A Coworker Gave Me This Small Ficus Benjamina And I Figured Why Not Make It A Bonsai?

Isilwen

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I am just not sure where to start with it. At least I can put this out on my balcony. Unlike my mini jade bonsai, I know that a ficus will do fine just in a bright location. I had a much larger one years ago when I was with my ex-wife and put out in the woods behind us. It never really got the sun in the spot where I put it and that thing grew and grew just fine.

Below are two picture I just took of it. Throw some ideas at me on what I can do with it or start doing with it.

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thebonsaiproject

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If you aren't set on having to style straight away a cool thing people do is make it really humid around the trunk and main branches to encourage aerial roots. Could be a lid over the whole plant or plastic bottle wrapped around the trunk. You can get some really cool results!
 

Isilwen

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If you aren't set on having to style straight away a cool thing people do is make it really humid around the trunk and main branches to encourage aerial roots. Could be a lid over the whole plant or plastic bottle wrapped around the trunk. You can get some really cool results!

Sounds interesting, but not something I want to try at this point.

Any other suggestions?
 

Paradox

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I think Benjamina are one of the species that doesn't amend itself to bonsai as well as others.

I would repot it into a pot about half the height next summer.
Until then, just water it and keep it in a spot with good light. You might even consider getting a grow light for it.
 

Paradox

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Care to elaborate? Spoiler alert - some of my favorite trops in my collection are benjamina. Not that they are any good.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on ficus which is the reason why I stated "I think...."
I have a couple of willow leaf and tiger bark ficus but thats it.
More than a few people here who are more knowledgable about ficus than I am have stated that benjamina is not the best species of ficus for bonsai.
I forget the exact details at the moment but it was because they dont respond to pruning very well or they tend to lose branches or something.....
Dont get me wrong, I think benjamina are beautiful ficus and they make great house plants, its just a lot of people that know ficus say they dont do well as bonsai compared to species like Willow Leaf, tiger bark, etc.
 

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My first real successes have been benjaminas. They aren't as great for bonsai as some other ficus, but I think they get a bad rap.

Reasons they're bad:
Bulbous tuberous roots that can be difficult to make good nebari out of.
Apically dominant growth habit.
Don't always backbud reliably, at least not always where you expected.
Springy wood that doesn't always stay put when you take the wire off.
Bark will never look better than it does right now.
Can swell at cut sites making inverse taper.
Will ALWAYS lead to a mediocre tree, no matter how long you work it.

Reasons they're great:
Beautiful foliage.
So easy it's almost cheating.
All the bad things can easily be worked with or mitigated once you get to know the tree.
Springy wood that you can bend even when gets thicker.
The bark heals over very smooth and very fast, so very little scarring.
Bulletproof! No need for cut paste. They heal themselves just fine.
Will ALWAYS lead to a mediocre tree, and fast too.

You're not likely to place at any shows, but they're loads of fun year round.
Put some curves in the trunk with some guy wires. This and weights I've found work well with the springy wood.
Don't just chop it and expect it grow back like an elm or maple. They back bud more happily with minor pruning than with big chops. Always leave some foliage and that branch will survive, though a branch will usually die back from the cut a little. Leave just a tad bit of space for that to avoid the swelling at at cuts, then cut out the dead but later.
They will always try to smooth out whatever lines you put in them, making good results from cut and grow techniques.
You'll notice that they always produce 2 buds at a time from a node. One is a new leaf, the other a new branch. Leave the leaf until the branch gets going.

Needs a trim and moss replaced, but this is only a year's worth of work.
IMG_20221014_141500_687.jpg

Just go nuts in it, and see where it takes you. Pick a too thick branch, cut it just
 

ShadyStump

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I'll put it this way.
If there's a tree that could be called instant bonsai, it'd be ficus benjamina. You get the results you expect from instant, but they're just so much fun!
 
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Dont get me wrong, I think benjamina are beautiful ficus and they make great house plants, its just a lot of people that know ficus say they dont do well as bonsai compared to species like Willow Leaf, tiger bark, etc.

That's cool, I really was just curious. I agree with pretty much @ShadyStump said. And I will add a couple of thoughts. Standard benjamina has a leaf size and internode length that means it is generally only good for very small or very big bonsai. But the species has some cultivars that do not have that problem at all - sort of like the ubiquitous ficus microcarpa. I love working with Rianne/Wiandi, Too Little, Natasja, etc. Also, I think that benjamina only really thrive outdoors, and particularly in areas with high humidity. You will see benjamina bonsai from southeast Asia and Oceania that will blow your mind.
 
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@Isilwen I like your happy little tree. You could probably get a passable bonsai out of it pretty quickly by tying or weighing branches down into a less-vertical position, as suggested by @ShadyStump. Personally, I would pot it up into a container at least twice as large and let it grow out before you do much to it. Keep potting up as it grows until the trunk gets at least a couple inches thick. Thin the branches a bit to suit the look you are going for, and start training them early - it will be tough to position the branches you are keeping once they thicken (and they will, fast, outdoors in your location). The current lowest branch could probably go, although I have seen some ficus designs that make very good use of low branches if you can pull it down to near-horizontal.

Good luck!
 

Paradox

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@luvinthemountains
I'd love them to be shown to be able to become fantastic bonsai. Lots of people come across them and ask about them here. But for the reasons Shady stated, they just dont seem to.

Yours looks like it has a good start though. Maybe you can prove what people have said all these years wrong.

I've seen some of them as lovely 3-4 foot tall house plants and wondered about them myself. Two people that used to frequent here and worked almost exclusively with ficus said they don't do as well as the other species. 🤷‍♀️
 
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How did you keep it so short and round? I have a feeling this one will want to grow tall and lanky.

Lots of light, that's really it. I have not pruned it other than thinning branches. It just wants to grow and grow. In the summer, I keep it outside and, in the winter, I keep it under bright LED lights. In your location, particularly in the summer, the growth you get will put mine to shame. Florida is heaven for ficus bonsai.
 

ShadyStump

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I think that benjamina only really thrive outdoors, and particularly in areas with high humidity.
Just adding my note relative to this thought.
The little thing I showed is the standard cultivar, about 1 year's work from a scrawny sapling, and it spent the vast majority of that time living on my desk at work under a desk lamp with a $20 LED grow bulb.

Yours looks amazing, BTW! How long have you been working on that?
 
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Just adding my note relative to this thought.
The little thing I showed is the standard cultivar, about 1 year's work from a scrawny sapling, and it spent the vast majority of that time living on my desk at work under a desk lamp with a $20 LED grow bulb.

Yours looks amazing, BTW! How long have you been working on that?

Thank you!! I have had it for less than two years. It was in a 4-inch nursery pot when it came to me. The foliage mass has tripled or quadrupled since then, but the trunk has increased by only about 50%.

I think you have made great progress with yours in a year! To bring it back to @Isilwen's post, they can take heart that with time one can see some pretty great progress with benjamina from a small plant.
 

Isilwen

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Lots of light, that's really it. I have not pruned it other than thinning branches. It just wants to grow and grow. In the summer, I keep it outside and, in the winter, I keep it under bright LED lights. In your location, particularly in the summer, the growth you get will put mine to shame. Florida is heaven for ficus bonsai.

Are you talking direct sunlight or just bright indirect light? Bright indirect I can accomplish on my balcony. Not so much the direct sunlight. I also have a grow lamp that it is under now.
 

ShadyStump

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Are you talking direct sunlight or just bright indirect light? Bright indirect I can accomplish on my balcony. Not so much the direct sunlight. I also have a grow lamp that it is under now.
They of course prefer direct sunlight, but these are very forgiving in that regard. Your balcony should do just fine. A grow light for when it comes inside will help allot too.
Benjaminas are the quintessential waiting room tree. Not picky, don't need much light or any special care. They have a reputation for throwing their foliage when you move them, but I've never experienced that. I think that's only in those cases where it's been forgotten and barely even watered in the corner of your house for years.
 
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