principles.

The basic idea of this pattern is tapered vertical trunk with plenty of movement. Alternating branches where the horizontal gap decreases as the height of the tree increases. Branches usually coming out of outer bends in the trunk. Thicker branches down low. You can also keep your current height but remove some branches and work towards a similar pattern, just taller.



The reason I suggest this pattern is because it's where closest to where your tree is currently at.

 

[Matt B]

Short answer:

Keeping the current tree, the things you want to fix...

1. Too busy / too many branches when looking from the front.
2. Gaps between the horizontal branches are messy. Some gaps too big, some too close.
3. Halfway up the tree taper slows down dramatically. You end up with a boring middle section with minimal taper.
4. At the top there is appearance of bar / opposing branches.


Longer answer:



These suggestions are just suggestions, because looking at photos isn't an effective way to shape a tree, compared to being there in person. I'm just sharing my suggestions to give you ideas into how you might guide the tree, I could be off the mark. One problem across the net is depth. The picture I present below is also giving a suggestion to where back branches might be, but depth is something you will need to build into the design. The picture below isn't suggesting a flat tree with opposing branches. The purpose of the picture is to present a basic concept. It is also not an example of exactly how your tree should look. It's an example of a meme.

Buried in what you currently have is this design pattern. It is quite common and there are thousands of willow leaf ficus that follow this pattern. Patterns are helpful because they work at a fundamental level. The downside of memes as you mentioned before is they can end up looking contrived. However, bonsai is an art form and part of the art is taking the fundamentals and adding your personal stamp to it. The upside of patterns and memes is they give you a solid set of guiding principles.

The basic idea of this pattern is tapered vertical trunk with plenty of movement. Alternating branches where the horizontal gap decreases as the height of the tree increases. Branches usually coming out of outer bends in the trunk. Thicker branches down low. You can also keep your current height but remove some branches and work towards a similar pattern, just taller.

View attachment 519583

The reason I suggest this pattern is because it's where closest to where your tree is currently at.

I see how this may be the path of least resistance from where it stands now. I can see the form of my tree is closest to this style.

The unfortunate thing is that while the blurry half-formed image in my heat is calling for an omono size tree or larger, the bends in my trunk seem too tight and acute to work in a much larger format than it's current state. The current form looks like it wants to limit me to chumono or under with a healthy chop this coming spring. It's currently 22 inches, and it looks like I would need to drop it to 15 or so in order to bring it to the form you outlined.

If I cut a portion off the top, chopped half of the branches off (taking care of the seeming bar branch effect and overall busy look), dropped the tree in a large grow pot and let it go for a few years, would the thickening of the trunk soften the bends while the lengthening of the limbs widen the base? I was hard pressed to find lots of photos of large willow leaf bonsai at all, and the closest image of a ficus with a simple trunk is this one

Most other developed ficus bonsai I liked were incorporating multiple above-ground trunk-feeding aerial roots or a straight banyan look. It seems that because most other trees don't grow aerial roots, most ficus bonsai designs are incorporating them. I see what you are talking about in using negative space, and I can recognize a lack of negative space in its current status. After looking at Google images of other ficus bonsai that I liked, I came up with a few images, which I'll include for the hell of it, even though most will require a drastic chop and restyle, and a lengthy road to a finished tree in the size I want. Here are the runners up

 

[TimIAm]

Just want to clarify, the purpose of the cut isn't to bring it down to fit an ideal, it's to correct the taper where it currently stands. You can have a larger tree, with more branches, you just need to cut and build, then repeat until you end up with a larger tree that has nice taper. The smaller tree with good taper is an easier option because it's already there in the base, but that doesn't need to be a restriction or a limit.

I personally don't see any issue with the bends you've got as a limitation to aiming for a larger tree.

You also don't have to limit yourself to what I've suggested. I picked that to show some of the things that you need to work on. You have a great tree, a good base to work with, there are still limitless options where you can go from here. I've just given you an easy option, but it's also an option which is useful to show how those 4 issues can be improved on. You can even aim for a banyan style if that's what you like, but those fundamentals (taper, thickness, spacing, no opposite branches) won't change.

If I cut a portion off the top, chopped half of the branches off (taking care of the seeming bar branch effect and overall busy look), dropped the tree in a large grow pot and let it go for a few years, would the thickening of the trunk soften the bends while the lengthening of the limbs widen the base?

If you cut or layer the top off, select a new leader and let it continue to grow for a few years that will help build the base and improve the taper. Selectively remove branches, just reiterate that my design example is 2D, don't leave your tree looking flat, don't forget back branches for depth.

Yes, the thickening will soften the bends, but I also don't see any issue with the movement you currently have in the trunk. Overall growth will thicken the base. Also keep in mind that taper in branches is similar to the trunk - allow a period of growth, the cut back to improve taper and then repeat.

There are some examples of Aussie grow willow leaf ficus aka Ficus salicaria in this thread https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?p=299533#p299533

* edit: There's an awesome one about 8 photos down in this thread https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?p=302290#p302290

It's because a lot of Ficus that are used for bonsai are epiphytes, they readily throw out aerial roots. Also, some of the trees you've shown include more than one tree which further increases the amount of roots that are seen as the trees fuse and fight for ground space. Because aerial roots are a feature with Ficus, a lot of people who like Ficus enjoy their roots.

even though most will require a drastic chop and restyle, and a lengthy road to a finished tree in the size I want.

One aspect of art is the appreciation of how much effort went into achieving something. But you also want to do what you enjoy the most. Sometimes it's also helpful to reach a point where you can be personally satisfied and ignore further suggestions. Great tree and I look forward to seeing where you take it!

 

[Maiden69]

Narrow leaf seems to grow slower than the tiger bark variety, and living in a bonsai pot only accentuates this issue. If you want this to become a "banyan" style tree you need to get it out of the pot and into the ground, big colander, or a root pouch in the ground. You will also need to water/fertilize more than the usual "bonsai" requirement. You want the tree to expand and grow, not to refine.

My approach for ficus is usually more on the drastic side, and since you are in FL, you should have no issues doing the same. Here is what I would do...

*air layer the tree at the blue oval area.
*wire the existing branches up and out, a banyan don't follow the Japanese conifer model of drooping down branches.
*once the air layer is separated, repot the tree at an angle to give it a better growing angle, and plant the air layer as close together (you can screw both together below the soil line with a stainless steel screw, people have used regular screws or deck screws with no issues)
*plant into a huge colander or a rootpouch and place in the ground or a pot-in-pot style and give it full sun.



Here is a link to my in progress ficus, I am not directly going for a banyan, but a decent size natural looking tree. I bought it around Spring 2021.

Ficus Tiger Bark progression

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...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[LuZiKui]

You might have already come across it but this is a great resource on WLF and trying to develop them into larger trees:

Developing a large Willow Leaf Ficus

... and lessons learned. This was a tree I purchased in about 2008. Being a slow learner, I wasted a lot of years of work on the tree. I defoliated it a couple of times a summer and wondered why my growth was so poor and development was so slow. Starting in 2013, I completely changed my...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[BrianBay9]

I'd keep the base and the first three branches, and air layer several trees from the top - basically at every radical bend.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

If you’re going for a banyan style like the photos you shared, it may be time to chop it down to about where @BrianBay9 suggested. This is where I’d chop:

Here is one I inherited. I chopped it down and it responded pretty well, even in my climate.

A ficus, really?

When we moved to Alabama, the growing seasons were long enough that there was no need for tropical trees to keep me busy in the wintertime. I’ve long-advocated for growing what grows in your …

nebaribonsai.wordpress.com

And where it is now, which I could clean up a little and pass it off as a banyan style.