AusBonsai

That looks really good Hugh thank you very much for taking the time to do that.it looks well proportioned. I can clearly see now what you were talking about . And I am very happy I have a design to aim for . I just hope now I can do the tree and your virt justice.

I will keep u posted.

To prevent die back in benji's, always leave some foliage. If you need to cut it back below the foliage, you need to cut it back to the lowest foliage possible, let it reshoot (at a lower point) and cut it back again. do this as many times as it takes to get to the hight you want.

This is not true of all benji's. Some benji's will reshoot very well after being cut back to a trunk. However, a lot will die back and only shoot from the base.

I hope this helps.
chris

Paulneill wrote:That looks really good Hugh thank you very much for taking the time to do that.it looks well proportioned. I can clearly see now what you were talking about . And I am very happy I have a design to aim for . I just hope now I can do the tree and your virt justice.

I will keep u posted.

thats alright mate, i love the challenging but interesting trees like this and id love to see it worked to its full potential. good luck with it and make sure you post its progress for us

Hugh

I picked this fig up today and was lucky to fit it into my commodore. There was a black snake living under the pot between 2 wooden planks that scared the shari out of me .
The trunk measured 9 inches at the base give or take. The previous owner said they haven't watered the tree in years and have owned it for 38 years they platted the tree at a young age . I tried watering it when I got home and gave it some seasol , it is very pot bound and not absorbing water well.



Snake

I'm a bit worried about what to do with this until summer because of the fact that is has been in this pot since god knows when. I don't know if I should water it or not . Give it full sun or keep it a bit more shaded. The woman who sold me it said he had not watered it in years. Maybe I should try and keep it somewhere semi shaded and just not water it . Seemed to work for the lady that sold it.

Any ideas guys ?

Paulneill wrote:I'm a bit worried about what to do with this until summer because of the fact that is has been in this pot since god knows when. I don't know if I should water it or not . Give it full sun or keep it a bit more shaded. The woman who sold me it said he had not watered it in years. Maybe I should try and keep it somewhere semi shaded and just not water it . Seemed to work for the lady that sold it.

Any ideas guys ?

Slap it into a larger pot, backfill with soil and your good to go.

=D

-Mo

The "black snake" is a Golden-crowned snake. Venomous but not considered dangerous.

Looks like a nice tree to play with.

I repotted this tree today, it was a struggle getting it out of the pot. I removed 80/90 % of the root mass using a saw.its now a lot easier to lift. I'm going to use the old pot as a stand to put the tree on , I also made a heavy duty turn table using inch ply wood a centre Bering and caster wheels that will allow me to work on the tree.

My plan for the next few months is to approach graft new branches lower down on each branch as a safety measure before cutting back next year.

Stand with turn table

Some of the roots were wire

Hey it looks great - I think it has real potential to be a great tree. Looks like it is in loving hands! I have sawn through pots like that before and had no problems, so long as I let the tree grow and didn't rush things. All the best, Ashley

Thanks ash. I'm sure were you live the figs wouldn't skip a beat. What would you do with this tree if it were yours ash?
Or anyone else have any views on what to do next .
At the minute my plan is to pull all the branches around the outer edge down and spread the ones in the middle out
And cut all the branches back and regrow giving them movement and taper and eventually ramification.
There are at least 2 branches I think may need removed because they are too thick .
I will get better photos of each side of the tree and hopefully with people on this sites help choose a front and get a few more ideas on we're to go.

Nice Find,

Theres something to be said for Shohin.....doubt there would be any snakes lurking under a small pot ?

Regards,

Paul

Hi Paul,

I was wondering if you had any update on this tree. I have managed to get an old potted Ficus and find myself in the same situation you faced last year...
Cheers, Pierre