Dirt cheap Ficus Benjamina, any potential?

[bonsai_beginner]

I totally forgot to take a photo!!!
But they were messy haha

Heaps of large tap roots and lots of thicker roots. I think I definitely need to get in there, clean them out and cut them back.

I've just repotted the biggest one that was heavily pot bounded into a larger.


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[bonsai_beginner]

So here is an update on these ficus'

I decided to do a severe cutback on all three of them, as low as possible whilst still maintaining some leaves (however on one ficus i did cut everything right off as the lowest leaves were basically at the top of the tree). These trees were very unhappy and looked quite unhealthy when i did this (yellowing leaves falling everywhere), possibly due to them being pot-bound and probably bad growing conditions with the previous owner (purchased for next to nothing at the Laverton Market)
Its been over a month now, closer to two since i have done this cut back and this is what they look like now:

tree 1:
this tree has numerous trunks and was HEAVY root-bound, with that giant tap root splitting the bottom of the pot.
this is a before shot

tree 1 (multi trunk).png

and this is after the trunk chop

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its back budded a little, lots of buds at the base of the tree.

Tree 2:
this is what the tree looked like originally. Was probably the healthiest of the three trees.

tree 2.png

this is it after the trunk chop:

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this tree has back-budded like crazy. Exploding with growth from everywhere! Very promising

Tree 3:
This tree had lovely root spread and had a bit of a fused trunk towards the base of the tree which i wanted to save. Here it is originally

tree 3.png

This is it after the trunk chop:

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So that is the outcome of my trunk chop on the Benjamina Ficus'. Id say an overall successful attempt considering i did not leave a lot of leaves behind after the cut, and these species are very known for not back-budding on old wood. I think i really got lucky here haha

However, i am now very stuck on the direction of any of these trees. I felt it best to leave them for a growing season to recover from the major work they have just undergone. But if anyone has any suggestions at all on the direction they would take on any of these trees, i would LOVE to hear/see them.

Thank you
DK

[Jarad]

I'm glad to see that they have pulled through

Feed, water lots of sun and you'll have plenty on branches to play with in no time.

[bonsai_beginner]

Yeah that's the plan. Just get them back to super healthy trees.
Then take it from there with styling


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[Blackfoot]

I think theres a lot of potential here.I had a lot of success cutting and backbudding my ficus which went from a really interesting root structure to a straight trunk. personally im not a fan of trying to disguise those big old trunk cuts so i worked mine into a shari.

[bonsai_beginner]

Very nice! Yeah I don't know what I'll be doing to my trunks yet hahah


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[bonsai_beginner]

Anyone have some Advice on the direction of any of these trees??


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[dan.fisher92]

Maybe avoid dead wood as ficus are soft wood and can rot very easily, possibly think about bringing together a few of those shoots to create a fused trunk

[bonsai_beginner]

I was a little worried about rotting to be honest. I've got them all sealed with cut past but I'm thinking I might need to cut down even more trunk, but should I wait till next season to do this? Would I be stressing the tree out too much doing it?


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[Pearcy001]

I've got them all sealed with cut past

Hey BB,

Great to see the buds popping!

I remember reading somewhere on this forum that it is bad to use the cut paste on softwood trees like Figs etc, as it is extremely hard to remove and stains the wood.

Apparently for Figs only the putty should be used not the paste so as not the leave the marks.

Someone feel free to correct me if this is wrong. I applied the paste before I came across the thread that I speak of, I now have a glossy stain on my fig where I used it.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

[bonsai_beginner]

Hey Pearcy! Yeah glad they are finally budding. I was quite worried I'd be left with stumps haha

Luckily I actually only have putty (I said paste but meant putty)

So hopefully I don't get that glossy stain. However i still think ill need to cut these down even more once they are healthier


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[Pearcy001]

However i still think ill need to cut these down even more once they are healthier

Good thing Bonsai isn't a race haha.

If you're worried about the strength you're probably better to let it recover between cuts (especially if they were already pot bound and struggling to start with), then to do just one hefty cutback and have to put it straight in the bin.

I think these three will be interesting to follow. Good luck with them mate.

[bonsai_beginner]

Haha yes good thing I have lots of time to wait and really work on them and develop a few skills.

I definitely think I'll give them a full year to recover and get some new growth before contemplating my next move/chop.

I think they could really make some interesting trees too, once I become a little more skilled and adventurous haha

Thanks for the input Pearcy


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[bonsai_beginner]

Just an update on these guys. They have been thriving! Growth everywhere. Now I'm wondering if I should:
A. Let them grow for the entire season
B. Select the leading branches for each trunk( as there are multiple trunks) and main lower branches now whilst I can still work on them?

Here are some photos of each tree, any advice would be incredible.

Thanks
DK

Tree 1:




Tree 2:



Tree 3:




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[bonsai_beginner]

The growth on these trees are very very low which makes it a little hard for me to know what to do with them. Like the majority of the growth is at the base of these trees.