Ficus racemosa, opinions wanted

[Hornet]

i have 4 Ficus racemosa, 2 i know where i'm going with them, the other 2 i'm not so sure. Will add some pics and see what you guys recomend.

Number 1

This one i have a general idea on where its going just not sure what to cut and where to cut. Most of the original trunk had died before i got it so a cut back to the first like branch, at the end of that branch there is a cluster of smaller branhces coming out, not sure weather to cut most of them and leave 1 as the leader or cut back a bit shorter and start a new leader.

Sorry for the poor pics, number 2 will be up after we pick up dinner.

John

[Hornet]

here is number 2, not sure where to cut this, weather i should take remove the first branch or leave it and use it as part of the trunk

[siddhar]

The last pic will give you the best result my . I think you should wire up the remaining branch as the new leader. Feed like hell and cut back until you get some back-budding on the lower half.

[Hornet]

so cut backto the first branch, cut the first branch back and then wire that "stump" so its more in line with the trunk?

[Jamie]

tree 2-

cut the main trunk off, use the right hand branch as the new leader then let it grow. would be interested to see the root systems as I have been playing around with the how to create dynamic figs quickly technique on some thicker cuttings that have already struck, once they had a decent amount of solid roots, I cut back hard, split the trunk in quarters then buried it again, seehow it goes in a few weeks wether it has worked or not. oh I did wedge it out so fingers crossed but I know they will survuve

jamie

[siddhar]

tree 2-

cut the main trunk off, use the right hand branch as the new leader then let it grow. would be interested to see the root systems as I have been playing around with the how to create dynamic figs quickly technique on some thicker cuttings that have already struck, once they had a decent amount of solid roots, I cut back hard, split the trunk in quarters then buried it again, seehow it goes in a few weeks wether it has worked or not. oh I did wedge it out so fingers crossed but I know they will survuve

jamie

Ha ha ha ha! Its funny how differing the opinions are! That is actually the beauty of having eyes! Jamie, I actually take back what Ive said, and agree with you. That is the right direction for this tree

[Hornet]

Would you just let that branch grow freely jamie or cut back and grow a new leader? These ones havent been split, just a branch into the ground (rooted cuttings when i got them) but i could split in the future with some of them

[Ash]

In my opinion Ficus racemosa bonsai would need to be BIG. So I would leave all the solar-panels/trunk-feeders/leaves (whatever you like to call them) and grow these like mad, big pots, lots of feed, for a whole year or more then prune them back to the lowest position available.
What size tree were you aiming for?
cheers
Ash

[Hornet]

I;m really not sure on the final size, just wanted to cut not to get some taper going early. Do the leaves not reduce well?

[Ash]

In my experience the leaves don't reduce a lot - similar reduction to Ficus virens with smallest leaves about 5 cm long and most about 10 cm, so that is why I reckon plan for a big tree.
Have fun
Ash

[Jamie]

hi mate

thank you

first of there are a number of factors, whether you want to grow a large tree or a medium to small tree the techniques are the same just in larger porpotions.

its hard to see but the main trunk (original one from the cutting, not the side branch) if that has a lot of leaves on it then it can be used to thicken the main trunk, but you wil have a larger scar to heal over. if you go down the path of splitting the trunk etc. (dynamic fig technique) then cutting back to the new leader like I said would be fine as you will get a lot of shooting around the area in which you can grow sacrifices from, the thing with sacrifices is everyone seems to think one big one is the way to go, me I personally like to have several sacrifices that would have the same effect as a larger sacrifice but the positive is smaller scars to heal

as for leaf reduction it will happen, it will just take time, if leaf size is a concern get yourself a tigerbark fig (ficus retusa var.) and graft in the branches once you have built your trunk.

so grow the trunk to the size you want first, a tree with a 10-15cm base with a height of 30-40cm then a 1-3cm leaf will look in porpotion to the size of the tree. a tiger bark figs leaves reduce really well, I had one down to around 5mm at one stage (sold that tree, it was gonna be a corker too).

I think if you do go with the split you will get nice taper, good movement, and the sacrifices you grow can give more interest. there is an article I want to write about the use of sacrifices to add interest to trunks which I will do as soon as I can, hopefully tonight.
anyways, get that trunk grown, when you wire the movement into the thinner branches early really exagerate them for the trunk as they will smooth out over time as it thickens. when it comes to taper trunk chopping needs to be done at the right time, there is no point chopping to a branch that is 2mm thick as you will have to wait years for it to grow. let the branch grow until it is around half the size you want then cut to it. repeat the process over time and you will have a good tree with good taper, once thee taper is smooth it will still thicken at the base and through the tachiagari (transfer from nebari to trunk) and if the nebari is good and even around the trunk these roots will also help pull out the tachiagari and increase taper. so get a good nebari going is a key

I like tree two for this technique as it has a decent little start. there is always a way around things and touse different techniques is a good way of learning how to work with trees.

anything I can help with feel free to ask. I am busy but will get to things asap. I also had a request on how to build apexes in trees which I am working on so maybe I can add this and some other stuff into the article to make it quite comprhensive. i have always wanted to write a book about my experiences with bonsai, maybe this is the start

jamie