Drastic ficus trunk chop

[NickityNic]

Howdy! This big old ficus has been in the same soil/pot for 30 years in the corner of my mothers garden. Ive asked if i can slowly work it into a bonsai. Chopped the leaders where they got too straight and am now just hoping for some good options when it buds back. Ive put it into a large pot (not the one shown) with 50/50 red scoria and pine nuggets and some charcoal. Just gonna feed and grow for a few years now and let it get rootbkund again. Wish me luck!
Anyone else done a massive chop like this?
Im curious if people would aim to grow new leaders which taper up, or just hide the chops with dense ramified foliage.
Cheers!

[shibui]

Leaves look thick and leathery so probably not Ficus benjamina which is probably a good thing. Benji does not always shoot from bare wood and can resent combined root prune and chop.
More likely this is a local F. rubiginosa which are much more resilient so should sprout all over.

I'd definitely be aiming to get new leaders to taper into the thicker trunks. That will take a few years but will look so much better. While that's growing you could probably cover the change somehow.

Sydney is probably still warm but FYI down here we do chops and root pruning like this on figs in late spring or summer. Figs respond much better when they are actively growing so better time for most work is warmer weather.

Looking forward to seeing how this comes along.

[NickityNic]

I rekon waiting for spring would have been good. Ive just got my mother and my grandfather in my ear telling me that these figs can literally take anything and it got me excited/impatient.
Thanks for the ID help mate! Ill post updates

[tgooboon]

I would consider having all the branches/trunks at heights different. my eye is drawn to the top two looking the same height, similarly the middle two on left are close in height.

As far as ramification vs growing taper - from my experience (tropics in north Queensland), I have been able to start branch ramification straight away - suggest 3-8 cutbacks of growth per Spring&Summer (depending on strength of regrowth) - I let grow 4+ inches, then cut back to 2 buds (sometimes 3 buds on a lower weaker branch).

I trunk chopped a similar diameter (looks about 40-60mm) single trunk 2 years ago and started getting some branch ramification straight away the wound has 70% healed over and taper is fine.

I am more still going for lots of branches fairly course branch ramification, rather than fine twiggy finished ramification.

Nice piece of material to start with

[NickityNic]

Cheers tgooboon,
I actually agree. I might take the left down a bit and create a few pads at different hights. Ill chop tonight after work.

[NickityNic]

Damn. What a rush haha. Now to pray to the sydney ficus gods for sun.

[Patmet]

I did something similar to what you have there last year. Different type of ficus and different climate though, I'm over in Southern Western Australia.

An old Ficus Benjamina extremely pot bound and pretty neglected i snagged from my dad's house. It's a pot plant i remember as a kid growing up and it's always just been there. Anyway it had a good root spread at the base so i thought why not just chop it and see what happens.

I did the chop middle of winter in late July. Trunk chop and big root cut back were all done at once. I then potted it up into a deep air pruning geo-pot in a good quality mix. I did leave the lowest existing branch with a clump of foliage to be safe, and then removed later when new growth emerged.

I pretty much did everything against what is recommended, especially for a F. Benjamina, so take my practice with a grain of salt. It should give you some more hope and confidence though, as so far it has been a success. Growth was slow at first but once summer came along and it started to heat up this thing has exploded with growth. I'll attach some pictures.

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[NickityNic]

Amazing mate! My family have been growing ficus trees in pots for Years. Im only recently (3 years) into bonsai and they laugh at me when i say things like they need repotting/good soil/work done in spring. They just say the ficus will be fine no matter what you do. My mums got a bonsai growing in her garden with literally no soil in the pot (she started spooning it out after 15 years then got bored and stopped) for over 12 months now. They just seem to live... im not that savage but didnt want to wait until spring. Ill see how i go. Look forward to posting successfull uodates mate

[Patmet]

Amazing mate! My family have been growing ficus trees in pots for Years. Im only recently (3 years) into bonsai and they laugh at me when i say things like they need repotting/good soil/work done in spring. They just say the ficus will be fine no matter what you do. My mums got a bonsai growing in her garden with literally no soil in the pot (she started spooning it out after 15 years then got bored and stopped) for over 12 months now. They just seem to live... im not that savage but didnt want to wait until spring. Ill see how i go. Look forward to posting successfull uodates mate

Yeah that's pretty much the same with me i didn't feel like waiting. I just thought if it's going to make it as a bonsai it will survive and it's a ficus so should be fine wishful thinking but sometimes the risks pay off. I'm pretty confident yours will be much the same. You'll just have to be patient as you might not see much growth untill it warms up again. Look forward to seeing updates

[Raging Bull]

Yes, most ficus I have come across are definitely tough buggers that can take a lot of punishment. Just before Christmas I cut a twin trunked one that was about 50 cm tall, chopping the smaller trunk off and pruning the remaining tree's branches severely. I applied hormone gel to the chopped off part and put it in a pot of its own and it didn't miss a beat, just kept growing and already shows some roots coming out of the bottom of the pot. Feed and water them well and they are monsters! Cheers, Frank.

[NickityNic]

So, heres my new problem. Any ficus experts out there know what the next step is from here? Ive got multiple branches stemming from buds all over. Its beggining of winter in sydney right now.
Should i let it all grow through winter? Prune the buds back to one stalk now? How does one attack so much growth in this scenario?
Cheers
Nic

[GavinG]

Leave everything over winter, to accumulate energy for spring's shooting. When things get going in late spring, rub off everything you don't need, ruthlessly- If there are two or three (or sixteen..) jammed close together, just keep the one that is best placed for a branch. Shoots way down at the base are no use for making branches, get rid of them then as well. Shoots pointing where you don't want them (in your face, in towards the centre of the tree, anything just damn ugly) get rid of them. You may only be left with five or six shoots, but that will be enough to make the framework of the tree.

When everything is sorted, remember to grow the resulting shoots quite long, so they thicken up well to match the thickness of the trunks that you cut - make good taper. Take time to build the taper, year by year, cut by cut. Remember with a fig, you can always cut back to bare wood, and get new shoots. (As you did! Keep doing it!)

Gavin

[NickityNic]

Appreciate the detailed and knowledgeable response mate. Ill give it a crack ✌

[Grant Bowie]

Yes, leave everything till October or better November then do what Gavin said. You don’t gain anything by going earlier and can only harm it if you do.

MASTERFULL INACTIVITY is now the thing till the appropriate season,

Grant

[Bonsaiforest]

Hey,
I live in Southern Sydney and considering doing a major trunk chop to my ficus "Retusa" -Tiger Bark fig. For best results with "Retusa" does the same apply as previously discussed in this post.
Would late Spring or early Summer be my safest time for the chop & best bet for back budding & new shoots. Also how long would it take for new buds to show.
When I chop to desired height should I seal with cut paste or leave it open?
Lastly, what is the best method for removing moss so that I don't damage the bark, it's growing all around the base base of nebari and about a 10cm up covering one side of the trunk....hoping there's a trick or two to have it never return.