Cluster Fig
Posted: October 9th, 2010, 9:42 pm
This triple trunk Cluster Fig (Ficus Glomerata) started out life as three skinny rooted cuttings in 2006. I bound them together because it seemed to be a good idea at the time, and I wanted them to fuse together. I put it in a styrene box and promptly forgot about them (except to keep them watered and fed).
In March '07, I decided to have a look at the clump to see if there was any development. There sure was! They had fused but because I didn't keep an eye on them
, I ended up with three very nasty wire and grafting tape marks on all three trunks:
I cut the bottom out of a 4 inch plastic pot, split it down the side, wrapped it round the three trunks and filled it with potting mix in the hope that I'd get more aerial roots that would cover the damage. By December '07, there were a lot more aerial roots, but to my surprise, the marks themselves had started to fill out:
In March '09. I lifted it again and this is what I found:
By October '09, they had all but disappeared:
Today, I decided to have another look and to do some work on the tree. The wire marks have totally disappeared and these are the roots after a prune:
The canopy had grown a lot more as well:
So I pruned and wired it:
This is what it looks like from the top:
There is still a lot of development to go, but it's getting there slowly. The actual base of the three trunks is 80mm wide, and across the roots at soil level it is 170mm. It stands 550mm tall and 700mm across the widest branches.
In the wired photo, there is a branch on the rear trunk that looks out of place. That one has since been wired down more. Also, that 'ugly' looking branch on the left lower, doesn't look the best and in the photo it appears to be out of place, but in the overhead view you can see that it's part of the total spread of branches from that trunk. Over time - with a bit more growth from the other branches and a decent canopy, it shouldn't be noticeable (hope not anyway
)
If anybody has any suggestions on further - or what you think might be better development, feel free to express them.
In March '07, I decided to have a look at the clump to see if there was any development. There sure was! They had fused but because I didn't keep an eye on them
, I ended up with three very nasty wire and grafting tape marks on all three trunks:I cut the bottom out of a 4 inch plastic pot, split it down the side, wrapped it round the three trunks and filled it with potting mix in the hope that I'd get more aerial roots that would cover the damage. By December '07, there were a lot more aerial roots, but to my surprise, the marks themselves had started to fill out:
In March '09. I lifted it again and this is what I found:
By October '09, they had all but disappeared:
Today, I decided to have another look and to do some work on the tree. The wire marks have totally disappeared and these are the roots after a prune:
The canopy had grown a lot more as well:
So I pruned and wired it:
This is what it looks like from the top:
There is still a lot of development to go, but it's getting there slowly. The actual base of the three trunks is 80mm wide, and across the roots at soil level it is 170mm. It stands 550mm tall and 700mm across the widest branches.
In the wired photo, there is a branch on the rear trunk that looks out of place. That one has since been wired down more. Also, that 'ugly' looking branch on the left lower, doesn't look the best and in the photo it appears to be out of place, but in the overhead view you can see that it's part of the total spread of branches from that trunk. Over time - with a bit more growth from the other branches and a decent canopy, it shouldn't be noticeable (hope not anyway
)If anybody has any suggestions on further - or what you think might be better development, feel free to express them.
