AusBonsai

Hi guys and gals,


I got this ficus recently at a very decent price from a market in the country, the lady i bought it from runs a business that rents indoor plants to offices and said this one had been rented for maybe 10 years, had gotten a bit worn over time so was selling it off to get new stock. Im not sure what species it is

Im a bit concerned though that after my drastic pruning itll die off? Im pretty new to bonsai so im not sure as to how much brutalization a tree can take in one go. Ive left as much of the branches as i could whilst chopping it down to about 10 inches and taped 3 trunks together, id like to eventually get it to a kind of mature natural ficus style but obviously im open to everybody's more informed opinions  

anyway heres some before and after shots

One thing is for sure, your going to find out. I am sure the tree will appreciate the attention.

Tree should be fine, as long as you don't entirely ignore it now (ie, don't water). If you're really worried, use cut paste on major cuts like that to slow or stop dehydration.

Being in Victoria, I would have thought it far to early to do this drastic amount of work on a tropical tree..... Normally work like this is done in Summer on ficus species when sap is flowing readily. It looks like a Ficus Benjamina (Weeping Fig) maybe?
Ficus Hillii is another newish version of the Weeping Fig also. They are pretty tough though, so it should pull through. I would keep it in the warmest spot you have and out of any wind.... don't overwater it or you will most likely kill it with kindness.
Maybe once a week at the most if you've kept it in that big tub.... and then only when it leafs up again should you resume a more regular watering. Also that big rough wound on the main trunk should probably be recut with a sharp saw or branch cutters, as these figs can develop fungal problems easily by entering badly cut wounds and cause considerable dieback down the track.
Good luck
Oh.. next time, maybe ask the advice before doing the work. Just a thought Johanson

Shane Martin wrote:Being in Victoria, I would have thought it far to early to do this drastic amount of work on a tropical tree..... Normally work like this is done in Summer on ficus species when sap is flowing readily. It looks like a Ficus Benjamina (Weeping Fig) maybe?
Ficus Hillii is another newish version of the Weeping Fig also. They are pretty tough though, so it should pull through. I would keep it in the warmest spot you have and out of any wind.... don't overwater it or you will most likely kill it with kindness.
Maybe once a week at the most if you've kept it in that big tub.... and then only when it leafs up again should you resume a more regular watering. Also that big rough wound on the main trunk should probably be recut with a sharp saw or branch cutters, as these figs can develop fungal problems easily by entering badly cut wounds and cause considerable dieback down the track.
Good luck
Oh.. next time, maybe ask the advice before doing the work. Just a thought Johanson

unfortunately i like learning stuff the hard way but ill try to next time

thanks for all the advice everybody (esp. shane m), ill get some cut paste from my granpa and try doing a cleaner cut on the main trunk, i think i just got carried away with the idea of carving more and more into it, noob mistakes i guess

What are the current temperatures down your way? I don’t foresee you having too many issues with it.
While Benji’s can be a bit fickle, the are generally pretty tough.

relatively warm for melbourne, low to mid 20s, 15ish at night, maybe its all the concrete in the city? was a good 5 degrees cooler out in Drouin (where this tree came from) on the weekend

should i keep him indoors to get more warmth and humidity? my back room gets heaps of sunlight so acts as a bit of a greenhouse

It is a Benji so I'd expect some dieback. You'll lose a couple of branches, but i wouldn't worry about it dying. Personally I work figs once night temps get over around 15C. You're probably not too far off to worry. The books say summer, but that's based on Northern Hemisphere climate most of the time.

Keep us posted on how it responds . Don't water it until it becomes very dry .
Make sure you removed all the growth and didnt miss any bud/ leaves because you don't want one branch growing strong while the rest of the tree dies back. Keep it in a sunny spot . I hope it bounces back without any dieback

Its budding now

I left off watering for a week as suggested, seems happy to finally get a drink, thanks again for the advice guys, ill post some pics when its looking slightly more recovered