Ficus crassipes semi cascade advice: to chop or not to chop?

[Justin M]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post so I hope it's in the right section. I have had this round leaf banana fig (I think anyway) for quite a while. It did suffer a few years of neglect but I am truly back on the righteous path and enjoying bonsai greatly. Due to neglect a semi cascade shape begun emerging, and for now I'm sticking with it, but there are many new buds emerging opening paths of opportunity which is great (including a long awaited apex replacing the old apex that died).


It has two strong branches that are cascading and I'm a bit attached to the shorter one, but it just looks a bit off. Maybe I just have to remove it and focus on the main one for a more traditional semi cascade shape. I would love some thoughts and advice on this branch and the general shape of the tree.

Really love this forum, thanks for having me a part of it.

Justin

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[GavinG]

Hi Justin,

I like the dynamic movement of your trunk, but I think it would look empty if you cut off either of the two branches/trunks - if you are not certain whether to cut something off, cover it over with a cloth and have another look, so you can see before you do anything you might regret.

If you are getting a bit keen, think about joining a local club. Where are you?

Gavin

[Bougy Fan]

Looks like a Green Island Fig to me

[Justin M]

Hi Gavin,

Thanks for the advice, that's a great idea using a cloth.. and to take it easy and consider. Also stoked to hear you like the movement in the trunk, and that my attachment to the two branches has merit. I think I'll wait until spring and let the overall shape form a bit more with the new shoots.

As for a club, I'd love that. I live in Wollongong, NSW. DO you know of any close to here?

Cheers!

Justin

[Justin M]

Looks like a Green Island Fig to me

Ah ok! Great, thanks for the correction Bougy Fan!

[juan73870]

possibly you could get rid of or shorten the vertical little branch coming off the second main branch (the skinny one at the top)
i dunno, just a suggestion, although once you have a bit more growth and reduce the leaves a little more over the next couple of seasons i think you will have a very nice looking little tree

[GavinG]

On the Wiki page there is a club index down the bottom - closest to you would be Urimbirra at Dapto (on Facebook) or Illawarra at Gymea. I know neither personally, but most clubs are friendly. When the plague loosens its grip...

Gavin

[Justin M]

possibly you could get rid of or shorten the vertical little branch coming off the second main branch (the skinny one at the top)
i dunno, just a suggestion, although once you have a bit more growth and reduce the leaves a little more over the next couple of seasons i think you will have a very nice looking little tree

Thanks Juan, I think the overriding advice here is patience. Will reassess when as you said, there a couple more seasons growth. Cheers!

[Justin M]

On the Wiki page there is a club index down the bottom - closest to you would be Urimbirra at Dapto (on Facebook) or Illawarra at Gymea. I know neither personally, but most clubs are friendly. When the plague loosens its grip...

Gavin

Great, I think Dapto will be the go. Thanks Gavin. The plague did help give the garden and plants a lot of attention, but yep ready for things to relax a bit that's for sure

[shibui]

there is no problem with 2 trunks on cascade or semi. they just need to compliment rater than compete.
I think there is some incongruity (is that a thing?) between the trunk and the branches. Lower trunk has good taper and strong bends but both branches have gentle bends and little taper.
I would consider wiring to add some more movement to one or both main trunks. Longer term as the tree grows and develops consider shortening the long branches an make new leaders with side branches. That will add further bends and taper to the trunk(s) while compressing the overall size and length.

Te length may be part of the reason you are not attracted to the longer leader. easy to fix as you have lots of ready replacement side shoots on hand.
The shorter branch seems a bit too upright for a cascade branch. I think it would look far better if you get some wire on and bend it down similar to the other one. that may be the reason you cannot make up your mind which is better. Both have some some good but different characteristics but it is possible to give either all the desirable things. Get some wire and some clippers and make it better.

The long awaited apex is not strictly necessary for cascade or semi. Many great bonsai use the bend in the trunk as the high point and don't have a foliage apex at all.

[juan73870]

definitely what Shibui said makes a lot of sense, even using the word "incongruity" which i had to look up, and it turns out it IS a word, and it was used in perfect context!

a bit of wire and movement will give you a better appreciation for the tree, i reckon

[Justin M]

Hi Shibui,

Thank you so much for the detailed advice, you are bang on, it's the incongruence (nice usage!) of the two branches that is bugging me. They just don't seem to "flow" naturally together. I'll play around with bending before any drastic pruning and be patient with it.

Thanks again!

Justin