The height of stupidity?

[shibui]

Nursery already overcrowded and I've just germinated a pot of Ficus rubiginosa seedlings.

ficus seedlings.jpg

Could not stop myself collecting some fruit when we were over on the south coast recently.
Had already brought the fruit home so just had to sow some

I could just tip them out
but probably not.......

Undoubtedly I'll pot these up and grow them on for a while.

Figs anyone?

[anthonyW]

Haha..nice work Neil

cheers Anthony

[MJL]

Neil,

You are so, so, so far away from the height of stupidity .... take a look my way for the high bar on stupidity. Not the least being me taking on a air layer on a ficus with no leaves recently. Yeah. What?! That was never going to work! You having too many seedlings doesn't really hit the scale.

I am sure you'll be able to offload your seedlings ... and indeed, you pine seedlings from your other recent post in due course.

Cheers,

Mark

[Miikeboyle]

Port Jackson figs are survivors. You can treat them as bad as you want and they just keep on going. Don’t throw them out. Worst cast scenario just leave them in the pot and they will continue to grow big there. You may even end up with a big fused monster trunk fig.

[Ryceman3]

It's only stupidity if you don't realise the path you are taking will lead to issues further down the track ... otherwise it's courage

Yep ... I keep telling myself that!

[shibui]

Worst cast scenario just leave them in the pot and they will continue to grow big there. You may even end up with a big fused monster trunk fig.

I understand the possibilities because I have already been there a number of times but the fused monster trunk figs may be few and far between. I've intentionally grown some great fused trunk figs but the excess seedlings just left to their own devices only ever created a mess of trunks and roots with no structure or harmony. They all had to be thrown out after many years of waiting for them to become something better.

It's only stupidity if you don't realise the path you are taking will lead to issues further down the track ... otherwise it's courage

Thanks R3. I can always tell myself - and anyone else - that you said it was alright......

[melbrackstone]

I wonder how long these trees take....and do you think you'd be able to grow something like these?

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81224950_1354563081392429_3885719327155945472_n.jpg

80527604_1354563174725753_4838979609036849152_n.jpg

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All of these were posted by a Vietnamese photo collator/collector, who never attributes the sources, but from what I've seen, I suspect they're all from Chinese sites that also never produce attribution. Never-the-less, they're inspiring to view, I reckon.

[Jake fowler]

I grew about 50 and repotted them into single pots this morning Neil I hope they grow fast haha

[shibui]

They really do grow quite fast if you let them. One local member found that piling on the dynamic lifter during the growing season gave really great results - a full layer about 1cm thick and add more every 3-4 weeks.

Here's one I prepared earlier Mel

Ficus large twin 2011 3 2.JPG

The photo is from 2011. Nowhere near as good as the ones you've found but still a good size. This one was grown on in a poly box for about 5 years before transfer to a pot to grow the branches and ramification. It is actually 2 seedlings planted close together to fuse into a twin trunk. About 60cm tall and wide. Trunk's about 20 cm near the ground.
If I can do that down here with cold winters imagine what you could do up there.

IMGP3640.jpg

In this photo is one of the siblings of the tree above (foreground, light blue pot) - taken at Myrtleford show this spring.
I kept that one in a 10cm pot for the same years and developed it slowly to keep a smaller size. Despite being in a small pot it and others have continued to thicken and increase in size. It was also 2 seedlings planted close together. I remember one year when I repotted this and another from that batch. When I tried to put them back in the pots they just would not fit as the trunks had thickened so much over the previous couple of years.

Ficus will grow faster in a larger pot but a smaller pot will not stop then from thickening.
Growing ficus from seed is easy and fun and doesn't take as long as you might think.

[melbrackstone]

That's great to see, thanks Neil! Yes I'm sure I can get impressive growth here in the sub-tropics, especially if I feed them well. In saying that, I tend to get a little random with feeding, so the plants have to be tough.

I believe Tony Bebb's fig that's on loan in the National Collection contains 5 separate trees grown together too,(looks like more!) as well as our own Anthony's versions.

I suspect the Chinese ones are grown in large pots, and shaped young, although I can't see evidence of wire scars in the trunks. Steve Cullum swears by screwing the trunks together to save needing wire, but yeah, I'd like to get some shape into the trunks as well as extra joined in trunks...lol. With all those seedlings you could be having lots of fun, if you've got the time!

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[Raging Bull]

You've used the wrong word in your heading Neil. It's not stupidity, it should be ENTHUSIASM.
Cheers, Frank

[MJL]

I wonder how long these trees take....and do you think you'd be able to grow something like these

All of these were posted by a Vietnamese photo collator/collector, who never attributes the sources, but from what I've seen, I suspect they're all from Chinese sites that also never produce attribution. Never-the-less, they're inspiring to view, I reckon.

Here's another one ... imported from Vietnam to the Crespi Bonsai Museum... hang in there Neil. If you look at the world's money flow these days (and read some stuff from Yuval Noah Harari)... it seems some folk are on a mission to solve the human condition called 'death'. You may yet live to 1000 and see the majesty of your seeds!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beIlV7foGGQ

To use Frank's words... I am enthusiastic about the tree... not sure I'd like to live for 1000 years though. I'll leave that to trees.

[shibui]

Actually, neither of mine were wired or even screwed together. I simply wrapped the roots of one seedling around the second seedling. Most of you will be aware of what happens when a fig gets its roots round another tree. It rarely gets away. In the case of them both being the same species the trunks and/or roots eventually merge together. No need to remove bark though that might speed up the process a bit, just allow some time.

[melbrackstone]

Actually, neither of mine were wired or even screwed together. I simply wrapped the roots of one seedling around the second seedling. Most of you will be aware of what happens when a fig gets its roots round another tree. It rarely gets away. In the case of them both being the same species the trunks and/or roots eventually merge together. No need to remove bark though that might speed up the process a bit, just allow some time.

That's how I've done the few I've attempted too, I'm just considering that if I'd like those sinuous curves the Chinese trees have, I'd need to be doing a bit more when they're young and bendy..

[GavinG]

Surely you've been more stupid than this Neal? They're free trees, sell them in a few years for $20 each after about $79.80 worth of time and attention - who can call you crazy?

All the best for the next year, keep at it,

Gavin