My biggest Ficus

[The Ficus Guy]

I am not telling you not to do your virt...i am ust explaining to you how to create taper and movement...so you dont chop those nice big branches.

I know how to get taper and movement, I've been in this hobby for quite a while now.

[k2bonsai]

For my 2 cents worth, those trees with the very thick branches just look plain wrong to me.... I find no beauty in them as all i keep seeing are these large huge branches poking out everywhere. Show me a tree in nature where the branches are like this?

As the old and now famous saying goes: The aim is to make your bonsay look like a tree, not your tree look like a bonsai....

But beauty is in the eye of the beholder as I can attest to this as the crop of world class junipers that are always on display by the top Japanese artists just don't cut it for me.... I guess that is why i am more drawn to trees like ficus, maples, oaks etc.... Diversity is a fantastic thing about bonsai!

[kcpoole]

Nice Virt FG
II prefer more upright styled ficus myself rather than the Banyan style trees.

In South east asia, they may tend to grow like that, but not around here. They are more of a Broom style which is what I prefer.
This tree that I have is a Port Jackson ( I think) that wasa given to me as a 4 foot trunk and nothing else. Cut it fight back and it died right back to only 1 side of the base, and it has now regorwn in a large pot for 6 years or so.

The first 2 branches are similar to yours and I have cut them back hard to about 4 inches each ans now will build the branching on it. It will be a full canopy type broom style tree eventually.

Ken

[DustyRusty]

[quote="kcpoole"]
By the way, i always thought a fig in the broom style = banyan style. The only difference being a slightly wider canopy and aerial roots for the banyan. I guess you could shorten the canopy and remove the aerial roots if the Japanese Zelkova style broom is really what you wanted.

I see Banyan as just a wide flat spreading canopy and lots of Aerial roots
maybe you are correct but i do not see very many figs in the west with aerial roots, and neither in the city parks. ( hyde or the domain).

Ken

[PAUL2229]

I work in Rosebery (not far from the airport) and there are some absolutely huge figs around here, the biggest ive seen in person anyway, and all of them are broomish.... basically banyan but without the aerial roots you see in more humid areas. but they are all cared for, so maybe the aerials are cut off like you said.

ill get some pics of them on Monday so you can see the type of Fig but I think they are port Jackson. either way they are awesome trees to behold.

[Neli]

For my 2 cents worth, those trees with the very thick branches just look plain wrong to me.... I find no beauty in them as all i keep seeing are these large huge branches poking out everywhere. Show me a tree in nature where the branches are like this?

As the old and now famous saying goes: The aim is to make your bonsay look like a tree, not your tree look like a bonsai....

But beauty is in the eye of the beholder as I can attest to this as the crop of world class junipers that are always on display by the top Japanese artists just don't cut it for me.... I guess that is why i am more drawn to trees like ficus, maples, oaks etc.... Diversity is a fantastic thing about bonsai!

Have a look at the trees this guy has made so far, then you will know what to expect from him. I trust Nory to make the most fantastic bonsai from this tree. He is perfectionist. This tree has a long way to go, and by the time he is finished it will be a world class bonsai:
http://nelibonsai.wordpress.com/2013/07 ... din-part2/
http://nelibonsai.wordpress.com/2013/07 ... din-about/
He holds lots of demonstrations in Malaysia...if You like something different, from the usual people that make the circuit around, You can invite him for a demonstration. He is very good on techniques, that You have never heard about yet.

Ken love your fig!

[Jason]

For my 2 cents worth, those trees with the very thick branches just look plain wrong to me.... I find no beauty in them as all i keep seeing are these large huge branches poking out everywhere. Show me a tree in nature where the branches are like this?

As the old and now famous saying goes: The aim is to make your bonsay look like a tree, not your tree look like a bonsai....

But beauty is in the eye of the beholder as I can attest to this as the crop of world class junipers that are always on display by the top Japanese artists just don't cut it for me.... I guess that is why i am more drawn to trees like ficus, maples, oaks etc.... Diversity is a fantastic thing about bonsai!

Have a look at the trees this guy has made so far, then you will know what to expect from him. I trust Nory to make the most fantastic bonsai from this tree. He is perfectionist. This tree has a long way to go, and by the time he is finished it will be a world class bonsai:
http://nelibonsai.wordpress.com/2013/07 ... din-part2/
http://nelibonsai.wordpress.com/2013/07 ... din-about/
He holds lots of demonstrations in Malaysia...if You like something different, from the usual people that make the circuit around, You can invite him for a demonstration. He is very good on techniques, that You have never heard about yet.

Ken love your fig!

Love the first pciture in part2... "just trimming my bonsai... with my 6foot snake"
Some very nice bonsai in there though! thankyou for posting

[k2bonsai]

nice bonsai in the pics, i was never knocking him or his work, just commenting on the trees you posted as the branches just look way to thick and out of proportion. The trunk in the snake pic is great....

[Neli]

nice bonsai in the pics, i was never knocking him or his work, just commenting on the trees you posted as the branches just look way to thick and out of proportion. The trunk in the snake pic is great....

I love the work this guy does, and he is very experienced...So I trust he has a good plan. I think he will thicken the base of those branches with sacrifice branches some more to create taper.He is a good friend...and I am posting lots of things from him soon, and different techniques.
Jason glad you like the trees.

[DustyRusty]

Thanks ken.

What happened to my comment above? Looks like half got deleted and then replaced by your answer, but it says im the author? Strange.

[kcpoole]

Thanks ken.

What happened to my comment above? Looks like half got deleted and then replaced by your answer, but it says im the author? Strange.

I noticed something weird when I did that, bit as I was on the phone I could not work it out.

Ken

[DustyRusty]

haha, no worries. the dangers of multitasking...

happy figging all.

[The Ficus Guy]

Repotted this one into some nice, airy, pure pumice. The old soil was very fine and very organic:

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New soil is very airy and the tree will get its nutrients from the fert. on top:

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