AusBonsai

Frank and MJL yeah i had thought about that initially but I like the ideas of anthony and shibui about maintaining the tree as a whole... that thick lower branch is really nice and as the guys said give the tree some really nice movement.

Whatever i remove i'm going to try to strike as cuttings.

Thanks for the ideas though... keep em coming!

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There are so many options when you have a low branch....

Here you go sjc the next step when you clear that junk out, that's if you are still keen to go this way...

We need the foliage to come down to engage the bottom trunk otherwise it is isolated and no point having it, looking at your tube video, you have all parts on the right side to the lower trunk which is very good, but the concern is left side as Neil alluded to before, this is the side the branches will be kept shorter, but we have ideas there.

We need to attach a guy wire and maybe two, I think this technique will move that trunk and what we are looking for is some movement/curve on that straight bit.....because to simply tilt right we will get that ' L' shape and we don t want that.... better leave it there, our last resort...but I m sure the guy wire will give us something.

Okay the clear tube I got that from bunnings, you will need that or something similar.

I m thinking 5 to 6 mm wire for the strainer/guy wire, image shows how and where... you can do it, just go very slowly over some time if needed.?

If we get the bend..great as shown

If not..no biggie as shown.

Fair dinkum - how good is this forum! That someone would go to so much trouble to help out like this. Well played AnthonyW and good luck sjc.


Bonsai teaches me patience.

An absolute gold mine from anthony! It's great to see.

Also, I'm really glad to see that the lower branch is not going to get the chop. When I started reading the thread my heart was in my mouth and I was thinking "please don't cut it! Please don't cut it!"

As stated earlier by others, cutting back the roots and branches at the same time is perfectly doable. Often it is a good Idea to balance out root removal with some foliage removal to avoid unwanted die back. Ficus are also generally pretty tough species. Just be careful applying that to any species of plant, some are more sensitive than others.

I'd also like to add that cutting back the roots and branches at the same time will drastically weaken a tree in the short term. The tree will probably be totally fine but you could potentially wait a season as to me it doesn't look as healthy as it could be and were something to go wrong in the next growing season after root pruning and solid cut backs this season you could risk losing the tree as it would have spent much of it's energy stores repairing itself from the heavy cut back of roots and foliage. You could potentially focus on building strength this season by using some seasol and liquid organic fertiliser to promote some fine roots. However, that is a very conservative approach, especially with a ficus, but you have plenty of time on your hands in bonsai.

Hey guys

Thanks so much everyone and especially anthony for the fantastic advice and interest, i really appreciate it. Sorry I havent replied sooner... I'm a paramedic and have just finished 3 x 14 hour shifts... about to have a snooze before a nightshift... life kinda grinds to a halt on days when Im working.

So I did some work today... not as aggressive as I would have liked but some of the leaves were starting to yellow at the edges which i think may be a combination of factors...

1. The place where I got these trees is cooler and more humid than where I am (hot and dry) and where the trees were situated originally was in a covered courtyard. I had them situated in a spot that gets morning sun but from midday is shaded.

2. The trees were living in a crusher dust potting media... one day i went to work at 6am and the mix was cool and moist but when i felt it at 830pm when i got home it was VERY warm and dry.

So I decided to repot, reposition and do the steps from the first 2 photos anthony suggested... I did not heavily roots prune at all. I just cut the roots enough to get them out of the pot and got rid of a lot of the ferny rubbish roots.

I thought I might leave it alone for a little while and feed it up considering its not the healthiest at the moment... is that a wise move or should I just crack on?

I've moved it to a more sheltered part of the yard which gets partial morning sun

I went to Australian Bonsai Grower at Park Ridge and got some of their bonsai mix. Incidentally those guys are excellent... every time I go there I end up spending twice as long as intended having a chat.

So here are a few photos...

The front roots



Front roots from the bottom



Repotted



New position and pruned
front



Diagonal front

Diagonal front



From the top



Thanks again everyone I really appreciate the input

Cheers
Sim

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Cheers for the update Sim.

By the way - you note that you are a paramedic, thanks for all the work you do. The hard work of all the great folk in our first responder agencies - Police, Fire and Ambulance - across our nation, is greatly appreciated and valued by us in the community. 3 * 14 hour shifts! Mate - look after yourself - hopefully Bonsai gives you a way to wind down.

Thanks again.

Mark


Bonsai teaches me patience.

Thanks very much Mark! The vast majority of us don't do the job for thanks or recognition but thankyou very much.

Yeah bonsai is an attempt to foster some hobbies and outside interests away from work. I'm finding it really good to be engrossed by and interested in something requiring technical knowledge but also creativity.

On the fig... with just a little bit of feeding and some new media its sprouting new growth all the way down the old bark. Looking promising!

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Hey just thought i'd give a bit of an update post repotting and feeding. Lots of new growth and looking a lot healthier. Ive decided to leave it alone till spring before i do much else

Before




After one month


Here is the progress of the willow leaf which has had a similar treatment

Before


After one month


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