Wanted and Welcomed - ideas on this Ficus Microcarpa

[cockroach]

Hi,
I planted a ficus microcarpa sapling onto an old tree trunk in the hopes of creating a bonsai that resembles how a strangler fig would grow on and eventually kill the tree using the old trunk as its own.
This is not a tanuki but more of a "root over trunk".
I would really appreciate some ideas on the canopy or crude virts giving it direction. As it is already an uncommon 'style' (if one can call it that), I would like to do some a little more special with the canopy. This tree is native here so development could be a little faster than US members are used to.

As you can see the roots have actually grown through the styrofoam in less than a year.

Thanks for any and all ideas.

 

[DougB]

Thanks for your posting. That is a new concept to me. But I hope someone has had some experience and that you will keep us up to date.

 

[Cypress187]

Maybe you should have the main tree more seperate and the roots 'attacking' the other tree. It now feels unnatural like the ficus 'jumped' onto the thrunk. Also you could have or in combination grow some aeral roots to help with the strangle-ation.

So, i would place the main tree more like beside the deadtree and let the ficus more like hug or engulf (is that a word? devour maybe) the deadtree with creeping roots on the ground and areal roots.

 

[mat]

I think it's a neat idea and a good effort. A strangler fig probably wouldn't have that much tall foliage. I think it would look better if you compacted the green (trunk chop?) so that it's in and around the dead branches rather above them.

Keep us posted.

 

[cockroach]

Thanks for the responses.

Doug - Thanks for comment.

Cypress - I was going for the image of a seed landing in the V of the main branches and reaching up for the light to overshadow the host tree and the roots growing down into the soil for nutrients after the epiphytic stage of growth, hence the largest tap root on one side of the plant. The aerial roots should start coming in soon as we go into our super humid summer conditions here. I am hoping to spread the nebari in quite a decent fan when I repot. The planned pot will be wide and shallow, most likely rectangular and about 24" x 18" x 2". That will be February/March next year.

mat - Yes, I am planning on creating a denser canopy. At the moment a need it to grow freely for at least this season and towards the end chop what I need to. I am able to easily defoliate twice a year so building ramification will start after I have a solid idea of main branch placement and overall design.

I still have to carve the right "branch" of the host tree as it is flat cut. I also have to add similar detail to the trunk and right as I did on the left dead wood.

The second pic is the proposed front I have been working with thinking about styles.

Below are the types of pics and ideas that inspired me to do this project. #4 is a bit farther from the host trunk but I wanted it attached as in #2 and #3.

 

[A Random User]

Here is a Green Island ficus I did over part of a stump of one of my Buttonwood Bonsai that had died.
Need to get some updated photos... But the second to last pic is what it looked like at the beginning of last year.

 

[cockroach]

I would like to see updates of how it looks now.

 

[KennedyMarx]

I think you need to thicken it up some more so letting it keep growing another year without pruning would be good. Then you could cut it back hard and work on branching.

 

[cockroach]

Yeah, I was going to let it grow for this season and probably next season as well to thicken the roots and trunk. I will leave the branches about the length they are, perhaps another 6"-12" but with more girth.
What I am looking at doing is placing the branches for now and letting them set over the next 2 years.

 

[cockroach]

It grew the rest of last season and I have trimmed off two or three smaller branches. I am going to let it grow this season as well and feed heavily.


I have started putting in some movement and will add more as and when I see the tree in the bush.

 

[AaronThomas]

WOW... thats pretty cool! LOL even like the crazy re-purposed pot... great idea!

 

[cockroach]

You will be surprised how much in Taiwan is grown in Styrofoam boxes. Lightweight and can be poked full of holes for good root aeration.

 

[just.wing.it]

Very cool! Nice work.

 

[KayaMooney]

Its looking really good so far, I've always wanted to try something like this myself with the ficus whips I have. Growing up in Southern Florida It's so common to see stranger figs choking out random palm trees and such.

 

[cockroach]

Thanks for the comments.

You should totally go for it. Pretty simple to do.

I started it out by growing the whip/sapling in a PVC tube in compost to get long sinuous roots. After a season or two of that with heavy feeding, I cut away PVC and wrapped roots around the "trunk". To this I added sphagnum moss all the way around and up to the fork in the "trunk" and further wrapped it in plastic sandwich wrap. It grew for another season and was then removed. I positioned roots with nails and the rest is just leaving it to grow happily.

 

[Borg]

This is a really neat idea. Perhaps after I get a greenhouse set up, I can finally try keeping a ficus alive.

 

[eferguson1974]

I dont know if it will help or not, but here are some native stranglers I collected here in CR. They came stuck to dead coffee stumps so I brought them home like that. I hope the roots cover most of the stumps. So these are some yamadori, naturaly doing what you want to do. Idk the species. Other than wire a couple limbs I havnt done anything to them.. Lots of times I collect them by taking them off the hosts. But since the coffee was dead and small enough and the figs very stuck, I brought them home whole. I like the idea of a strangler fig doing its thing and these are pretty well started. Idk if theyre bonsai or not, but I like them anyway.

 

[Michael P]

Could we revive this thread? I will have the chance to start a similar project this spring.

 

[cockroach]

I will try get some pics this weekend.

 

[cockroach]

Worked in the tree today.
It rooted in the ground and grew mostly unchecked for about 2 years.
Before. Sorry I don't have anywhere convenient to carry such a big tree for decent clear pics.


Some root close ups.




After. Decided to repot as well.