[ID] Strangler Fig? + Advice....where do you start!

[Duckbed]

Hi Everyone, I found this tree on Gumtree while browsing around and decided it would be better off in my possession. I didn't actually realise the size of this tree until it turned up at my house yesterday. (A friend of mine picked it up for me from down south and I'm surprised he still is after having to lift this thing ) Any way after finding somewhere to put it I took these photos. I'm looking for an ID and some advice on where or even if I should start trying to Bonsai this thing! The top branches have already been trimmed away so it could be transported but I made sure that the aerial roots were undisturbed. It's in a half Barrel atm so I'm thinking getting this into a training pot or box big enough to handle the Aerial roots would be the first step.... All advice welcome..

[Duckbed]

Close up of the leaf..looks like any other Ficus to me.

[MattA]

Close up of the leaf..looks like any other Ficus to me.

That makes 2 of us Still great start material for a big tree.

[Duckbed]

That makes 2 of us Still great start material for a big tree.[/quote]

I keep walking past it today looking at it and trying to work out where I'm going to start.... I think I'm going to try and tie down some of the larger branches and pull the Aerial roots closer to the trunk. Hopefully with the re-pot I'll be able to get them relocated to open up the trunk some more.

Cheers

[Hackimoto]

Just reading between the lines in the previous posts, there seems to be an idea that the term "Strangler Fig" is a species of fig. It isn't! It is a mode of growth. Any fig capable of producing aerial roots is capable of growing as a strangler. Just as "Banyan" is a mode of growth, many species have the ability to grow as a banyan.

[chrisatrocky]

Hackimoto is right strangler fig is only a growth habit of a variety of figs. This 1 looks like a F. microcarpa ? but without fruit it is a bit hard to say for sure.

chris

[Duckbed]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I have fallen victim to misconception. Time do do some more research and build a box to move it to...