the ficus way of tanuki - the strangler fig

[hugh grant]

heres the inspiration

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[hugh grant]

strangler figs are amazing in nature and ever since i started bonsai ive always wanted to try and replicate this as a bonsai but untill about a year ago i never thought about how i could do it. so about this time last year i got one of my struck cuttings from the year before and placed it in a pot with the bottom cut off and then put this into a larger pot. by doing this i made a taller pot that wasnt to wide to try and get the roots to grow down and get nice and long.
over the year ive also been collecting interesting peices of dead wood to use as my strangled trunk.
the fig i am using isnt a strangler fig but i think its port kackson fig but really i recken any fig with strong roots will work.
this week i decidede it was time to start so i got the peice of dead wood and cut off the peice i wanted as the bottom of it i am using for this one and the other side im going to use for another one im going to do nex year.
i then got the fig and got it out of the pot and then cleaned all the dirt from the roots

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next i tried to find a good position on the peice of wood and then tied it in place

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positioned the roots to get them into the right spots, then tied them on. i used budding tape to do all the tying down as it stretchy so it wont cut into the roots but still holds them in place, which is all i want.

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now i filled a large pot with potting mix and then placed the tree in and spread the roots out

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after attaching the tree to the wood and planting in the soil

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now i need to cover the roots for a while so they can grow more to attach to the wood and prevent them from drying out. so i got 2 different sized pots with the bottoms cut out and made a stack of pots filled with the soil to cover the roots.

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now i just need to let it grow on for a while to get the roots strong. in about a month or 2 i will remove the top pot and wrap the roots in a bit of spagnum moss and then once summer is over i will hoefully be able to remove the second pot and cover it with spagnum moss as well.
i think the tree needs to be positioned more lent over to the right but ill fix that at the next repot.
well it was a good few hours work and alot of fun, fingers crossed it will work but im confident it will it basically the same as a root over rock just with wood.

let me know what you think

thanks,
Hugh

[Jerry Meislik]

Hugh,
Excellent work. Keep us posted.
PS will you let the original trunk rot out or plan to keep the epiphytic style by preserving the dead wood trunk?
Jerry

[Levuccio]

Thats awesome man, it will be interesting to see what you get out of this one. Good job!

[hugh grant]

Thanks Jerry good to here from you
well I was going to try and preserve it the best I can when itS exposed but if it rots then it rots so I'll see how it goes, but I would like to keep the epiphytic look about it for a long while first.

Thanks levuccio I can't wait to see how it will turn out, but it will deffinetally be interesting.

Thanks,
Hugh

[Andrew F]

Bump to see this now

[hugh grant]

sorry mate totally missed your 'bump"

Ill update soon with new pics, its grown amazingly and the roots are thickening alot. i pruned it about 2 weeks ago so its just starting to burst out with new shoots.

Hugh

[Andrew F]

sorry mate totally missed your 'bump"

Ill update soon with new pics, its grown amazingly and the roots are thickening alot. i pruned it about 2 weeks ago so its just starting to burst out with new shoots.

Hugh

Thank you kindly Hugh, i look forward to it

[hugh grant]

OK finally over the last week ive had a chance to work on this tree. Its developed really well over the past 13-14 months since it was planted.
Partially defoliated and roughly wired with a few heavy branches removed.

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Now it will be left to grow for a while then i will start on primary branching and ramification.

Hugh

[Andrew F]

Crazy root system, looking great Hugh.

[hugh grant]

thanks mate, i know im lovin the roots too

Hugh

[Andrew F]

thanks mate, i know im lovin the roots too

Hugh

Iv taken a few hard wood cuttings of different ficus varieties lately, so i can afford to muck around with some, so i dare say ill attempt something like this early next year, thank you for experimenting and sharing with us, merry xmas

Regards Drew

[hugh grant]

thanks mate, i know im lovin the roots too

Hugh

Iv taken a few hard wood cuttings of different ficus varieties lately, so i can afford to muck around with some, so i dare say ill attempt something like this early next year, thank you for experimenting and sharing with us, merry xmas

Regards Drew

Awsome mate, make sure you post them so we can see how they go.
Merry Christmas

Hugh

[Jerry Meislik]

Nicely done.
Keep us posted.
Jerry

[hugh grant]

Nicely done.
Keep us posted.
Jerry

Thanks Jerry, will do

Hugh