MONSTER FIG - Baby ben

[Jamie]

gday

i collected this fig from my cousins pub over the weekend, my dad and cousin done the heavy work it is a monster, 60cm across the nebari, stands over 100cm high at the moment. i have started some thread grafts down low, where the taper finshes basically. this is going to be a big tree, bigger then i have ever had, and probably ever will. i will need to get a lifting machine for it eventually if in the end i keep it, i might move it on if it gets to much for me.

my plan is to make it a banyan style tree, i have a virt for it too. to get pics for this thing was rather awkward as i couldnt move it, my twin 8 year old girls are on chairs holding a sheet up

Monfig.jpg

Monfig2.jpg

Monfig3.jpg

Monfig4.jpg

Photo025.jpg

a 600ml coke bottle for comparison

virt monster 3.jpg

and my virt for this beast, it willl more than likely be a little less dense to mimic australian banyans

let me know what ya reckon all ideas are welcomed, thread graft pics to come

jamie

[Mitchell]

That is amazing! The nebari is very impressive! Great material, I bet your stoked.

[Gareth]

I Cant wait to see what you are going to do with this, what can only be described as a leviathan of a fig.

its going to give me some good ideas for my figs, love the Virt too, if it turns out anything like that it will be a ripper.

Gareth

[Jamie]

yea man very happy with the base it will make for an interesting tree in a few years time

the nebari has developed by itself, this tree was in one of those planters you occasionally see around shopping centres and the likes, this one was from a pub i havent had the chance to sand the flat cut it had on top but i would have to say it is quite old, it will one day be a nice tree, my only prob other than size is finding a pot for it when it will need one! the thing is massive and it is gonig to have a spreading canopy!! gawd

cheers man

gday gareth yea it is an ablsolute monster, the only other trees i have seen like this of this size are at Rods place he has some corker baby bens

glad it has given you some ideas i will be working very hard on it to make it like the tree, like i said thread grafts have been started but it needs about 5-10 more to get everything in position to give me the basis of the monster

jamie

[Ryan1979b]

That is a ripper, Love the roots, wish I could find something of this caliber. Not long till you can chop , do you know how you are going to approach it, just one big chop It look pretty healthy.

Cheers

Ryan

[Loretta]

Nice tree Jamie. I have one very similar tho only 1/2 to 3/4 the width of yours and less than a metre tall. It has a lot of arial roots so the tray is jam packed and I think it needs a new one. Today I cut it right back to the trunk and I think your virtual picture is just perfect for it... I've also got another which is in my daughters chook pen, I think I'll reposess it after seeing yours!!!
Loretta

[craigw60]

Hi Jamie, bye bye shohin yakuza. You going to layer it down or just do the chop ?
Craig

[alpineart]

Now come on Jamie you'll give yourself a bad reputation with a big bugger like that .That would look better sitting next to the big Maples i have just dug up . Nice specimen champ , don't give yourself a hernia .Cheers Alpine

[Jamie]

That is a ripper, Love the roots, wish I could find something of this caliber. Not long till you can chop , do you know how you are going to approach it, just one big chop It look pretty healthy.

Cheers

Ryan

hi mate i could chop it now without any stress to the tree, but i have used the thin bendable branches down to use thread grafts to get shoots exactly where i want them

Nice tree Jamie. I have one very similar tho only 1/2 to 3/4 the width of yours and less than a metre tall. It has a lot of arial roots so the tray is jam packed and I think it needs a new one. Today I cut it right back to the trunk and I think your virtual picture is just perfect for it... I've also got another which is in my daughters chook pen, I think I'll reposess it after seeing yours!!!
Loretta

hi loretta

look forward to seeing yours the bases on these are great and something to work with for sure, get ya daughters for sure too! at least while it is in the chook pen you know it is getting some good ferts through there manure

Hi Jamie, bye bye shohin yakuza. You going to layer it down or just do the chop ?
Craig

gday mate i am still the shohin yakuza just got a large "feature" tree now i am tempted to airlayer the top off for a formal uright but im not quite sure yet, it will have to wait until the thread grafts have taken, which i dont think will take too long at all i wouldnt be phased about just chopping it either as i could be 90% sure i could get it to strike as a cutting

it will be getting the top half chopped of so i think i can make an exception for the shohn yakuza

Now come on Jamie you'll give yourself a bad reputation with a big bugger like that .That would look better sitting next to the big Maples i have just dug up . Nice specimen champ , don't give yourself a hernia .Cheers Alpine

[

im sure it would look good next to some maples mate i want to develop this one myself just for the experience if anything, but i have grown quite fond of it sitting in the middle of my bonsai area

might be able to work something out later down the track mate i wont be lifting this one either, when it will need moving which wont be for a while, i will get my cousins over to do it

jamie

[anttal63]

Such a rippa when you pull this baby off mate!!! No ifs here!!!

[Jamie]

thanks champ im pretty confident i will be able to get what i am after, once it really takes of i might put it in an open grow bed to get the branching to the thickness i will be after

[Glenda]

Its a great find, Jamie. Can you chop Baby Bens back to nothing and have them sprout? I have heard they recover from a total chop better than a straight benj.

Glenda

[FlyBri]

Nice find, Jamie!

There's lots of talk here about chopping... I wonder if there might be sufficient long, flexible shoots to consider thread-grafting to achieve your lower branches, thus taking the worry out of chopping. I don't know the species or your climate, so it is possible that I am being overly cautious.

Anyway, your virt looks like a great goal to aim for, and not unachievable by any means.

Keep us posted.

Fly.

PS: Oops - I just read something about thread-grafts in your original post. My bad.

[Jamie]

hi glenda,

yes i could chop it back to a bare trunk without worrying it wont shoot, there would be plenty of shoots i have found that the only benj. variety that refuse to back bud is the exotica they just refuse to back bud even being a fig. i have one that has been bare for about 6 months, even free grafts it wouldnt take so i have gone with a thread graft on it so i hope it takes i used microcarpa retusa for it, so hopefully it will work and come up trumps it is still alive even after 6 months with no leaves.

gday fly

thanks mate yes i have the thread grafts in, i was hoping to get a lot more than i did, i could only get 5 on it, the rest of the branch is to stiff to bring down to get the extened shoots to where i need them, i could possibly wrap the thick branches and heavy wire them but im not to phased about that as the main branching i wanted has been sorted

jamie