ficus folly

[Rintar]

ok im at a loss weather i should order from daleys now or late on ficus
Ficus microcarpa var.hillii - Hills weeping fig
Ficus superba - Deciduous fig
Ficus obliqua - Small Leaved Fig

their all in: Forestry Tube 50mm sq x 125mm deep. Square pot shape and root trainers. The deep square forestry tubes have root trainers and open bottoms to encourage non-spiralling roots and abundant new root tips for fast establishment. Approximate height of plant 15 - 30cm high

but moving and repotting isnt the best idea this time of year in newcastle is it?? i have a littel green house i can put them in...

Do i or dont i secondly withthe green house in mind i know its very wrong season but....

IMG_0112.JPG

[mudlarkpottery]

Hi Rintar.
The way the weather is here in Newcastle, I'd wait till spring. Whether you get any or all of those species, depends on what you want from the tree. Daley's are great people to deal with, though with the tubestock you have to buy a minimum of four of each species. You could plant them together (each species) so they self-graft and you'll get a bigger tree sooner or plant them individually. I don't think you will gain anything by buying them now and having to look after them for three months than if you wait till the weather gets warm and then plant them in the ground and feed them well. Daley's usually have them in stock all the time.
Penny.

[Rintar]

Thanks penny any thoughts on the air layering

[Andrew F]

Not much you can do till it warms up abit more mate.

That is one great foundation of roots, If you decide to air layer

Heres a great example of what you could achieve from that sort of base: viewtopic.php?f=133&t=11795

[mudlarkpottery]

I'd wait till the weather warms up then make cuts in the bark above the nodes on the trunk to encourage new growth. When you have some new growth and much warmer weather, you can set up several aerial layers up the trunk making sure you have some of the new growth on each one. You could get quite a few new trees with short but thick (relatively) trunks. You can do all the layers at the same time.
Penny.

[Rintar]

thanks Penny might see if i cant grab one of the other Newcastle people to help give me a practical run through late sept early oct

[mudlarkpottery]

In the meantime, if you are a member of our club, You can get some books out of the library to read up on figs. We have two great books specifically on figs - Jerry Meislik's And Leong's. They are both popular and you may have trouble grabbing them before anyone else. There are other books which have articles in them but I can't remember which ones. Bonsai Today has an article on Willow leaf figs, again, I can't remember which one.
Penny.

[Rintar]

Thanks penny but unless I change industry i doubt ill ever be a club member i only get weekends off if I'm going away for family weddings and the like. But on that note i am half looking for work while happy to stay were i am its always good to keep looking


J

[chrisatrocky]

Rintar, the 2nd tree is interesting. I had 1 very similar in shape and size.It was given to us in 2009. I would wait til september before doing any thing. I didn't bother about air layering the top. I just cut it off and potted it up( defoliated and trimmed it back of cause) and it grew very well. Here are some pics of the bottom.
2nd August 2010

fig12.png

1st August 2011

fig14.png

chris

[Rintar]

amazing growth in 2 years that is awesome I hope I'm half as lucky as that with either tree I still think ill air layer as I want to try get a few trees out of it to give me more chance of killing them I mean having more survive my brown thumbs. I also have the neighbours tree to look at I want to try getting as many going as I can. The more I have on the run and living the more I will have to do and learn. IM sure to kill a few plants or few dozen along the way over the next 5-10 years but by that stage I want to have at least 2 decent ficus in making maybe more as well as a few other bonsai trainers.... my cousin gave me a stick in a pot PJ stick in a pot for Christmas it wasn't until April I paid it any real attention then I got looking found this sight and boom the bug bit .... just wish it had bit in October last year... My cousin has been a practising bonsai artist for about 20years now always thought they were cool but I moved a lot lived in units share houses ... this year is the 2nd in a house in a long time and im getting into my garden it was the perfect time to give me a Bonsai and now I randomly see trees and go hmmm what could I do with that....

[Rintar]

more shots of stick in a pot

[Rintar]

more photos from today