Ficus Carica Styling

[canadianlights]

Hello there! I've been working on my ficus carica and was hoping for some fresh design ideas. Currently, I am letting it grow out and will do partial defoliation, but the leaf size doesn't bother me all too much.


Does anybody have experience working with these trees? I'm having trouble finding good specimen trees to study.

 

[Shibui]

Not a whole lot to work on with this one yet which can make decisions more difficult.
Look for the best trunk shape. pics 2,3 or 4 are better than 1 because they show some bends.
Then assess the branching to see which ones work with that particular angle. Don't be afraid to cut one or more branches if they look odd. More will grow elsewhere to fill out the design.
Keep trimming branches as they elongate. F. carica is just like the tropical species in that it would rather just grow long, thin branches. Pruning will cause ramification.

The reason you can't find many good ones is that most people get sick of the large leaves and give up.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Great advice, above.

I like all ficus species... but it’s important to know that I just love plants.. period!

I’ve HEARD (so I’m acting as a parrot, here) that Caricas don’t respond to ANY of the “three main leaf-reducing procedures”.

These, from my experience, being Defoliation... Soil with high CE for root ramification.... and “small-pottin’”.. Some species respond to one.. some to ALL... Caricas, from what I hear, respond to none of these...

But I HAVE never grown this particular fig.

Nice tree, though... I’d “play around” with it.

 

[jaco94]

Hello everyone, I have no experience with fig trees, but it is a species of bonsai quite widespread in the countries of southern Europe because they appreciate a Mediterranean climate.

Some manage to shrink the leaves quite impressively by applying the right techniques as it is a variety like most ficus which responds very well to pruning.

We also sometimes see bonsai of ficus carica of small size (mame) like the one in the photo below (Printerest)

 

[HorseloverFat]

Hello everyone, I have no experience with fig trees, but it is a species of bonsai quite widespread in the countries of southern Europe because they appreciate a Mediterranean climate.

Some manage to shrink the leaves quite impressively by applying the right techniques as it is a variety like most ficus which responds very well to pruning.

We also sometimes see bonsai of ficus carica of small size (mame) like the one in the photo below (Printerest)

View attachment 382488

AWESOME!!!!

 

[jaco94]

Yes, the result is quite astonishing, this tree belongs to a shohin and mame enthusiast from the south of France who is present on some French forums where he shares with modesty his great experience, he has a rather impressive collection, and this fig tree is one of his favorite trees .

 

[HorseloverFat]

Yes, the result is quite astonishing, this tree belongs to a shohin and mame enthusiast from the south of France who is present on some French forums where he shares with modesty his great experience, he has a rather impressive collection, and this fig tree is one of his favorite trees .

Hehe!! growing ficus where “winter leaves” don’t exist..

This is a fantastic tree.. i’m blown away.

 

[Shibui]

All ficus species I have grown here have reduced leaves really well. Possibly even better than most other common bonsai species.

The biggest single leaf reduction strategy for ficus is terminal bud removal and pruning shoots back to the first leaf. This relies on the natural growth pattern of ficus where the first leaf on any shoot is small. Subsequent leaves are progressively larger so cutting back to the first leaf will always leave only the smallest. Obviously not suited to developing trees because they won't grow much that way but nobody should be trying for small leaves on trees when the aim is to develop trunks and branches.
2nd strategy is as for all other species- plenty of ramification. The more shoots the tree has the smaller the leaves will be without any other intervention.
I have also seen some great leaf reduction just from removing any larger leaves as they appear.

In my experience, defoliation without pruning or other strategies does not seem to result in leaf reduction in any species.