AusBonsai

hi i have collected some small figs for small bonsai but im wondering if you can
ID the plants
virtuals
thank these are just some quick pictures so sorry if they are blurry

Looks like F. benjamina to me.

So is f.benjamina native to the NT
And can any 1 tell me what to do so I can make it look good

Ficusboy101 wrote:So is f.benjamina native to the NT
And can any 1 tell me what to do so I can make it look good

Hi Ficusboy101,
I don't know if it is native to NT. It is a very young plant. You need to feed it up well and let it get some girth to the trunk. With a starter like this you will be looking at a couple of years to get some size. Even if you are planning to develop a mini it will still need more size. Keep at it and enjoy.

Regards Ray

Ficusboy101 wrote:So is f.benjamina native to the NT

Not sure on the exact spread but Benjis are native to Northern Australia yes. Darwin region? I'd expect so.

Ok thank you

Hi ficusboy,
Bennies are native to all of northern Australia they grow in Litchfie ld national park just downdown the road from Darwin.
Use the search function to find out about feeding them
Steve

As mentioned by Ray.

This is a very small plant.
You will be best to give this guy plenty of Sun and just focus on growing it as much as possible in the near term.
Give it plenty of fertiliser as well and just concentrate on getting a decent trunk going.
Make sure you don't put it in too small a pot (one it's in now looks ok) Bonsai pot in the background of pic #1 is likely too small.

Search for the thread on this forum which talks about "dynamic figs" this might help you along.

Good luck!

Get it into something like a 200mm orchid style pot (or larger if you more/faster growth) in a good soil mix, feed and water it a lot and it will take off. As said, get some size about. Also start wiring some movement into the trunk as the leader lengthens.
Benjis, while not as “good” as a lot of other figs, still can make very nice bonsai.

Could I use the bottom branch for a sacrificial branch

It will take years for this to grow. If there are big trees why not airlayer a nice fat branch with good movement...within 2-3 month will be ready to remove and plant in a pot.

Ficusboy101 wrote:Could I use the bottom branch for a sacrificial branch

Hi Ficusboy101,
Yes you can. If you allow the branch to grow fairly large, remember, it will leave a scare until it heals over. If you can develop your tree with the scare at the back of the tree that would be ideal.

Regards Ray

Neli wrote:It will take years for this to grow. If there are big trees why not airlayer a nice fat branch with good movement...within 2-3 month will be ready to remove and plant in a pot.

The reason why is im only so young and I don't have much supplies as I collected this on my grandpas fence line but I live in a totally different location and I cannot find one single banyan
Plus I'm still learning