AusBonsai

Hello guys, thinking about cutting my ficus back to a much smaller tree. .whats your thoughts ,

2 years ago

Was untouched for many years and it grew out,this is 4 years ago. I put it in that pot ears ago, but recent when i potted it into bigger pot i found the original small plastic hand size pot it was in/ up in the base of the root ball ,lol, And i was told it was a small fig when given to my grandmother,i remember it when i was 13 .now 42. so its an oldie , its been a large canopy tree for ages now,that why im thinking to chop it back and use cuttings left over.. ^^^^^^^^ top photos recent ^^^^^^

Hello Bonsai Creations,

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Kevin

Wait for warmer weather to do any major cutting back especially as you mentioned you want cuttings.

Good story. Worth taking special care of this one with the family history. Reminds me of a tree I have from my grandmother.
Its one I'll keep forever hopefully.
I would also wait until wormer days[above 15 degree/c at night] has worked well for me in Sydney. As Lane said particularly if you want to take cuttings
Look forward to seeing what you do with it
cheers.

I would definitely cut this one back.
It does not really matter who it has belonged to or how it got the way it is now. Those things will still be preserved in the basics of the tree - trunk and main branches. What really matters is the quality of bonsai. This one does not look much like a real tree. Branches way too long and skinny and the curves appear unconvincing in the photos.
The good thing is that figs really respond well to pruning and grow back quickly so you have great scope to lift this tree a couple of notches up the bonsai scale.

Thanks guys, yes i think i will cut back,prob is that it has 4-5 major stems,going to be hard to choose my cuts,
..yep will wait till warms up again.
Its got the yellow leaf nightmare at the moment,from dry cow dung i put on them i think...droping leafs too.so i gave it a nice drink of seaweed,and been in the rain last few days,might wash through. Once it gets strong leafs again in summer i will cut back and move and root graft some roots that went over rocks that are no longer there. till then, trying to work through this yellow leaf problem,couple of others got it too.see how it goes over next few days..

It did look like this at one stage.small photo is all i have of it.

Yellow leaves can be several different causes. I can't make out in the photos whether the yellow leaves are older or newer leaves?
Nutrient deficiency - figs love to be fed. How often/how much do you currently feed it?
Old age - all leaves get old and unproductive so even evergreen trees need to get rid of older leaves.
Fungal problem. We have seen several threads about this. My figs get spotty, yellow leaves toward the end of winter and early spring but they are stuck in the poly house because of the cold down here. Could be root problem from overwatering in cool conditions or fungal attack on the leaves. Mine have always recovered but some twigs die back. Up there conditions should be ideal for figs. If you keep it where it gets good light and plenty of air movement it should stay healthy.
Overwatering is a possible cause of yellow leaves.

Hi, It has lived in unchanged potting mix most its life,till recent i done a root clean and put in better draining soil. potty mix/pebbles/sand. drains good now,and fresh potty mix, i cut it back some on top, started growing good shooting everywhere, then winter came ,not much sun,and with the new soil it seemed to be holding holding good moisture, but got dry on top fast, didnt over water.no fert as it was new potty mix, month later put bit of cow dung,prob handfull round base. if that, growing normal .then week later yellow. so i sat it in light seaweed water mix,other day.see how it goes .(shouldnt of touched it lol ) was growing fine in old soil.

hey guys im really in two minds about cutting back..can i get more input on others thoughts. Been told branches arnt thick enough to look right,but they can only get thicker in time....here an under canopy photo.

I say cut, what have you got to lose apart from a little time? IMO it's important to have movement and taper in branches too.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

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Hello Pearcy,Thanks , do you think the branches are to thin.

Take no notice of the roots, im going to move/cut/graft most of them once tree is happy in the pot(just had a root clean and new soil.)
Moved one root to another stem since this last photo was taken. hoping to move a few roots to get it to taper more.And have removed all rocks .
edited 3 times woo