ficus benji-progression

[dayne]

yeah their funny things benjis a mate justdefoliated ine spring last year for the sunshine coast show he has done the same thing yearly for five yrs on his benji and its only shot back 1/3 of the leaves and still no more theor really unpredictable love you for years than just pack it in weird things i had one do the same so now i only do qld sml leaf and a few others should be good when carvings finished

[Jamie]

yeah that is odd dayne 5 years doing the same thing then it only come back with a third of the buds it had.
this one needed something done to it, it had been left the same for years with me not knowing what to do with it then finally got an idea and its come to this so far, it has thrived the whole time i have had it, and it survived my first years of bonsai, so it seems to be happy

will probably get the carve done tomorrow will put up pics when its done


jamie

[Jamie]

I also wanted to say it would look great in a shallow oval pot...

i have been on the look out for a pot for this one, even scouring the net and ebay, there are a few i like but most arent shallow enough, but i am not sure how shallow i would want to go? there is a 37cm L x 24cm W x 4cm D, i think this would be a good size, the nebari spreads about 15-20cm around, which wouldnt leave much room in width?

any ideas guys?? glazed, unglazed? i am thinking dark brown, matt unglazed.


jamie

[Jamie]

i did a virt to see what the oval pot would look like, i think its good, but am worried about the depth and the width. i also added in an extra branch is i think it needs it on the left hand side as it had to much negative space i think

my benji virt.jpg

my benji virt added branch.jpg

jamie

[buddaboy]

Jamie, You might look at landscape trays as well, I got a couple last year and the smaller one is about 40 X 20 X 2.5(with drain holes) I have used the bigger one I had for a fig, and it gives the roots plenty of room to go horizontally. Smooth side dark brown unglazed.

Cimg0376.jpg

[Jamie]

Gday BB,

i had thought about that aswell, i i can find one with the right wall shape im not phased whether its a landscape tray or a standard sort of pot.

nice tree by the way mate when are ya gonna defoliate and wire

jamie

[buddaboy]

I cut down to the stump and got twenty cuttings off of it on the 20/12/09. Didnt want to post naked pic.

Cimg0384.jpg

[Jamie]

no problems there mate! it will be popping well in the coming months! it is a very soild stump and is going to make a big tree i can see a nice wide speading canopy and lots of airial roots dropping down banyan style BB!!


jamie

[Rod]

Jamie this tree will look great in that style of pot , it will compliment not conflict with the tree. Mate have you knocked the branches on the top right they look out of shape compared to the others . I think this tree will look good with or without the bottom branch. CHEERS ROD ....

[Jamie]

thanks rod, you confirmed my thoughts on the pot colour and no glaze, and yes i think i have knocked the branches now that you mention it, they dont look like they were when i wired them, i will go and put them back in place now so the set properly

its opened up a lot more leaves today aswell, they are all a pinkish red coulour, i just wish they would stay that colour for longer to let me get a shot of the tree with that coloured leaf, i have never seen it before on a benji ?

jamie

[Rod]

Jamie I get that colouring on some of my benji`s, and I get great colour on my baby bens . Cheers rod.....

[Jamie]

Jamie I get that colouring on some of my benji`s, and I get great colour on my baby bens . Cheers rod.....

ahh cool, and here i was thinking i had a special tree

i know where a rather large baby ben is, i dont think i would be able to get it though, its in a big half barrel pot out the front of a GP office.


jamie

[MattA]

i know where a rather large baby ben is, i dont think i would be able to get it though, its in a big half barrel pot out the front of a GP office.
jamie

Jamie i spyed a large buxus in someones yard & commented on wanting it. 9mths later i got a ph call to come & dig it out, they were going to poison it! Put it out to the universe and ya may just get that baby

[Jamie]

cheers mate, i might just do that, if i got it it would be getting traded i would think, it has a masive base with lots of taper but it is way to big for me, im a shohin man even though it is under 2 foot and thats only because a leader got fat, the tapered base is bout 14 inchs across and the taper goes to about 11 inches high, then the leader.


i could always do a balaclava job

jamie

[Jamie]

just a little update although i dont have a pic, which i will get tomorrow when the pot arrives hopefully and it gets repotted, i have gotten that exact pot that the virt shows, and on another note to bust a myth about benjis not being able to be fully defoliated and needs a leaf left on the end of each branch, this has come back and is growing very strongly


jamie