Ficus microcarpa 'tiger bark'

[Dendrobates33]

Hey guys,

A little back story on my entry into bonsai. I started with a 15 year old Portulacaria afra about 5 years ago that did very well, moved a few times, trimmed it slightly, and was content overall. About 2 years ago, a squirrel decided to gnaw through the main lower trunk and wound up killing the tree. I was able to take a few cuttings, but they are small and just growing out.

Fast forward to last summer and the bonsai bug bit again. Forums, books, and youtube videos filled much of my free time. I joined the local bonsai club at the beginning of this year and started looking for a tree. I'm drawn to tropicals, because I currently breed neotropical tree frogs and poison dart frogs set up in naturalistic vivaria with aroids, epiphytes, shinglers, etc.

We had a silent auction for a member's tree collection that could no longer be cared for. One of the highlights was a larger Ficus microcarpa 'tiger bark' with a nasty scale infestation. It wound up riding home with me and residing in my south facing window.

After using dawn dish soap and neem oil with reverse osmosis water in a spray bottle for 4 total treatments in my shower, the scale was gone. The tree has been reinvigorated and producing new shoots like crazy. This has spawned the next venture with my tree, styling.

I'm not really sure what the previous owner was going towards as far as styling, but I know that it's not been repotted in 3.5 years. With it's numerous aerial roots, weaker trunk, and thickened upper branches, I'm leaning towards a banyan style tree.

This would involve repotting into a much longer and wider shallow tray to provide real estate for aerial roots as secondary trunks and to support a very wide canopy on top.

What does everyone think of this idea on the tree? It's been in styling for 15 years so I'm apprehensive to make the first cuts, but I can see a really nice banyan Ficus coming out of this in a few years.

Enough of my babbling, pictures!

Derek

 

[thomas22]

I agree with you plan to go Banyan style completely. I would grow out the first lowest branches, especially on the left, to thicken them up like Jerry's tree. This is a really nice tree and it has the potential to be awesome. Nice frog too.
Good luck.

 

[thomas22]

Check this thread out for information and inspiration. This tree won Nationals for best Tropical.
https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/progression-of-a-tiger-bark-ficus-microcarpa-over-19-years.22145/

 

[Dendrobates33]

@thomas22 Thanks for the words of encouragement. To me, it looks like the tree was stationary for a longer period of time with the right side being much stronger than the left. I've been rotating it in the balcony window to help equalize and can't wait for outside temps to warm up. I picked up Jerry's book and have been using it as my ficus bonsai bible lately. I relocated some aerial roots that angled in towards the trunk, but otherwise I've just fertilized and pampered.

 

[J. Adrian]

Good looking Fig.

 

[sorce]

We should totally lick some frogs!

Nice tree!

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[ColinFraser]

We should totally lick some frogs!

Just don't lick a wild specimen of that Phyllobates terribilis - one frog could easily kill you and ten friends

 

[sorce]

Just don't lick a wild specimen of that Phyllobates terribilis - one frog could easily kill you and ten friends

I always wondered if it comes up in tox screens.....

Sometimes I can't believe you can buy these frogs!

Sorce

 

[ColinFraser]

. . . I'm not really sure what the previous owner was going towards as far as styling, but I know that it's not been repotted in 3.5 years. With it's numerous aerial roots, weaker trunk, and thickened upper branches, I'm leaning towards a banyan style tree.

This would involve repotting into a much longer and wider shallow tray to provide real estate for aerial roots as secondary trunks and to support a very wide canopy on top.

What does everyone think of this idea on the tree? It's been in styling for 15 years so I'm apprehensive to make the first cuts . . .

Welcome. It looks like a fun project.

As you noted, it's a little top heavy regarding branches - by the time you get the lower branches to where you want them, you could easily grow a new apex too . . .

 

[ColinFraser]

I always wondered if it comes up in tox screens.....
Sometimes I can't believe you can buy these frogs!

No biggie - I used to keep them too. Captive bred specimens lack the dietary components necessary to secrete those alkaloids.

 

[Johnathan]

Can you keep a bonsai tree alive in a frog naturalistic vivaria?

 

[Johnathan]

Can you keep a bonsai tree alive in a frog naturalistic vivaria?

Okay let me clarify because I know by definition Bonsai itself means in a pot... But can you grow a tree in say a 40 gall breeder or something as a focal point for a naturalistic setup?

 

[Dendrobates33]

@ColinFraser Close, this guy is a Phyllobates bicolor, they would be a runner up to most toxic anuran vertebrate in the world. Mine has a very high yellow coloration and minimal green leg speckling, the offspring showcase much more.


@Johnathan I've never kept a tree in a viv, but I suppose it's possible, since I've kept all sorts of Ficus pumila, F. pumila 'quercifolia', F. pumila 'Lance leaf', etc. Many chameleon keepers use larger Ficus benjamina in their set ups and technically, a vivaria is an enclosure with living plants and animals. Drainage and ventilation would be very important components to a successful tree in a glass box.

 

[Johnathan]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing!

 

[ColinFraser]

@ColinFraser Close, this guy is a Phyllobates bicolor, they would be a runner up to most toxic anuran vertebrate in the world. Mine has a very high yellow coloration and minimal green leg speckling, the offspring showcase much more.
View attachment 135644

Interesting, a monochromatic bicolor
Thanks for sharing.

 

[Dendrobates33]

Our local club had a meeting with a wild collected tree repotting and then workshop time for our trees. I brought the Ficus to show the other members it's recovery so far. Didn't do any pruning or atyling, but that time is coming soon. Here's a shot of it at the meeting.


I've been envious of endless threads showcasing overgrown nursery plants that have thick trunks and eventually turn into majestic trees. While I know it's not a classical tree, with my interest in tropicals and succulents, I was ecstatic to find an overgrown Portulacaria afra locally.

This should give me some practice on branch selection and some basic wiring. I went thrift store shopping for a lazy susan, bit ended up finding a nice chinese bonsai pot instead. Found a lazy susan at the local nursery.

That's all for now.

Derek

 

[Dendrobates33]

I've still not gathered the courage to correct many of this tree's mistakes. I did cut the terminal buds off and reduce everything to the last pair of leaves per branch to keep this guy contained and promote some back budding. I thinned out a lot of the older, larger leaves after it had been outside for a couple of weeks.

I've also seen how addicting this hobby can be and my once empty balcony I slowly turning into a miniature forest!

Pics!

 

[cbroad]

@Dendrobates33
Have you looked at https://adamaskwhy.com he does some pretty amazing and dramatic stuff with older ficus, and he explains his actions and reasons well too. I'm sure you can get some courage and inspiration from his work!

 

[sorce]

Damn! That's a big ficus!

Nice!

Sorce

 

[Dendrobates33]

After a spring and summer of watching this tree grown, I think I've decided on a plan of attack, that won't be executed until next spring.

I'll be keeping it growing this winter with artificial lighting and in a window. Hopefully this adds to the vigor of the tree prior to the changes.

I'd like to fuse all of the aerial roots to the trunk and use this side as the face, even though it's mainly comprised of aerial roots. This should thicken the trunk area and give it some direction before determining how the top of the tree should be shaped. I'll be wrapping or nailing th roots to the trunk area and moving the root ends towards the base of the tree.

I'll need to repot the tree, since it will be 4 years next spring and make relocating the aerial roots much easier. I'll be pot shopping this winter for a decent match that provides some room for root growth to let the tree run wild.

The next phases will be defoliation, canopy/branch assessment, and wiring.