The Joy of Defoliation

Will I am away from the cleaning chemicals now, and I'm still not crazy about the scoop - so I say give it to Irene -, but a thought I didn't reply with to the other thread is that with a fuller foliage I think it will fill in the scoop area better, and you are working to correct that now so I await the results of a fuller crown for this tree, maybe I can be swayed to better appreciate the scoops.

I have some of these in developement and I am hoping that I didn't think of defoliating them because they are not ready for that yet ( growing out for size), but I also think it's partly the "tropical" tag I put on them, that for some reason just didn't click until reading this thread, that defoliation is a good procedure for these too.
 
Suthin is very strong with ficus, and while he was here he made a couple of suggestions, one of which I knew and another that was totally new to me.

When you are defoliating, use that time to prune back. Remove all the leaves and the branch terminals to where you'd like to continue building the branch. It will give far better ramification.

The one that is new to me is for when you are moving the tree outside in spring or inside in fall. Defoliate at that time and avoid losing a lot of leaves. The new leaves that come out will be more suited to the environment they are in rather than their opposite.
 
I deal mainly with Retusa now and strangely enough, I suffer no leaf drop when changing environments. I love that species.


Will
 
Retusa doesn't suffer it the same way nerifolia or benjamina do. The only one I have is retusa, and it never drops a leaf. They will burn a bit in spring, though.
 
I had a nerifolia once, the cursed thing dropped its foliage if you walked too close to it, strangely it lasted a whilein my compost pile before it was buried with other unwanted garbage. ;)


Will
 
Will Heath said:
I had a nerifolia once, the cursed thing dropped its foliage if you walked too close to it, strangely it lasted a whilein my compost pile before it was buried with other unwanted garbage. ;)


Will
Click to expand...

So how do you like the Rianne? Isn't that the one that's as brittle as glass? And how do your wiandi handle the leaves?
 
I think Rianne translates as "clip and grow" and you can not wire them, at least I can't...even if you get the wire on, the slightest pressure snaps them like a fresh carrot.
 
While not the best specimen for bonsai, benjamina are readily available and take the bonsai techniques well. You can defoliate a healthy benjamina during the growing season without trouble in most cases.
 
Chris Johnston said:
While not the best specimen for bonsai, benjamina are readily available and take the bonsai techniques well. You can defoliate a healthy benjamina during the growing season without trouble in most cases.
Click to expand...

It might be the climate difference, but in my experience, Bennies do not like losing all their leaves, I would recommend partial defoliation only, at least in my zone.



Will
 
I would like to ask a silly question....
I am not new to bonsai by any means, but I have not practiced defoliating much and am not sure of the proper technique. Do you use scissors and cut the leaves off by the stem? Do you just pull them off with your fingers? Can one of you just describe your method in detail for me, please.
Thank you.
 
Will is correct, you leave the stem. In some cases there are trees that have such small petioles that it is necessary to leave a small portion of the leaf as well, but never pull off the leaves this tends to destroy or damage the new buds you are trying to encourage to develop. Also you should make sure the tree you are working with can be defoliated, there are some that cannot. The Lace Leafed Japanese Maples, Hornbeams, Beech and Linden are a few that you cannot defoliate with out creating a serious problem or death.
 
Thank you....
Many many years ago I was taught to cut the leaf off leaving the stem and a small part of the leaf. We were working on elms in that workshop. If I remember correctly, they said to do this in June or later... I have more tropicals than elms at this point. Mostly malpigghias and a few fukien tea. I know that you do everything in the hottest part of the year when working with them.

So I could go ahead and defoliat both my elms and the tropicals now, here in Florida..... I should probably get busy. Thank you Will and Vance.
 
Wow, almost two years since this thread was started and defoliation time is right around the corner again.

Due to a early contest I want to enter this year, I'll be defoliating my ficus while they are still inside and under lights. I'll update this thread with new photos when I do this.



Will
 
Oh yes, the Retusa is a remarkable ficus indeed! I really do need to take some new pictures.
 
Here is a shot of my retusa defoliated from July. Sorry about the loose wire end on the right.

P1012734a.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Cajunrider
Bartering joy
2
Replies
38
Views
5K
Jthom123
J
glass_shark
My pride and joy ficus, about a year into training. any tips are appreciated!
Replies
8
Views
739
Mike Corazzi
Mike Corazzi
Cjlopez4
Bougi Joy
2
Replies
20
Views
2K
thomas22
thomas22
Waldo Street Pottery
2016 Joy of Bonsai
Replies
9
Views
1K
Vin
Vin
drew33998
New buttonwood from KAWA Joy of shohin
Replies
12
Views
2K
KennedyMarx
KennedyMarx
Back
Top Bottom