Ficus retusa styling help

[Ugo]

Hi everyone,

Question about styling on my ficus retusa.

This tree has all my respect being my test tree since years now.
I made all kind of mistakes (and still do) , tried any type of different things, been left in cold temperature for months with no direct sun, inadequate subtrat and so on.

He still alive! And now its time for me to give back.

I repotted the tree last spring with light roots prunning.
The tree responded well starting new shoots everywhere.

This picture is from last April.


Better shot of the nebari.



Here the tree today after wiring.


I left all the foliage on top leaving the tree grow for summer.

I think the tree could be a good canditate for a clump style bonsai but I prefer asking questions as I dont have experience with this styling.
So far I wired the mains trunks to give them more movements as few of them were almost straight.

I have a question about possible agressive cutting.
Before doing all that I will left the tree grow for 2 years, in an atemp to have a bigger nebari and more aerial roots to create a bigger taper.

Even if I woukd let the tree grow for 2 years before doing anything else I would like your opinion.
Should I shorten ( if possible) the multi trunks
For a maximum trunk lenght like this:


I could also leave it as it is now and start top ramification but side branches might have to be shortened.
As the tree as no ramification on top this is also an option but it is difficult for me to have a clear picture of this tree in the future due to lack of experience.

My second question is about nebari.
I understand the basic technique to have a good nebari in general but with ficus you also get the option of aerial roots.
I did some experiences in the past as you can see. Which worked quite well.
I missed good opportunities with the roots.

I could use this same technique again, but the main problem is that I dont have a growing room with high himidity level with a multi trunk tree like this one I find it hard to seal the plastic bag.

I would like to know if I could add a plastic pot with air holes around the trunk and add a draining substrare to encourage root grow everywhere around the trunk.
In about a year or so I could remove the pot and wire the new roots in choosen places.
I felt that by damaging the bark and adding root hormones the trunk could be even more conical and wide using a pot.
Please correct me if Im wrong.

Thanks for your time
Ugo

 

[butlern]

Looking very nice! Congratulations on staying this tree for so long.

I would only offer that ficus tend to straighten out when wire is removed, so is suggest you exaggerate those bends in the trunk quite a bit more!

I tried a ring of soil around my clump trunk to encourage some buttressing aerial roots, but I was only partially successful.

keep up the excellent care of this tree

 

[Ugo]

Hi!

Thanks for the good comments!

Good advice on wiring this specie.
I will rework on the wiring a little bit more in a couple weeks.
With the stress I put on some branches I think a step by step will be safer.

As for the pot I did give it a try and installed half a pot with air holes around and filled with akadama.
I made few marks on the trunk with rooting hormones and Ill report in few weeks as roots should have started.
If not ill take it off and use the good old plastic bag technique!

 

[Maiden69]

ok... first of all you need to remove that raffia (I guess that's what it is) from the trunks. You don't need it and I don't think ficus bark will like that. It will also make the parts that are not wrapped swell and compress the parts that are wrapped. Ficus grow SUPER fast. Exagerate the bends, let the wire bite into the bark before removing, that will help the bends stay once you get the wire out, but as ficus grows fast they will tend to straighten the bends as they thicken.

I would let it grow the way it is right now after removing the raffia, then next late spring/early summer depending what you think you could chop everything down hard. You have a nice foundation. Everything that you cut, you can stick in perlite with some peat moss or sphagnum moss and they will root. You can use those cuttings for new trees or to enhance the one you have.

That branch was wired almost into an S shape, wire bite in and almost entirely sunk in the wood. I removed it around April this year... that pic was taken yesterday while I was repotting.

 

[Ugo]

Hi!

Thanks for your inputs.

I was under the impression that raffia would breath enought to not hurt the tree.

I must admit I wasnt sure if I should use it or not but after feelling the branches that had to be wired I decided to go for it.
I also wanted to avoid deep marks on the bark.

I tried to find a clear answer about using raffia on ficus but I really have nothing for or against using so far.
I will try to remove it without removing the wires but I dont think its possible.
Maybe I could cut it in stripes following the wires coils but I will probably damage the bark while doing so.

I want to say thank you for your picture as it give me a better idea on how I have to exagerate the bends.

Thanks
Ugo

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I would wait to do anything until the tree is healthy and growing well. Then as others have said add more movement in the trunks.
Remove or restyle any crossing roots.you can spread them out and style them too.
Study some clump forms if that is the direction that you want to go.

 

[Maiden69]

I was under the impression that raffia would breath enought to not hurt the tree.

I must admit I wasnt sure if I should use it or not but after feelling the branches that had to be wired I decided to go for it.
I also wanted to avoid deep marks on the bark.

I tried to find a clear answer about using raffia on ficus but I really have nothing for or against using so far.
I will try to remove it without removing the wires but I dont think its possible.
Maybe I could cut it in stripes following the wires coils but I will probably damage the bark while doing so.

I want to say thank you for your picture as it give me a better idea on how I have to exagerate the bends.

Thanks
Ugo

Raffia creates compression, and it helps to prevent woody tissue from breaking, or to control the breaks. Ficus is extremely flexible, especially at the stage yours is, no need to use. It will compress to the point that the tissue above it will grow and the one wrapped will keep the same size. The branches will look like Popeyes arms, skinny towards the base then thick after the raffia.

Wire marks in ficus are not an issue, the tree grows so quick that they will disappear in time.

Use raffia for conifers when doing extreme bends or material that is brittle.

Do a lot of research here before performing anything on your tree.
Get a free membership for Mirai Live, 7 days free if you cancel by the 7th day and binge watch as many videos as you can... that was my plan and I am still subscribed.

check the links I posted in this thread... it's in Spanish, but there are 100's of pictures that will allow you to understand what he is doing.

Surprise Ficus Bonsai : Advice needed

I received 3 Ficus trees from a relative. These had been sitting in these pots in his backyard for the last ~15 years. Being in his advanced years he was never able to get to take care of them beyond the regular watering. Getting to know my budding interest in Bonsai he offered these to me for...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[Forsoothe!]

Raffia creates compression, and it helps to prevent woody tissue from breaking, or to control the breaks. Ficus is extremely flexible, especially at the stage yours is, no need to use. It will compress to the point that the tissue above it will grow and the one wrapped will keep the same size. The branches will look like Popeyes arms, skinny towards the base then thick after the raffia.

Wire marks in ficus are not an issue, the tree grows so quick that they will disappear in time.

Use raffia for conifers when doing extreme bends or material that is brittle.

Do a lot of research here before performing anything on your tree.
Get a free membership for Mirai Live, 7 days free if you cancel by the 7th day and binge watch as many videos as you can... that was my plan and I am still subscribed.

check the links I posted in this thread... it's in Spanish, but there are 100's of pictures that will allow you to understand what he is doing.

Surprise Ficus Bonsai : Advice needed

I received 3 Ficus trees from a relative. These had been sitting in these pots in his backyard for the last ~15 years. Being in his advanced years he was never able to get to take care of them beyond the regular watering. Getting to know my budding interest in Bonsai he offered these to me for...

www.bonsainut.com

I disagree entirely. Raffia is not a problem. The wire should be removed at 6 to 8 weeks.

 

[Maiden69]

ok... so you think that raffia will expand with the growth of the tree? Because raffia doesn't expand. If you think the wire will do damage, the raffia will do 2x the damage the wire will.

That branch will look like a renaissance woman with a tight corset by the end of the growing season.


Or like the neck rings on Kayan tribes.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Not in 6 to 8 weeks.

 

[luvinthemountains]

Not in 6 to 8 weeks.

At least not in Quebec, where they are about to enter their cold, rainy season. There will be moderate trunk thickening, but I imagine there is enough slack in the coils to compensate for that. I would leave it on.

 

[Maiden69]

Not in 6 to 8 weeks.

The grafted branch I posted above got that big in 5 months. It was the size of the stump of the failed branch in the last picture on the top left corner. I don't know about the growth indoors in Canada, so he might be fine... but outdoors under sun and fed 6-8 months will mess up the proportions of those branches for sure.

Difference in branch size mid Apr to 1 AUG. It almost entirely pushed the rubber stopper from the grafting pin. Both branches on the top grew equally strong.

 

[Ugo]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for this interresting debate!
You are absolutely right about Quebec temperature.
At the end of September we will get the autum coming so the temperature and period of day light start dropping slowly.
Trees here make no exceptions as they gradually slow down their growing process. Throught the whole point of doing the wiring at this particular time.

The tree still has a good activity but not as it was in June-Mid July even if July this year was far from exceptional.

I will keep the raffia on the tree but will keep an eye on it.
At the end I will learn from it and see if raffia can create issues on a fast growing tree such as ficus.
As other members said the wires will be off by the second week of September and I will report from there.

 

[Maiden69]

Don't be hasty on removing the wires. In this tree, wires won't have that much of an effect if they don't dig into the wood slightly. I think that as you approach autumn the tree will slow down drastically. You will see the wood expanding on the edges of the raffia before you notice it on the wires.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Yes to this ^, going into the rest period the wire can stay on longer and set better and longer. Figs always reach for the sun and over time the branches set now will resume reaching upward, so longer wire sessions over periods of low/no growth pay off. Guy wires with vinyl tubing on the branches left on over years (here) from December '19 thru Feb '21 (and actually longer, maybe April '21) works nicely...



This has an extra benefit of holding branches in position when "just a tad" is needed to reinforce position as opposed to radical moves because there is always some springback when you release the wire. Of course, Michigan growth is not Florida growth.

 

[Ugo]

Yes to this ^, going into the rest period the wire can stay on longer and set better and longer. Figs always reach for the sun and over time the branches set now will resume reaching upward, so longer wire sessions over periods of low/no growth pay off. Guy wires with vinyl tubing on the branches left on over years (here) from December '19 thru Feb '21 (and actually longer, maybe April '21) works nicely...
View attachment 389878
View attachment 389879
View attachment 389881
This has an extra benefit of holding branches in position when "just a tad" is needed to reinforce position as opposed to radical moves because there is always some springback when you release the wire. Of course, Michigan growth is not Florida growth.

Beautiful tree and very nice work.
Thanks for the advise, I will defenately try this technique after this "initial" setting of the branches, a metal tray as you have is also a clever idea to attach the wires thanks for sharing.

Don't be hasty on removing the wires. In this tree, wires won't have that much of an effect if they don't dig into the wood slightly. I think that as you approach autumn the tree will slow down drastically. You will see the wood expanding on the edges of the raffia before you notice it on the wires.

My plan is to make regular visual inspections and look for the condition the raffia could bring.
If I see slight tissue grow close to the raffia I will simply remove it.
While I dont think it will be a real problem I must admit seeing the condition of the bark in contact with the wire is useful.

For now the foliage of the tree is growing fast.
I stop fertilizing 2 weeks ago, just before installing the wires.

Depending on time I have to remove the wires I will post a little update so we will see the results of this attempt.

Thanks again!

 

[Ugo]

Hi!

I would like to share the results on the wiring and wet rafia after 7 weeks.
Took the wires off last night




The rafia left some marks as the wires but no wires bites
I think the rafia was a little bit too tight at some places but the end result is correct from my point of view.
No important swelling up top end or bottom end and the tree will overcome the marks with time.

Rafia and wire bites aside I would like to ask if you had only one branch to keep on this tree which one would it be assuming that the picture above is the front?

Im thinking about the option of creating a single trunk tree! When you get more informations in bonsai you start to see basicly endless possibilities!
I will let this tree grow for probably 2 years from now depending on the grow rate as I want the trunk bigger, then roots will be reworked for a couple years depending on the repoting needs then after I could start to remove a major branch per year by air layer starting with the smaller one I dont intent to keep the tree could be totally different from what it is now if I continue this process throught the years.
Cut and grow technique would be used after to match the branch size with the trunk.

My concern is about the age of the tree...
It look underdeveloped but this tree is almost 20yrs now so Im also asking if this procedure is too risky condering the age and time it will take to get there.. The tree will be around 25-26yrs old when the process of removing branches will start, at around 30yrs there would be only that branch left and the secondary ramification will begin.

If I go on with this styling this would be the new leader:

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Currently, the tree has only one single trunk. You have a bunch of branches coming off of that one trunk. Since it's a Ficus, once the tree is actively growing and pushing new leaves, you can begin to chop everything back, no need to air layer.

 

[Ugo]

Currently, the tree has only one single trunk. You have a bunch of branches coming off of that one trunk. Since it's a Ficus, once the tree is actively growing and pushing new leaves, you can begin to chop everything back, no need to air layer.

Hi!

I know that air layering is not necessary, however, in this case I plan to keep the material because I want to practice these techniques:
air layer
root work
nebari formation
culture pots
Soil
Thicker branch movement either by splitting or wiring
Trunk splitting
Raft style

After air layer I will take into account the die back if there is any and make a second cut lower near the trunk on the main tree.

Ficus can pretty much endure anything and are eady to work with as this tree proven many times in the past so I think this will be good material to try theses techniques.
Only issue is that they dont naturally grow in my Zone 5b....
I would say half the tree life is inside a house unfortunately.
Its under growing lights (Nothing nice) get limited quantity of fertilizer in fall, I water if needed but that's the tree life from September to May/June.
So yes I hesitate on air layering theses pieces because I dont have any proper growing room inside the house.
Maybe one day Ill make one for the main tree, it would be ideal but my wife probably wont see it that way!

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Hi!

I know that air layering is not necessary, however, in this case I plan to keep the material because I want to practice these techniques:
air layer
root work
nebari formation
culture pots
Soil
Thicker branch movement either by splitting or wiring
Trunk splitting
Raft style

After air layer I will take into account the die back if there is any and make a second cut lower near the trunk on the main tree.

Ficus can pretty much endure anything and are eady to work with as this tree proven many times in the past so I think this will be good material to try theses techniques.
Only issue is that they dont naturally grow in my Zone 5b....
I would say half the tree life is inside a house unfortunately.
Its under growing lights (Nothing nice) get limited quantity of fertilizer in fall, I water if needed but that's the tree life from September to May/June.
So yes I hesitate on air layering theses pieces because I dont have any proper growing room inside the house.
Maybe one day Ill make one for the main tree, it would be ideal but my wife probably wont see it that way!

Well, given how thin the branches are you could easily chop them off and root them. Air layering material this thin just isn't worth it when it'll root so readily in some soil.