Nice Nebari, Ugly Canopy - F. Too Little

[Colorado Josh]

Here is a ficus too little that I acquired in 2001. My guess is the tree is about 35 years old. It was left at my parents for a number of years, and grew quite ugly as you can see. It currently sits at 30" tall, root collar is 1.5". Pot is 12" and 1.5" deep.

I'm looking to give this tree a makeover. My first thought is to air layer the leggy growth and start over at the fork. In anticipation of this, I trimmed the tips of the new growth in the upper canopy to encourage back budding down low. I have also been fertilizing heavily the past 2 months to get the growth going again. There's an ugly scar near the fork that I am thinking about grafting a small branch to cover up. It's also worth noting that up until the past couple of years, I really had no idea what I was doing.

What are your thoughts on where to go next?

?

 

[penumbra]

Guess I would be inclined to air layer it. I have never seen a 'Too Little' fig with such hideous roots.

 

[Colorado Josh]

Guess I would be inclined to air layer it. I have never seen a 'Too Little' fig with such hideous roots.

I kind of like them. In an cute ugly duckling kind of way

 

[Carol 83]

It looks like a big snake is curled up in the pot, it kind of scares me a little.

 

[canoeguide]

Those roots are fugly, and I'd just embrace them at this point and focus on getting the canopy in order. This is one idea if you pardon my crappy virt.... I like getting the canopy wide on this, which would probably take a few years.

 

[Colorado Josh]

Those roots are fugly, and I'd just embrace them at this point and focus on getting the canopy in order. This is one idea if you pardon my crappy virt.... I like getting the canopy wide on this, which would probably take a few years.
View attachment 295487

Thank you. I hadn't thought about going wide. But I think that will be my new goal.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Hold off and wait until the tree is rapidly growing in the early middle part of summer to do any work. FOr Colorado, probably June to beginning of July.

Ficus benjamina and all its varieties like 'Too Little' are irregular, reluctant or unpredictable about back budding when chopped to a trunk with zero leaves. You might have to cut back in steps to get it to back bud as low as you might like. Each major branch or trunk should have at least a few leaves after cutting back.

You can root cuttings from the top portion you remove. I suggest starting at least a couple as "heir and a spare" in the event a overly severe trunk chop results in lack of response. Especially if done after the weather has warmed, June or beginning of July in Colorado, you should have good results, but you never know. 'Too Little' is probably the least vigorous of the many Ficus benjamina cultivars.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Guess I would be inclined to air layer it. I have never seen a 'Too Little' fig with such hideous roots.

Your forgetting my too-little is nothing but such roots as a trunk. I believe it once was a root cutting. With a section of tree that had branching.

If you love the roots...embrace them.

Hold off and wait until the tree is rapidly growing in the early middle part of summer to do any work. FOr Colorado, probably June to beginning of July.

Ficus benjamina and all its varieties like 'Too Little' are irregular, reluctant or unpredictable about back budding when chopped to a trunk with zero leaves. You might have to cut back in steps to get it to back bud as low as you might like. Each major branch or trunk should have at least a few leaves after cutting back.

You can root cuttings from the top portion you remove. I suggest starting at least a couple as "heir and a spare" in the event a overly severe trunk chop results in lack of response. Especially if done after the weather has warmed, June or beginning of July in Colorado, you should have good results, but you never know. 'Too Little' is probably the least vigorous of the many Ficus benjamina cultivars.

Really...The least vigorous. I guess then, what I accomplished in a years time was mine being extremely generous.

 

[TinyArt]

It looks like a big snake is curled up in the pot

Tempting to suggest styling the canopy as a cobra's head...
You don't get that opportunity often!

 

[Hartinez]

How bout this? You could also take a bajillion cuttings off of what you cut off.

 

[Cadillactaste]

In summer when it's actively growing...I would cut back to chase foliage down closer to the trunk. A more compact tree is in there.

 

[Cadillactaste]

* Remember to always leave foliage on the trunk you care cutting back.

 

[Hartinez]

As @Cadillactaste said. Maybe not what my quick virt shows, but I’d cut back heavy. Just leave foliage to push new growth. I’d imagine you could take quite a few cuttings very easy.

 

[Cadillactaste]

As @Cadillactaste said. Maybe not what my quick virt shows, but I’d cut back heavy. Just leave foliage to push new growth. I’d imagine you could take quite a few cuttings very easy.

Your virtual is very drastic. I would work on chasing back the foliage leaving options for other directions...and see what the tree offers up to be honest. Poster...just make sure to keep those branches on the horizontal line. You can lose branches on these if you take them below that in any way. (When you go to wire.)

I would also not repot this. Jerry Meislik says that he has no proof...but likes to think the additional roots will feed the new growth to come.

 

[Hartinez]

Your virtual is very drastic. I would work on chasing back the foliage leaving options for other directions...and see what the tree offers up to be honest. Poster...just make sure to keep those branches on the horizontal line. You can lose branches on these if you take them below that in any way.

I would also not repot this. Jerry Meislik says that he has no proof...but likes to think the additional roots will feed the new growth to come.

Very drastic. Did it in 1 minutes time. But this tree needs drastic. I don’t have “too little” but I do have a number of other ficus varieties that take hard chops with no issues at all, but as you said, foliage needs to be left so no dieback is experienced when cutting back. If it were mine I’d chop hard.

 

[Hartinez]

In particular, that 3 branch/trunk junction should be cut to 1, maybe 2 sooner than later. You could leave one of this long trunks be, but I’d just leave 1.

 

[luvinthemountains]

I agree on gradual reduction up top here. It will backbud but you have to leave green. I also agree the roots are challenging. So when I drew this, I did nothing with them, and you might do the same thing.

 

[sorce]

I don't think it matters which leads, your enjoyment, or your taste, but I feel an advancement in both is inevitable.

Layer it.

Sorce

 

[Cadillactaste]

I don't think it matters which leads, your enjoyment, or your taste, but I feel an advancement in both is inevitable.

Layer it.

Sorce

I disagree...
I sort of stalled in the advancement field apparently...because, though not everyone's cup of tea...it makes it stand out. I prefer where the main trunk isn't hidden. You can make sense of the fluid movement. Myself...I wouldn't do an air layer. I like things that aren't boring and stagnant. Layering it off...makes it boring. My 2 cents...for what it's worth.

This is my chosen front.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Yikes!

I hope I don't hurt your feelings, but those roots are extremely bad. You can have "unusual" roots that aren't 100% perfect, but at the end of the day they need to fit your design. The problem is that you have these curling roots and then a straight as an arrow trunk with a really bad three way split at the primary branch. You'd be better off removing the trunk entirely and embracing the winding nature of the roots/lower trunk... while going more traditional with the trunk material.