Roughly how old and what to do

[davo2012]

Hey guys. Im new to bonsai. I was able to get an old fig off my nan. It had been in a pot its whole life. I was wondering roughly what age it would be? Ive had it coming up 2 years and this spring will be my second time trimming back leaves and roots. Other than putting it in a shallow pot and wiring it in not sure how to go about it. Any tips would be good thanks

[Brad75]

Hi davo,

If it was me I would put the tree in a bigger pot and train the roots for a shallower pot by growing it on. While you are doing this you can grow on the branches and get some structure into the top growth. Nice fig this one.

Cheers,

Brad75 aka Brad Jackson.

[kcpoole]

Repot into a training pot ( shallower and wider), Remove the loopy root completely.
Remove the upward pointing section of the 1st branch and shorten the other bit of it.

Cut back any lanky branches and then wire them all out and down to give the outline of the canopy the rounded shape of typical figs.
Once it reshoots, pinch out the g4rowing tips after 2 sets of leaves to generate ramification.

Nice trunk and really hard to put an age on it. If neglected and constrained in a pot it might be 20years old or more. If it has been grown fast and cared for, then it might only be 5 years.

[Bush bunny]

What a beauty, mine are just beginners. It looks quite old to me, say 20-30 years old. Do you know which genus it is?

Best of luck with this one


Bush bunny

[davo2012]

thanks for the replies guys. ill give it a month or two to warm up and get stuck into it. and as for the genus I have no idea. 20 or 30 years seems right to me. I do remember it being old. its something I never noticed much of until I realised it had the potential for a good bonsai. it was about 6ft high I just cut it off where the trunk started to narrow up and look flimsy.