Ficus Burtt-Davy grouping.

[lennard]

This is my first attempt at a group planting.

I have used three Ficus Burtt-Davey "Nana" trees. The trees came from a bonsai nursery in plastic plant pots that a bought a few months ago.

The leaves reduce very well.

I havent done anything else but planting.

I would like comments on my grouping of the trees including the slanting.

Any other comments and advice welcome.

Lennard

[stymie]

Hi Lennard.
If some root reduction took place when you planted the trees together, it may be sensible to take off a similar percentage of the top growth to balance supply and demand. This will benefit the trees and give you an opportunity to do a little initial styling too. =Don.

[lennard]

For a Ficys there were not many roots in the first place so i did not cut any roots.

Is the tree on the right hand side slanting too much or would it be boring to bring it up on the same angle as the other two.

What do you think?

Lennard

[stymie]

Its difficult to say, a tree in that position could well have grow well away from the others in search of light. The trio is beginning to take on an overal triangular shape which should be encouraged. What say the other guys?

[EdwardH]

I like the grouping. If you plan to make the central tree dominant and therefore the largest in the group then the strong slant can be quite natural, showing either a tree on the edge of a group that was knocked over in a storm but has survived or simply a tree that had to grow sideways to reach the light. It is a good start and I look forward to seeing some pics in the future to see its progression.

[lennard]

Very, very slow progression:

Mei 2013 a verk.jpg

mei 2013 b verk.jpg

From the last time I have posted I almost broke up the planting because growth was very slow! The last growing season the trees grew a little bit faster.

I have only pinched back growth on a regular basis and did not do any further styling. It seems that the trees are settling now and I can do some styling next summer.

The stones are temporarily there to keep up the two smaller trunks.

In general I have found this species not a good candidate for bigger bonsai. The variety is actually a rambler and massive trunks are not found in nature. I also do believe that I am keeping this variety too wet because in nature they grow on dryer mountains/cliffs, rooting where ever rambler touches ground.

The best bonsai of these I have seen is less than 15cm tall.

Anyone experiencing this?

Comments or advice on my grouping will be welcomed.

Lennard