Ficus Microcarpa. Hillii as bonsai?

[Dyll182]

Hi there

just wondering if anyone has any good information on this particular species of fig, I live in the hunter region and they're planted around a lot of park areas where I live. I took about 20-30 6-inch cuttings and put them all into a terracotta pot. Does anyone know the physical signs I should look for to know they have been successful and is there a crucial time where they should be separated and potted up so they survive. So far I've had them in the pot for about almost a month a few have wilted away which I threw out but most have retained their green colour and look healthy but so far remain dormant.

anyone have experience with them as bonsai? and when should I repot them?

cheers,

Dylan.

[Jb1]

I have been working on 2 F.hillii for several years (they were nursery trees bought as a gift). they are rather a boring ficus species. The trunk tends to be straight, and branching and leaf reduction not so easy. They don't seem to feature as a classic fig species in the literature nor used by noted bonsai enthusiasts. Fig species such as F. Rubiginosa would be a much better species to work on. Both of my hillii have been repotted in larger pots, and left to grow to see what happens. My guess is they will end up in the garden.
I hope my modest experience is helpful. Perhaps the lack of response to your enquiry is indicative of the interest in hillii as bonsai.
Regards
John

[Dyll182]

I have been working on 2 F.hillii for several years (they were nursery trees bought as a gift). they are rather a boring ficus species. The trunk tends to be straight, and branching and leaf reduction not so easy. They don't seem to feature as a classic fig species in the literature nor used by noted bonsai enthusiasts. Fig species such as F. Rubiginosa would be a much better species to work on. Both of my hillii have been repotted in larger pots, and left to grow to see what happens. My guess is they will end up in the garden.
I hope my modest experience is helpful. Perhaps the lack of response to your enquiry is indicative of the interest in hillii as bonsai.
Regards
John

yeah fair enough, I already have a fair few port jacksons, just wanted to get some more unique species. I'll probably train a few of the hillii and let some grow in large pots like you have done. Thanks for the feedback

[bamboos]

Hi dyll182
Ficus hillii make pretty good bonsai I have a few ranging from a 4 man lift to a large bonsai . They do reduce leaf size fairly easily , produce aerial roots readily ( provided it is humid ), backbud readily and will produce an interesting trunk. As you say in your heading it is a variety of ficus microcarpa -- nearly all the Asian bonsai figs are this species and they don't seem to have any trouble!
Give them a go leaf size can be reduced to 2 or 3 cm with only one defoliation per year the only drawback is their tendency to produce 3 shoots (or more ) at every bud after defoliation so you have to " pluck" those that don't suit you!
I'll post some pictures tomorrow
Steve

[Dyll182]

Hi dyll182
Ficus hillii make pretty good bonsai I have a few ranging from a 4 man lift to a large bonsai . They do reduce leaf size fairly easily , produce aerial roots readily ( provided it is humid ), backbud readily and will produce an interesting trunk. As you say in your heading it is a variety of ficus microcarpa -- nearly all the Asian bonsai figs are this species and they don't seem to have any trouble!
Give them a go leaf size can be reduced to 2 or 3 cm with only one defoliation per year the only drawback is their tendency to produce 3 shoots (or more ) at every bud after defoliation so you have to " pluck" those that don't suit you!
I'll post some pictures tomorrow
Steve

That would be good Steve, I would love to know what it looks like matured slightly

[bamboos]

image.jpg

image.jpg

Hi dyll182
Here are a couple of photos
One of the figs has just been defoliated for th second time this year -- the bigger one was done in September and the other photo is one showing the leaf size on the bigger one.
Both trees were bought from nurseries the larger one 7 or 8 years ago on the Gold Coast and the other was bought 5 or6 years ago from White Rock in Cairns

[bamboos]

Image00001.jpg

hi one more --- the larger one

[Dyll182]

Image00001.jpg

hi one more --- the larger one

wow that looks good, I noticed that my leaves are different though to yours in the picture. mine are straight dark green colour that are flat more so then bendy like a benjamina. I have seen your species grown in botanical gardens from a far it looks like a var. hillii but it had 'emerald' in the name and the bark looked exactly like yours more browny with lots of striations. are you sure its a hillii? hillii has quite greyish bark and smooth.

[bamboos]

G'day
I'm pretty sure mine are hillii--- there are a few varieties within hillii the emerald you mention among them along with "flash" so we could both be correct
Perhaps Ash can chip in with the id
Steve

[Dyll182]

G'day
I'm pretty sure mine are hillii--- there are a few varieties within hillii the emerald you mention among them along with "flash" so we could both be correct
Perhaps Ash can chip in with the id
Steve

either way that is a superb tree you've got there Steve, is it grown from multiple trees fused together? I understand Brisbane would get a lot more humid than the hunter valley. With the amount of cuttings I've got Im thinking it'll be cheaper just to have 4 or so growing in a pot together and see how that goes, the cuttings have just started to shoot new leaves up so I guess that means they've started rooting? any advice?

[Graeme]

One of the "problems" with hillii is the trees refusal to grow a thick trunk quickly. I used to have one that I started from a collected tree. (some might know of the tree, as it is still around). The tree was really tall when I collected it. Although I forget the actual height, (well it was around 20 years ago ), I think from what memory is left it would have been around 3 or 4 metres high and the trunk was only about 3" across. From the pictures I have seen it appears to have not put much girth on during the 10 years the new custodian has had it, although it does exhibit good top growth. I have seen several other mature trees, growing in the ground and without their aerial roots, they also have very slim trunks. I guess the secret with them is to get as much aerial rootage going as possible. Leaf reduction doesn't seen to be a problem, although maybe it isn't as good as with some of the other figs. Pests don't seem to bother the tree much either.

I still reckon every Bonsai collection needs at least one hillii in it to be complete though.

[Dyll182]

These are 2 of the cuttings now at 6 months old, they seem quite slow but I think I may have taken them out of the rooting sand and into heavy soil too quickly which may have stunted the growth a bit. Either way they are taking off nicely, cant wait till summer when they should take off quite quickly.

[Truth]

Does the Hillii propagate well from root cuttings? There are quite a few massive trees at my local university, with extensive surface roots growing right up and around the raised planter beds some of them are in, it would almost be a crime not to ask!

[Dyll182]

Does the Hillii propagate well from root cuttings? There are quite a few massive trees at my local university, with extensive surface roots growing right up and around the raised planter beds some of them are in, it would almost be a crime not to ask!

Hey Truth,

Definitely give it a try! though you might find it hard to uncover suitable roots. I can say they root quite well from branch cuttings, if done again I would probably take thicker branch cuttings then what you can see in my photos, and try and get ones with new leaf growth.

[dansai]

Figs won't shoot from roots so I don't think a root cutting would work. You have nothing to lose from trying though