benji clumps

[anttal63]

there are many people who start bonsai with a benjamina ficus in their collection. Most of time they come in clumps and you can buy them almost anywhere. my first 3 i purchased at a mitre10 store for $10 each, 3.5 yrs ago. i platted and fused 2 of them and clump styled the other. this first one is the clump style. i sold it back in april for $175.00 to a client of mine. the one thing i stressed was not to leave out when there's frosts or even to cold. bring it in at night and full sun during the day this time of the year. oops after 1 month it comes back to me with the foliage frost burnt . after defoialting and keeping it alive all this time i decided to repot and use diatomite mixed with various other things. ( orchid mix, bulb mix, spagnum and course probogating sand.) here is the b4 i sold and now the repot.

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[anttal63]

and the next is one of the fused ones. i have recently defoliated and styled and today repotted in 100% diatomite. medium on the bottom fine on top.

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[Steven]

Great shots and post Antonio, thanks!
I like the way you are fusing the branches together. Are you removing bark on either side or just holding them together?

Regards,
S.

[anttal63]

thanks for the feed back steven. no removing bark. not necessary on these they stick at the drop of a hat. the styling is very much free form / organic. it has just evolved this way no pryer planning.

[PeterW]

and the next is one of the fused ones. i have recently defoliated and styled and today repotted in 100% diatomite.

I assume that this is the first defoliation Ant? Are you intending on doing more to it this season?

[anttal63]

yes this is the 1st, not sure at this stage peter with the restyle and repot. i will see how it fairs over the next couple of months. ive never totally defloiated my benjis in the past. im usually brutal with the ports and moretons.

[Jarrod]

Thats a good looking tree, great movement in all the branches, not a sumo:p and taper is still good.

I had a few benjis similar to this, i defoliated them and they decieded not to regrow leaves, the ports like it better, in factthey seem to thrive after a defoliation.

I wouldnt defoliate this guy totally, leave some at the tips of the branches.

Jarrod

[anttal63]

hi jezz, thanks for the kind words. the 1st rule with defoliating anything is it must be vigorous and healthy. the 2nd with ficus is to wait till the nights are not dropping under 12.c or bringm in at night. last winter i brought a shohin port jackson indoors full time in a west facing box window and defoliated it. no worries just kept charging on all winter. benjis in the past i have only part defoliated, constantly taking off leaves when they get too big. this one so far is responding well now we'll wait and see wether the repot makes a difference either way. personally i think it will pick up its skirt and charge on.

[Jarrod]

I definately think this tree will get its groove back, and dance all summer! like stella.

As I said, ports love defoliation.

[Jon Chown]

ive never totally defloiated my benjis in the past.

I have read on other forums that full defoliation of Benjamina can be detrimental to their health - does anyone know why?

By the way Antonio, I realy like the clump in the first photo. I find clumps difficult to work.

Jon

[anttal63]

thank jon, i find clumps easy and fun. defoliating again needs to done at the right time. mine was 3 weeks ago and is popping back no prob. if anything slows it down now it will be the repot. i couldn,t help it i just had to cull all the crap roots. makem or breakm.

[mudlarkpottery]

Hi Antonio.
I really like the movement you have going in that clump. Freeform style seems to suit Benjaminas best.
Penny.

[anttal63]

thanks penny; the free form suits the benji's because of their weeping effect. in my eyes the benji needs to be wired and curvred in order to accentuate the weeping foliage. otherwise the trunks and branches can appear to rigid and straight against the weep. the weep in its self suggests momentum therefor i feel it needs to be backed up in its styling.

[anttal63]

coming back strong. with a little die back but new growth ready to replace

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. too bad thats bonsai.

[sreeve]

I have read on other forums that full defoliation of Benjamina can be detrimental to their health - does anyone know why?

Hi Jon, I have several Benjamina's and used to have many many more......unfortunately most went to heaven.....

I think you live in Qld and your climate will afford better success when defoliating.

In Sydney I have been able to totally defoliate Benjamina's dependant on the season.
However, irrespective of the season, if I defoliate only one branch, the branch is nearly certain to die.

I have learnt that it is really easy to force a branch to back bud by simply cutting off the growth spurs at the end of the branch.
HOWEVER, I always keep the last leaf intact otherwise the branch dies

I think the last leaf is required to keep the sap flowing along the branch.
I presume that if all leaves are cut off one branch only, then sap prefers to flow to other parts of the tree.

Conversely if you totally defoliate the tree, then the sap has no preferential locations to flow to and therefore the tree survives.

Attached below are a couple of photos of a Benjamina which suffered and survived my brutalilty......so far

The first photo shows the tree essentially as I received it about 5 ft tall and ready to go to heaven in April 2005

Original Benjamina April 2005.JPG

Reflecting on the intended torture and having a coffee.....

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Note the delicate haircut for the roots AND the close proximity to the BBQ. The threat of turning it on obviously made the plant behave

April 2005 No25.JPG

The plant was the potted on and NO MORE SURGERY performed in April 2005

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After nearly a year the top had been progressively cut back as per the above method

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