Cactus Nursery Ficus

[ColinFraser]

So, I bought a new Ficus . . . from a cactus grower! I guess it's microcarpa, retusa, nitida . . . whichever of those synonyms is in vogue at the moment. Here's how it looks after its first few hours in my care:


It was over 8 feet tall and had escaped its 15-gallon pot when I found it; and the best part - $35!
I decided to really have at the roots and chop the top before I became attached to it. Now I have to start thinking about where to go style wise if it bounces right back . . .

 

[ColinFraser]

Here are some "before" and "during" pictures. You should have seen the nursery workers' faces when I asked them to cut it in half to fit it in my car! Afterward, I picked up the top half and said I'd just put it back together when I got home - then they really thought I was nuts

 

[carp]

It is a Ficus microcarpa, but not a retusa nitida. A lot of times, the terms; microcarpa, retusa, and nitida, are used as synonyms to describe the same tree but, that's not exactly accurate. Nomenclature isn't exactly my forté, and Ficus nomenclature is really a mess.

So, to the best of my understanding, Ficus microcarpa describes dozens of Ficus species that have a waxy leaf with a series of dots on the outer edges. Ficus microcarpa retusa describes the "tigerbark" varieties. Ficus microcarpa retusa 'Nitida' is a larger leaf variety of Ficus retusa. Similarly, Ficus microcarpa retusa 'Kinmen' describes a smaller leaf variety of Ficus microcarpa retusa.

At any rate, hope you planted your cuttings, and looks like a decent pick up. Depending on where you are at, you can be real aggressive with pruning back limbs and roots.

 

[sorce]

I'd just put it back together when I got home

We should make videos of these moments! Now that's a good bonsai video!

Nice score.

Sorce​

 

[ColinFraser]

I'm definitely open to suggestions from my fellow nuts about where to take this.

I'm considering taking the center trunk all the way down to where those three large branches emerge - that would seem to put it on the way to a spreading/banyan style.

I could keep a little of that section and grow a new leader on toward something more informal upright - in that case I guess I would remove the branches and grow new ones.

I superstitiously left a little bit of foliage on each branch, but any sections I keep will definitely get chopped down farther than they are now.

 

[ColinFraser]

The one thing I'm most unsure about is that second trunk coming from the base. I guess if I go with a low wide tree, it could have a place in the final design . . . Thoughts?

 

[Arcto]

A question I would ask in making the design decision, is whether these suckers air root where you live. Or if you have a hothouse to promote that if they don't. You see great trees coming from Florida and Hawaii that way.

 

[thomas22]

I was waiting to see what the experts thought but since they didn't chime in I will give me opinion. I like the last picture as the front because the nebari is the least horrible. I don't like the secondary trunk on the left because it's too straight. I do not have a finish look in mind but I think I would start with something like the vert below. I would ground layer at the red line and chop trunks as shown. I hope other people will chime in and tell me my vert sucks so you will get alternate opinions.

 

[sorce]

My guess, this thing will grow well for you, like the others.

When it shows a little regeneration, I'd try cranking those bigger branches down, and if they die, favor those 2 little bendable shoots.

I like the ground layer option, but you could hide it with ariels, or do a ground layer a la Smoke, where you nibble around the uneven base. I think it'll be more interesting.

I put mine outside and it's growing again. I've left it dry, soaked, mites, ignored, and it still goes.

Yours should be well!

Sorce

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I'd probably cut here and work with this as a front. Let the next trunk section thicken up some.
Not steps depend on whether you are aiming for a canopy style, or a more upright.

 

[ColinFraser]

A question I would ask in making the design decision, is whether these suckers air root where you live. Or if you have a hothouse to promote that if they don't. You see great trees coming from Florida and Hawaii that way.

They can live outdoors year round here, but I don't think the humidity is high enough to get much spontaneous air rooting. That's a useful consideration; thanks.

 

[ColinFraser]

It is a Ficus microcarpa, but not a retusa nitida. A lot of times, the terms; microcarpa, retusa, and nitida, are used as synonyms to describe the same tree but, that's not exactly accurate. Nomenclature isn't exactly my forté, and Ficus nomenclature is really a mess.

So, to the best of my understanding, Ficus microcarpa describes dozens of Ficus species that have a waxy leaf with a series of dots on the outer edges. Ficus microcarpa retusa describes the "tigerbark" varieties. Ficus microcarpa retusa 'Nitida' is a larger leaf variety of Ficus retusa. Similarly, Ficus microcarpa retusa 'Kinmen' describes a smaller leaf variety of Ficus microcarpa retusa.

At any rate, hope you planted your cuttings, and looks like a decent pick up. Depending on where you are at, you can be real aggressive with pruning back limbs and roots.

Thanks. I planted a cutting or two, but I certainly don't need 100 of these

As a binomial Latin/scientific name "Ficus microcarpa," by definition, describes ONE species in the genus ficus. There may be dozens of cultivars, subspecies, or synonyms, but none of those things can accurately be described as another species. What usually happens in cases like this is that naturalists originally describe several species based on looks/morphology, but when genetic evidence comes along, things get lumped together or split apart based on better data. Like this: https://www.chicagobotanic.org/downloads/research/nyree-ronsted.pdf - a little light reading (not featuring this species btw)
The phylogeny is messy, but it will get sorted out; however the lay nomenclature is, I agree, really a mess, and always slow to update.

The orchid world has undergone a massive upheaval in he last decade with the advent of cheap easy dna data; however, once the family tree is set straight, it is unlikely it will need to change dramatically again. Unsurprisingly, hobbyists and other lay people have been grumpy and slow to embrace changes, and the names still used in those circles do not accurately reflect the current scientific understanding of the relationships between species.

Mentioning I was into taxonomy at an orchid meeting was almost cause for the villagers to get their pitchforks and torches!! Haha.

 

[ColinFraser]

Gotta love a ficus in hot weather. Here's an oversized cutting from the trunk of this tree - roots coming out the bottom of the pot only a month later:

 

[sorce]

Your Pot should be more like an ignorant fat girl.

Wide and shallow.

I planted a giant ass cutting or two, but I certainly don't need or have room for 100 of these

Sorce

 

[ColinFraser]

Your Pot should be . . . wide and shallow. Sorce

I used a deep pot specifically to keep the stick from falling over; i'ts buried much deeper than necessary for rooting, so that it remains upright.

 

[ColinFraser]

Update:

 

[MidMichBonsai]

Coming along nicely. This is a great example of the motto, "we buy trunks and grow bonsai". That trunk is worth $35 any day.

Good score and headed in the right direction!

 

[KennedyMarx]

Is the secondary trunk still alive? It's cool that it's already starting to roll over that big trunk chop.

 

[ColinFraser]

Is the secondary trunk still alive?

It is, but I decided I don't want to keep it, so I plucked the shoots near the end of it. I'll leave the ones at the bottom for now - they may be useful for fueling a ground layer and/or healing the cut when I remove the stub.

 

[carp]

it would be best to grow some movement into the secondary branch and create a character branch. otherwise you have a straight trunk with no taper, no movement, a big scar and nothing exciting.