Shaping and potting Ficus retusa

[Levuccio]

Hey everyone

Today I decided to put my Ficus retusa in a new bonsai pot and shape it a bit. Here are some pictures

Thats how the tree looked like before








Then I thought it might look a bit boring if I left it in a upright position, so I decided to tip it to one side instead





And after taking most of the branches off and wiring, this is how it looks now



And from the back



Any comments, suggestions and critique are welcome

Regards

Aleksej

[Bougy Fan]

I would wire the branches down - that will give it a more aged look. The idea being that they are heavy with weight from being so old. I do like the angle - it looks better than bolt upright. It's hard to tell from the pics but make sure you have a branch or 2 at the back to give depth.


Tony

[Loretta]

Hi Levuccio

I like the tree on the angle but tell me, how much root did you cut from the upper side. When ever I slant a tree this way I finish up with a hump from the upper root ball. Did you remove every thing so this didn't happen or did you wire them down??
cheers Loretta

[Jamie]

hi mate,

I like the angle, good thinking, as tony said wire some of the branching down, especially the first branches on the left hand side of the front, bring them down to a near horizontal level, then look at creating either a full crown like a broom, or develop some padded branching, i would go with a full crown though

Jamie

[Levuccio]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I lowered the 2 left branches so they are sitting much lower now, might take a picture later and stick it on.

Loretta, I removed 1 thick root from the top because I didn't like it, all the rest I left intact so its just hiding underground.

Yeah I wanna grow a crown, I think that would look wicked, but I not exactly sure how to do it, since Im quite new to this art.
Do you guys have any suggestions?

[Jamie]

hi mate

what you want to do is let it recover and grow solid for the next 6-8 (maybe 10) weeks depending on how strong the tree is and how much foliage it puts on and when it hardens off, then you want to chop back hard, to 2-4 leaves, then let it grow out again and repeat the process over and over, this will build ramfication and the crown you are after

Can't-Remember-Where-the-Damn-Treasure's-Buried Bailey

[Mitchell]

Nice thickness of the branches for wiring. You just about got it spot on, still some flex to them. I'm wiring some out now, any thicker they get a bit snappy, that size though you should be able to get some nice little curves going in them.

Great tree also, love the tapering trunk and your chosen angle. Do these aerial root? Would look sweet, with some hanging down into the pot.

Keep us updated!

[Jamie]

Do these aerial root?

sure do mate