Starting a thread for this fusion-trunk Ficus benjamina.
I wrapped a fat handful of rooted cuttings with velcro tape and put them into a 4" nursery pot. That got them fused enough to hold together and was starting to swell around the edges. It was removed, replaced with grafting tape (Buddy Tape brand), and repotted. You can see the pattern of the velcro in the bark in some of the pictures.
September 29 2024 - some glamour shots testing out a higher quality camera...
October 18 2024 - slip potted into a kitchen colander because I didn't want to manage untreated wood inside
July 31 2025 - it's in the middle of the rack there. Not the best photo for it, but it does show the rack it's on in the summer.
August 7 2025 - unrestrained growth, no management
August 8 2025 - cut hard with hopes of growth inward to increase the selection for a base branch structure. Ideally I should've done some of this earlier
September 25 2025 - cut back to a rough branch structure, leaving a bit more than needed. This and the other tropicals will come indoors to overwinter under lights soon. Seems like I got into mid-October last year before nights got cold.
I believe so, yes. The difference isn't massive, but I do think this one is farther along in both branch structure/ramification and trunk thickness/interest than some single trunk ficus from the same mother and similar management.
With more intention and experience placed into the beginning of a fusion project like this I see a reasonably sized "head start" in general trunk and branch development. I started this project as an avenue to discard rooted cuttings and didn't place much effort into design. I was pleasantly surprised when this setup worked repeatedly; there's around 5 projects that I've started and all of them took without a hitch. Ficus is pretty impressive!
I also enjoy the scars and flaws that are not as preferable in some traditional displays. I like those too, but I want to create something that satisfies my desire for character and interest in less pristine forms. The scars and non-typical forms make me curious and wonder how/why they're there. To boot, it's a more beginner friendly style choice as it helps me feel more confident in taking action versus getting stuck trying to plan when I don't have the experience to know.
The scale is tough without a good reference - in the coming weeks I can snap some more pictures that better show scaling. This first picture is a single trunk from the same mother, very similar substrate, slightly less room in the pot, relatively similar pruning and rootwork timing. It started slightly thicker than a single cutting of that fusion trunk in the very first pictures. Similar story for the other single trunk below but with slightly more work done on branch structure in the last year.
