We have just acquired a 30 year old QLD small leaf fig!

[LandG]

Or, as I like to call it, Ficus obliqua!

She (I think she's a she) has a rather large trunk, see images: Trunk 1 and Trunk 2

and is in desperate need of repotting. She is approximately 30 years old and was sold to us as long as we'd repot her straight away ... we are going to need to do some major root work. She is probably around 30-40kg, 60cm tall... and the root ball is insane. She's also been hacked away at a fair bit recently, it seems. I'd love some hints and tips from all of you on how to help her grow into a beautiful bonsai.

We plan on repotting her into a rectangular pot over the weekend however would like to know how much dremel work a fig can take, as there are a lot of stumps that need to be tidied and then sealed with wound sealant.

Thoughts, hints and tips would be greatly appreciated! She's so old and precious, I don't want to injure her, but I'd like to make her look a lot nicer than she does now.

L & G

[lukeaaustin]

Hi L&G,
As long as she is in good health, go for it! You won't hurt her[SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH AND SMILING EYES]

[KIRKY]

At this time of year you can pretty much go for it. There was no foliage in the pic so assume? Its healthy and growing strong? Ensure you have good after care seasol regime and go for it.
Cheers

[Bougy Fan]

I would repot it first into a free draining mix and get it healthy first before I would do any other work on it. Seasol it after repotting and keep it out of the midday sun. Only put it into a bonsai pot when you are at the refining stage.