AusBonsai

Hi everyone,
I collected this small fig from a sandstone wall in Rushcutters Bay in Sydney about 18 years ago and have never had the variety confirmed. To me it looks like a Port Jackson, but unlike my other PJ's this one all but refuses to shoot back along the branch closer to the trunk. I have continually pinched out the new shoots for years and years, but rarely will it co operate. I quite like the fine almost twiggy look to the branches, but it almost always looks like this. If I just let it do its own thing, it only grows from the ends of the branches and they just get longer and longer. I've also tried it in full sun, full feed, etc etc but to no avail. I know people are probably going to suggest a much more serious pruning, but these branches really do look quite nice...... I just want more dense pads and coverage. Any clues and advice will be appreciated. btw.... i'm aware the nebari is very lop sided. I have been thinking of layering the tree and creating a whole new radial root system, but every time I look at the base of this tree I'm reminded of how I found it all those years ago, growing almost 90 degrees anti clockwise to it's current position, and a single root almost 30 feet long in the brickwork.

I am not sure about the species since you don't show a close up of a fully grown leaf.
As to getting back-budding you will need to allow the tree to grow out very strongly and then defoliate and de-bud all visible buds.
This should give you back-budding.
Good luck with it.
Jerry

hi
looks like a pj fig from the photo
sometimes figs are just happy sitting there and not doing much
i would put it in a large grow on pot and feed and feed
and as jerry suggested let the tree grow out strongly
platinum

As Jerry has said, very hard to tell without a full adult leaf.

how long have you been defoliating this tree and when you started did this thing have monstrous leaves? like 15cm plus?

only reason I ask is because it could be moreton bay. fig ID is so hard due to the astonishing amount of varieties and then there is cross breeding and grafting ( i know this aint grafted). cross geneteics etc. it can be a nightmare.

it could also be an obliqua or eugonoides.

Jerry has given you some good advice. you do have to let it grow out and when you defoliate get rid of every little bid. if there is a bud at the end of a branch that is ready to go but hasnt been removed you will get little to no back badduing at all. cutting back hard is a good way to go but do it on a strong tree.

jamie.

Looks like Port Jackson to me
I have several and they small leaves look just like yours and the bark is the same too

Ken

Thanks everyone.
good advice on the grow out.... I think I might even do a full restyle and see what happens.
I know it's definitely not a Moreton Bay.... Full grown leaf size has never been over 3-4 inches. I stopped growing Moreton Bays years ago. Got too frustrated with random branches dying back for no apparent reason. The Port Jacksons are very nice to grow as a rule.
I have another ID issue to test out while we're here if you don't mind. I have had 2 trees growing at my front gate for over 15 years which were 3-4 foot high topiary balls on sticks that my wife persevered with for a few years until they just got too big for her to maintain in the ball shape. So I guess for the past 10 years they have grown freely and are now just about hitting our power lines.
They're coming tomorrow to give them a prune actually.... anyway they looked to me to be "benjamina" without any second guessing as that was the most common var. used in nurseries doing the topiary thing back then. However now they have grown freely, the leaf shape no longer has the benji look to it??? They are quite flat, and slightly longer than normal. The trunk and surface roots are very pale. Anyway here are some pics.... what do you think?

that aint benji champ


once again either pj, obliqua or eugonoides

Cant help you with the first tree, as said would need to see mature full sized leaves. The 2nd lot of figs how ever are Ficus microcarpa var hillii "Hills Fig"

Yes Hornet is spot on with the second ID

Tony

big pot with good drainage and full sun and lots of food--and let it rejuvenate for two seasons

Well there you go.... thx Hornet for the ID, and all others for their input.
Do you think it's a bit late in the season to take cuttings from this variety? And does anyone have tips on their favoured cutting medium... I've just got some Searles propagating mix today. Would this be suitable?

Thats ficus eugeniodies ( is that how you spell it ) Queensland small leaf fig. I have several myself. its a softer leaf so you can tell the difference between P J. and this variety.

Brian wrote:Thats ficus eugeniodies ( is that how you spell it ) Queensland small leaf fig. I have several myself. its a softer leaf so you can tell the difference between P J. and this variety.

Thanks for that ID Brian.... I've not had any interaction with any bonsai people since leaving Sydney 14yrs ago. I live outside any big cities nowadays, and therefore don't have any good clubs to join, so discovering the ausbonsai forum recently is the next best thing. Truly wonderful people like yourself offering up great advice, and more. Very much appreciated.
Just back to my previous question re the Microcarpa var...... am I good to take cuttings from figs now that it's almost the end of Spring? I live in the Northern RIvers in NSW... (sub tropical climate) Haven't done much in the way of cuttings or layering in the past, but stock is getting so expensive these days.... I'm crazy not to start some home propagating. To date I've only really ever done a tray of Sargent Juniper cuttings which all took, but I hear they aren't difficult to strike. I've got some great plans for figs in the future so it would be great if I didn't have to wait to start.

You are better off to collect figs from nature if you can find them, or grow them from seed. Making cuttings is easy, but you don't generally get the big buttresses at the base compared to trees grown from seed or field collected specimens.
Then again you can platt together a few cutting and they will grow together forming a thick trunk over time.

I dont think thats F. eugeniodies, looks quite different to mine. Its possibly obliqua or rubiginosa but an accurate id will be impossibly without mature foliage and mature fruits