I've found that wrapping the bundle of whips together with grafting tape helps to encourage them to fuse. Seems to get them flaring sideways and better aligned with their neighbours. Saying that, I haven't used such a flat angle cone and I wonder if the tape would actually grip and not just slide up the cone?
Another thing I've been playing with is to tie/wire the branches out pretty much horizontal from the joining point at the top of the trunk. Helps to even out the growth of the whips. I found that if left to compete in a bunch of leaves at the top you can end up with a lot of non-uniform growth. Not an issue if you have heaps of whips overlapping each other, but in your case even growth will help to fill the gaps between whips a bit sooner I would think.
Ficus Fusion Project
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- Aussie Bonsai Fan
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Re: Ficus Fusion Project
Steve B wrote:I've found that wrapping the bundle of whips together with grafting tape helps to encourage them to fuse. Seems to get them flaring sideways and better aligned with their neighbours. Saying that, I haven't used such a flat angle cone and I wonder if the tape would actually grip and not just slide up the cone?
Another thing I've been playing with is to tie/wire the branches out pretty much horizontal from the joining point at the top of the trunk. Helps to even out the growth of the whips. I found that if left to compete in a bunch of leaves at the top you can end up with a lot of non-uniform growth. Not an issue if you have heaps of whips overlapping each other, but in your case even growth will help to fill the gaps between whips a bit sooner I would think.
Thanks! I would wrap but there are a couple of lower branches that I would like to keep around, so that's why I'm choosing not to wrap and cover them. I think they'll help the trunks fuse faster:
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Ryan - 20 Year Old Ficus Lover from the U.S.A.