I'm still learning the basics of bonsai. I had never intended to enter this, or any, contest for quite a long time. However, I've read through this thread a few times now, and it's been nothing but encouraging. It looks like this should be a positive experience for everyone and a great opportunity for me to learn. So I'm giving it a shot.
My first (and probably only) entry is a Willow Leaf Fig. It's been sitting on my kitchen window sill for the past year or so. It was an impulse buy at a local nursery and I never did anything with it. It's actually been relatively healthy sitting in the window and has never looked unhappy. We're having some work done on our house and we replaced the kitchen windows. After putting in new energy-efficient windows the plant has sulked. I always wondered why people had such trouble keeping figs happy in the house and it dawned on me. Our terrible windows from 1950 were letting in the full spectrum of sunlight and it benefitted the plants. Now I finally had a reason to want to put the plant outside. Even though I say the plant was healthy, it hasn't grown much since I've owned it. I'm really hoping moving it outside will stimulate it. Here's the before shot:
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I pulled it out of the pot and was completely surprised to find a large tuberous root. I had assumed this was just a small cutting.
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I found what hopefully will be the new radial plane out of which all new roots will grow. I cut it with a nice sharp knife and dusted with powdered rooting hormone (this was probably completely unnecessary). I hedged my bet by leaving roots further up the trunk as well. I'm hoping being outside will encourage the tree to grow enough that the trunk swells and creates a believable taper. We will see.
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Since I've never kept the plant outside and I just cut off most of the roots, I wanted to plant it a bit deeper in the soil. I found a tall-ish but small pot and buried it in pretty deep. I also didn't wire it in, so I'm hoping the soil keeps it secure in the pot.
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Please feel free to give feedback. My plan is to let the branches extend and thicken. If inner leaves start getting shaded out, I will partially defoliate the branches and just keep the inner leaves and the extreme growing tips. That's a problem I hope to have in the next few months. Any advice on when I should start fertilizing?
Thanks,
Scott
