ficus standard to ficus sumo

[Jamie]

@ the zohan



shannon, you got me crappin myself for a minute there, its not exotica, i google searched it, the leaf doesnt wave like exotica or anything like that.

Elias hit the id, steve was on the ball too, its ficus hillii spearmint.... phew....

i am starting to like the leaf on it though, it is growing on me with the way it is..

cheers guys

any tips on where to go from here???

jamie

[NathanM]

Nice work dude!! I was having a look in the garden section of Bunnings today (not so much the bonsai section though) and found a fair few decent trees which I would perform ant chops on =P
I say just let it grow for a while. After it pushes some growth, definately give the roots a trim, but just let the shoots go for a bit to choose the right leader and stuff =)
Start of a nice sumo though my friend!!

[Jamie]

thats the plan pal i am hoping it gets some shoots down low so i can get some sacrifice branches near the base to really get the trunk swelling out, i havent even got a design for it, i cant really go for anything till i get a choice for leaders and that, i think it should push new growth pretty quickly.

roots will come later. i still think they will be a nightmare so i am avoiding it...
so did ya get these trees for the antonio chop???


jamie

[NathanM]

Haha nah, didn't pick up any new ones today =P Don't wanna upset the Boss too much with the Shimps coming soon =P

[Jamie]

Haha nah, didn't pick up any new ones today =P Don't wanna upset the Boss too much with the Shimps coming soon =P

i got 6 today aswell as the ones coming this wekk...lol my place is starting to loo like a nursery

jamie

[Jamie]

ok i have the day off today, so i decided to have a look at the root mass on this one, and just as i thought it is an absolute nightmare, there is only one option for something like this and it is drastic.

step 1 will be to cut the mass down to one third of its size.

step 2 will be to cut off all those massive thick ugly roots that will cause dramas for when it is to go in a pot.

i think i am going to wait to get some strong growth on top before i do any work to the roots unless someone can tell me any reason not to wait?

heres a couple of pics to show ya what i am dealing with

rootmass nightmare.jpg

rootmass nightmare side 2.jpg

cheers

jamie

[daiviet_nguyen]

Hi,

I am with Ken on the "front" thing as well. I think the surface roots on the second one look much better than the first.

What have you done with the root ball? I am guessing you have cut quite a bit off?

Best regards.

[Jamie]

hey daviet

i havent touched the root ball yet, i am being wary with it, i think the 2 steps i stated above would be the way to do it though, i just want to see some strong new growth before i even touch it, and have it put energy into growing new roots aswell as new shoots and branches etc.

do you have any ideas on how to go about this mess mate???


jamie

[aaron_tas]

do you have any ideas on how to go about this mess

when the time is right for you...

i'd bang it agianst a rock. HARD, and not just once

when the rootball is loose, i'd cut all the long roots nearly back to nebari leaving as much feeder as possible.

incubate, enjoy.

[Jamie]

i'd bang it agianst a rock. HARD, and not just once

lol, i dont know if i have a rock big enough, it might work if i cut the rootball right down to a third of what it is now

cheers

jamie

[anttal63]

they're figs, you live up north what ya waitn for givem heaps mate!

[Jamie]

they're figs, you live up north what ya waitn for givem heaps mate!

yea alright, what can i lose? it will pump back, i havent killed a fig yet no matter how hard i have been with them so why not
when i get the soil i will do it


jamie

[daiviet_nguyen]

Hi Jamie,

I forgot to ask, but I am assuming this is a Port Jackson Fig?

If it were mine and if I have not cut off any roots yet, then I
would just leave it till next year. Down here, we get about another
5 months of growth, slow down markedly in April though.

And after you get some shoots, start to feed it as much as it can
take.

Next summer, I would put onto a larger shallower pot, of the big
roots, I will spread them out as flat as possible, possibly cut off
some, to the length you want, at the time of transplanting.

And then when it regains strength, and the cut ones have sent off new
roots, I will cut off the others -- progressively.

I have a very healthly (PJF) one, which I have repotted in around late
October, I cut off some big roots, cover it with soil, lay some pieces
of old flat timbers on top, it sends out roots like crazy under the
timers.

Have fun -- I have marked this one. I would like to see it pays off for
you

Cheers.

[Jamie]

thanks daviet

appreciate the info, i will give it a crack, up here i get all year growth so i should be able to get away with doing it asap

cheers

jamie

[Jamie]

hey guys.


i decided to try my hand at grafting today and have done it on this stump i chopped back for a sumo as i wasnt so sure about the variegated leaves, so if it takes i will have to graft all the branching and that on as it is a standard benji cutting i have used, that is fine as i can then controll where all the branches and every thing goes.

now my question is, now the graft is in in needs time to knit in to the trunk and then start growing, so how do i go about caring for this,, should it be left in full sun? part sun? full shade? i have no idea?

this is my first attempt at grafting and think i have done quite a neat little job, if this is succesfull i think i might be doing a lot more

so any help with the grafting question will be verymuch appreciated???

heres a pic

Sumo graft.jpg

cheers jamie