AusBonsai

Hi everyone,this is my first post so be gentle.
I have a small ficus benjamina (about as thick as your thumb) with quite possibly the ugliest roots you have ever seen.
my question is can I cut all the roots off and start again, much like a cutting or
do I need to go down a a different route?

Thanks Craig.

Hi Craig,
Could you post a photo of the tree. This would make it easier to see what the roots look like.

Regards Ray

mate, you need to change your user name as we have a Craig W already and it can be confusing.

It helps to have a photo. I have chopped many ficus and let them regrow new roots, however I would not be doing that at the moment unless you live up north as the nights are starting to cool off and your ficus may not recover at this time of year.

Here is an example of a chop i did (see pics). This tree was just thrown in the soil and I will grow the trunk for a number of years before coming back to the tree and having another play to see where i take it. Most people will initially think i should have cut the tree just below the fork, which if i was going to use just the single top right away I would have done. My thought with this one however is to let the trunk fatten then I will cut the top just below the fork and plant it out as intended but now i have another fatter trunk base to grow a new leader and therefore have 2 trees out of the initial top chop.... 3 Trees in all!

I found the missing pic. Here is the nice radial spread of fine roots that grew over the 4 months since initial chop until the repot in December 2012. The large root i initally left on the base has been removed as it is no longer neccesary.

told you they were crap!!

Sorry,how do I change my user name??

If you want to remove them then i would chop just below the top two little roots so that you have them to assist speed of recovery as i did, however I would not start this proceedure until the end of the year when overnight temperatures remain above 16-18 degrees.

What does the rest of the tree look like?

whole tree for those interested... not much to look at I know but it s a start.

Welcme Craig It doesn't have much taper which is important for bonsai. I would chop it above the first branch and wire that branch up as a new leader. Then in spring I would do a ground layer to improve the roots. That way you should guarantee the safety of the tree. Whatever you decide to do have fun with it

Not a bad tree at all mate! You need to start somewhere, and that is definatley a good place to start

craig_w wrote:Sorry,how do I change my user name??

Welcome Craig to the wonderful world of Ausbonsai ,keep the questions coming mate,there will some knowledgeable bugger other than me that will answer your questions but pictures are always good,you know what they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

PM Steven or one of the Mods might be able to do it

Welcome Craig,

Looks nice and healthy and good structure - it is a better start than I did when I began! Rather than chop the tree, I would let it grow and grow the branches very long and keep them wired out low. This is another way to increase the taper of the trunk other than chopping. Chopping works if you have a thick trunk, it does not make the trunk thicker - in fact it slows down the growth. The more leaves the more energy fixed the more the trunk will thicken. Then you will have more to work with if you decide you want to chop it later...and...you can enjoy your tree in the mean-time.

welcome and good luck

Ash

Hi Criag,
I agree with Tony concerning doing a ground layer. The following is a post I did covering how I do ground layers.

viewtopic.php?f=104&t=14664

Regards Ray

Thanks everyone for the replys.ive got autumn and winter to think about it I guess.