Nursery Benjamin fig styling

KyBonzai · Post by **KyBonzai** » March 9th, 2013, 6:06 pm

hey all,had my first real crack at wiring today

i bought this ficus for around $10 but unfortunately do not have any before photos
it has a pruning scar that i think might cause some reverse taper but i hollwed it out so hopefully it will roll over nicely

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Isitangus · Post by **Isitangus** » March 9th, 2013, 8:46 pm

Hi ky good crack, I would suggest some thicker wire to really be able to hold the movement in place. I know we work with what we've got though!

KyBonzai · Post by **KyBonzai** » March 9th, 2013, 8:53 pm

Hey Isitangus.... hmm do i call you Angus

i know what you mean... i actually went out to bunnings as soon as i finished wiring this tree and bought a thicker guage wire i am pretty sure i used 1mm on the tree and i bought 1.5mmso hoping that will be big enough i dont really know what to do with the second branch on the left....it's bugging me

shibui · Post by **shibui** » March 9th, 2013, 9:09 pm

Hi Khan,
Great to see you having a go. When styling a bonsai it looks best if there is a 'theme' or similar style throughout the tree. You have an upright small trunk, 2 horizontal branches and a weeping branch on an upright tree. The different directions grate on the aesthetic nerve a bit for me. I think it would be better to have all weeping branches or all horizontal rather than a mixture.
I have no doubt the pruning scar will heal over but I think it will always be thicker than the rest of the trunk. I know it is hard for a beginner to cut off lots of their tree but I think it would be best to cut above the first horizontal branch, wire the branch up as a leader and grow new branches (hopefully some that do not cross over the smaller trunk).
One of my favorite bonsai quotes from a Japanese master, Tom Yamamoto - 'You have ploblem? Cut him off. No more ploblem!'

KyBonzai · Post by **KyBonzai** » March 9th, 2013, 9:17 pm

hey shibui, i was actually thinking of doing exactly what you said haha i was looking at the photos and starting arguing with myself whether to cut there and train a new leader using that branch and i could use the top half as a cutting/air layer?.....so many thoughts

i am probably just going to see how this turns out first then most likely chop it and train the leader.
i wanted to put the two branches on the left into more weeping styles also but my wire wasnt strong enough so i will try and bend them down some more in a few weeks

thanks for the response

Isitangus · Post by **Isitangus** » March 10th, 2013, 8:46 am

No need to air layer, that would take as a cutting easily.

KyBonzai · Post by **KyBonzai** » March 10th, 2013, 6:23 pm

i figured it would being a ficus

shibui · Post by **shibui** » March 10th, 2013, 7:45 pm

All good Khan, There are many different ways to a good bonsai and everything you do along the way will be important learning so keep going with what you are doing.

KyBonzai · Post by **KyBonzai** » March 10th, 2013, 8:42 pm

thanks shibui

i removed some of the wire on the upper left hand branch and rewired it with thicker wire then bent it to a more weeping look which i think could look quite good (for my novice eyes) i am still planning to move the lowest branch down as well as the higher back branch so will get some more photos up soon

should probably get off the computer now ...school tomorrow

this site is more addictive than video games

KyBonzai · Post by **KyBonzai** » October 9th, 2016, 6:01 pm

Update!

Decided to plant this tree over a piece of driftwood ( that will probably rot away haha oh well) earlier this year

today i styled it a little, i think the branches will be to high on the tree once the roots are exposed so i might try to get some more growth there

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AusBonsai