Thread Graft ready

[Taffy]

Following on from Grant Bowie's topic 'Thread Grafting Black Pine'

here

Here is a Thread Graft on a Ficus Retusa ready for severing. I applied the graft sometime earlier this year and promptly forgot about it. As per Grant's sketch of the thickened branch at the exit point. This one shows it in real life.

EC7Dec101d.jpg

In the first photo, the red arrow points to the donor branch, the blue to the entry point and the green to the exit point which as you can see is considerably thicker than the entry point. Once I've severed it, I can then go about sorting that left lower branch out.

There is actually a second Thread Graft on the right lower branch as well. That one comes from a donor branch on the left lower branch - which you can see in the second photo (red arrows right Thread Graft, blue arrows Left one).

EC7Dec101g.jpg

I was working on the tree today to start bringing some of the branches down and eventually reducing the top as well. I needed that right lower branch to be brought down considerably as it was growing upwards almost parallel with the one above it. It was way too thick to bring down with wire so I used a different technique. More about that shortly. When I got it down where I wanted it to be, I realized that the right side Thread Graft is now redundant - I don't really need it. No matter, I'll leave it there for now and decide later what I want to do with it. That one hasn't thickened up yet at the exit point.

Ok, now to that other technique I used to bring that right branch down where I wanted it. The branch is too thick to bend with wire - it's about 1inch thick in the middle. Wire would cut in to the bark in no time. Rather than cut a wedge out of the underside of the branch, what I did was to drill a 3/8 inch hole about 3/4 of the way through the branch from underneath where I wanted the bend (green arrow 2nd photo). I did it in stages, measuring as I went to ensure I didn't go all the way through. I used high tensile fence wire to make the tourniquet anchored to a heavy root. The root and the branch is protected by some plastic tubing. I wound the tourniquet up until the hole closed up leaving just a thin line instead of a round hole. I reckon this is a better way of doing it as opposed to a wedge and there is less of a scar left to heal over. If I'd done a wedge, I would have had to cut about 3/4 of the way through the branch which is very invasive - it doesn't leave much bark, phloem or cambium for the branch to utilize and there is also the risk of it snapping as it is pulled down to close the gap. This method also leaves the sides of the branch intact - a wedge cut removes them. This way should also take less time to heal over and set the branch in place as it is a lot smaller than a wedge cut.

Over the time I've been frequenting Bonsai Forums, I've seen quite a few people bucketing Ficus Retusa saying it's a crappy tree to work with and the roots grow too thick etc. I don't know why, because I find it an excellent Fig to work with. The leaves are compact with very short internodes and they reduce well in size. It is a strong grower and is just about bullet-proof. The roots can get a bit out of control, but if they are too thick then they can be split into two. Also, as you can see in the second photo, if a branch is removed from the trunk it callouses over exceptionally well. They are very quick to set Air-layers - and cuttings are very easy to strike as well. I've taken many Air-layers off this one. The left branch was layered off, the centre strong and very straight trunk was layered off in two sections, that callous on the front of the trunk was a branch layered off, and there is another wound that is currently callousing over on the back of the tree where an Air-layer was removed.
I'd certainly take a Retusa over something like a Benjamina any day of the week.

[Tony Bebb]

Good work Tman

Much better technique than a wedge. All you said about the healing is very true. Much less visible damage to the branch and way quiker to heel.

I too would take a Retusa over a Benjamina any day.

Considered reducing the height

Tony

[Taffy]

Thanks Tony and: Doh! Yes, I do intend reducing the height - it's way too tall at the moment. I meant to put that in with the rest of it but forgot about it

[Steven]

Great post Taffy, thanks!
Looks like a nice root spread there too.

Regards,
Steven

[Taffy]

Thanks Steven. Yes, the root spread is pretty good.

This one actually started life as an air-layer yamadori back in about 2000. Where we lived in Penrith NSW, the council had planted a number of trees on a vacant bit of land directly opposite our house a couple of years previously. I hadn't really taken any notice of them until one day I was walking the dog. I saw this fig, but at the time didn't know what species it was because the leaves looked like QLD Small Leaf in shape and growth characteristics. I'd loved to have taken the whole tree, but thought better of it. Instead, I put an air-layer on the top section which was about 1 inch thick. If any one had asked what I was doing, I would have explained that I was 'doing some pruning techniques to encourage the tree to spread instead of growing straight up'

Anyway, when the layer was ready, I severed it and put it into a black plastic pot. Sometime around 2002, I noticed the leaves were changing from the flat oval with long internodes, to a more upright leaf. After some researching, I realized it was a Ficus Retusa, so the other leaves must have been juvenile or something. It has never put out those oval flat leaves since. Even the air-layers I've taken from it since have all had the characteristic Retusa leaves.

I didn't do much with it in those early years, just pushed it to the back of the pile and just kept watering it. It wasn't till we moved up here to QLD that I had a serious look at it and then decided it was worth working on. Once I started working on it - repotting, pruning etc, it really started to take off. Now that it has started to take some sort of shape, I'm more determined to make something decent out of it. It will take a few more years yet, but I reckon it has the makings of a pretty good Bonsai.