Ficus-sp- Where to go from here.

[amazonida]

Hello!
Can you pls tell me where to go from here? do i need to defoliate? put in 45º??
In Australia, how often do you defoliate Ficus?
Thanks!!

[Dumper]

hi there. maybe not defoliate yet. starts to choose your branches and cut off whatever that is not required. get the shape right first and let the branches thicken up. then defoliate.

im no expert in ficus. but i guess that is what i will do if i have that..

i dont think it is a tiger bark. cause the bark is abit too dark. but i might be wrong.

john

[craigw60]

Hi Amazonida, your ficus in very impressive, what a beautiful trunk. You need to spend many hours wiring it, your tree needs lots and lots of wire, you need to spread all the branches and pretty quickly. It looks like the wood is starting to set. I guess your climate is warm all year round, if so you could defoliate it to make the wiring easier.
Craig

[Glenda]

I love the trunk, and the bark does look like a microcarpa of some description. My tiger bark is even darker than this.

To me, the branches look too long and need a good haircut, and maybe too many. I am no expert, but feel most of what you keep need to be lowered so they radiate out instead of sticking straight up? Defoliating will help you see the structure of the branching. JMHO If you have a climate similar to mine you could defoliate now. I am still defoliating figs now and getting good growth, even though our temperatures are dropping, we are still getting a temperature range of 10-23 degrees.

[Glenda]

Hi Amazonida,

Been looking at that trunk again. Could it be a Ficus microcarpa retusa?

Glenda

[amazonida]

Undestood both: John and Mr Craigw...
Well, i think i'll do that tomorow. i really need to chosse the braches but, the thing is: 'just take a look at the structure below.
then add some branches... i don't know the style for instance...advices...

[Glenda]

With that fabulous trunk you have, I envision something like this:

Ficus-Benghalensis.jpg

Glenda

[amazonida]

i like it!
Glenda, give ideas on that one below.

[Glenda]

Wow - that one is impressive too. Maybe something along similar lines?

There was a thread on here about cleaning your trees with soapy water and a very soft toothbrush. I think that would do this tree some good to refine the trunk.

Glenda

[Jamie]

hi amazonida,

tiger bark is a form of F. microcarpa. as for your tree if it is still hot enough and you arent going to get any cold spurts defoliation to wire is the best way to go, it will allow you to see what is there and make wiringing that touch easier, your best bet with a trunk like this is to go with a spreading banyan style so you will have to get those branches bent out and spreading, you might have a little trouble getting them to go down to a horizontal on the outside and you may need to regrow and wire at a younger stage, take your time let things grow out and you will have a nice tree in a couple of seasons!

J.

[Amanda]

Oh my what a marvellous, wide trunk. I agree with Glendas idea to aim for a banyan look. Look forward to seeing results after you've wired

[amazonida]

Jamie,
In Brazil where i live, it hot every year long... so, i can defoliate 3 times a year.. i think, but never tryied out before...
About the ID , i really don't know, because i have very similar ones! So the final answer is F. Microcarpa anyway?
Glenda, i'm doing my best to clean it! it's a pacience job, like Japanese's! i use copper solution, have you heard about it?
Anja,Thanks, i'll keep you posted!
hope you're having fun! because i'm really enjoing!

[craigw60]

Hi Amazonda, just use soap to clean your trees same as you would use to wash the dishes only a very weak solution with warm water. the bark of figs can take on a really beautiful silver tone when they have been cleaned.

If you can defoliate all year round you should the ramification you could achieve would be fantastic.
Craig

[Jamie]

hi amoazonida,

as for the variation there are over 900 known spp of ficus, and countless numbers of variations, the looks of your leaf looks like it will reduce well and you have tight internodes, which is good.

as for defoliating at any time of the year yes it can be done, but thought should be put in first as there is always a better time to do it and a not so good time.

i live in a sub tropical area aswell and could defoliate many times through the year, i try and get a few in from early spring (sometimes very early) through to just into autumn, as here it is still very warm and i can get away with it. the reason i try and give it a rest through the slightly cooler period (which is still around 20-28 ish degrees celcius) is that they need to be able to recuperate aswell and if defoliation is done in the cooler, shorter days internode length can be longer and leaf size bigger.

now if you are in the spring/summer months or it is still going to be warm enough with longer days then go for it, defoliate and wire out the tree. then build from there, constantly trying to improve the tree every time you wire and defoliate, always allow the trees leaves to harden off and recuperate and grow strongly for a bit with enough time to get at least two good feeds in every 5 days before you defoliate again, theres no point defoliating if there isnt enough branching to work with

good luck, keep us posted and i look forward to seeing what ya do

jamie

[Glenda]

Jamie,
In Brazil where i live, it hot every year long... so, i can defoliate 3 times a year.. i think, but never tryied out before...
About the ID , i really don't know, because i have very similar ones! So the final answer is F. Microcarpa anyway?
Glenda, i'm doing my best to clean it! it's a pacience job, like Japanese's! i use copper solution, have you heard about it?
Anja,Thanks, i'll keep you posted!
hope you're having fun! because i'm really enjoing!

Hi Amozonida

This Copper solution - as iis it copper sulphate? A clear, blue solution?

Glenda