ficus microcarpa

[MHBonsai]

You are doing good work here. It's hard to give good feedback off of photos. I like the taller design myself as it is. The chop site, I'd be inclined to keep the 'left side' branch and just bring it down and forward and cut it back and make it a branch to partially conceal the chop, growing out the main leader off the right side.

What's your plan for the roots? I myself don't like roots with air under them, unless part of a full-on tropical aerial root system. Can you lift the tree slightly in the pot, cut off all of the exposed 'finger' roots and still get some flare? If not, I'd pack with spagnum and see if you can get a pile of roots to grow to make it more of a tropical/aerial root flared base.

 

[cdefoe]

You are doing good work here. It's hard to give good feedback off of photos. I like the taller design myself as it is. The chop site, I'd be inclined to keep the 'left side' branch and just bring it down and forward and cut it back and make it a branch to partially conceal the chop, growing out the main leader off the right side.

yeah i gotta see what it gives me when i let it grow out then play it by ear. another thing i've considered is planting it at a more dramatic angle to make that red circle section with little taper/movement seem less prominent

What's your plan for the roots? I myself don't like roots with air under them, unless part of a full-on tropical aerial root system. Can you lift the tree slightly in the pot, cut off all of the exposed 'finger' roots and still get some flare? If not, I'd pack with spagnum and see if you can get a pile of roots to grow to make it more of a tropical/aerial root flared base.

i think i'd like to go full-on tropical aerial root system. when i repotted it i cut off what was left of the taproot and tried to promote radial growth when pruning the roots. i think the current plan is to keep cutting those bigger roots back to get ramification to give it that tropical look and also with the hope of one day fitting them into a smaller pot.

i've thought about applying sphagnum to the base, but growing indoors i'm a bit worried about fungal problems (i do have a couple computer fans moving air in my greenhouse but it's nothing compared to being outside). is there anything i can do to mitigate that? is there a spray i should have on hand?

 

[cdefoe]

i think something like this could be it. what do y'all think??

 

[cdefoe]

posting to track progress. finally got around to air layering this sick bastard to correct that section of the main trunk that has no taper/movement where it splits into two. have a couple branches that popped out in the last year or that i'm saving to thicken the trunk and possibly be a part of the design if i decide to chop/layer the other trunk at some point in the future

 

[Forsoothe!]

The principals of acquiring taper are pretty simple: each leaf, each branch, contributes to thickening the trunk below the leaf or branch. Therefore, to add taper more leaves need to be lower on the tree than higher up.

A sample formula...

Look at the distribution on your tree and calculate the contribution to taper.