Ficus salicaria clump

[carp]

This was a gift from a friend back when I first got active into my local club. It was one of his neglected trees. I haven't done much except trim and straighten the trunks over the last few years. I repotted it to the round pot in September 2015 to give it more breathing space for growing. Plan to start working it a little more this year. I enjoy the ridiculous height of the largest trunk; the clump has no interest without the height.

 

[sorce]

That's pretty sick.

I'm watching.

Sorce

 

[ColinFraser]

Cool; what a nice gift.

What are your thoughts on the eventual size of the canopy? Will you keep it within the width of the pot as it appears to be now, or will it be wider?

 

[Geo]

Quite unique. I like it all tall and spare like that.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

In the Defoliated pic there appears to be 7 trees- two are the same height. That is really messing with me.

In this pic I would bring the tallest one down a bit. You haven't asked my opinion but I am trying to learn also.
I think it is interesting.
What will you do?

Also the tree to the right-> what is under all that foliage?
Thanks for sharing.

 

[cockroach]

I too like the height of the tallest tree. It reaches like emergent growth from a rain forest. The straightening of the trunks helped a lot to create a more balanced image. Nicely done.

 

[carp]

@ColinFraser :
tall and narrow, within the pot.
maybe when it goes into a show pot it will over hang a bit, but not much.
my goal is to make the main trunk look as tall as possible, being too wide will make it feel short and banyan-esque.

@amcoffeegirl :
i'm not one to attack someone who states their opinions, feel free to ask questions and challenge.
i think the angle at which the photo was taken is creating the effect of the trees being at the same height, which would be a problem.
truthfully, i haven't spent much time with this tree, i would have to go out and look at it tomorrow to see if that problem is so apparent at the proper angle.
reducing the height of the main tree would make the bonsai boring and a poor excuse for a forest.
that tree is still in development, never manicured.

@cockroach :
the idea is as if you were on the bank of a river looking up into the forest.
going to have to experiment with perspective to get it right.
this will possibly be a very ugly tree except from the proper viewing angle if my idea works.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

Well the forest has def progressed in your care. Great work.
Also like the hollow piece also- does it have a thread?
I know it's hard to "see" a tree in a photo

 

[cockroach]

@carp Trying new things not knowing the outcome is how great things come about. I like the idea. I have something similar going on with my microcarpa forest.

 

[Geo]

my goal is to make the main trunk look as tall as possible, being too wide will make it feel short and banyan-esque.

Exactly! The bones are there.We see so many photos.And because of the nature of 2D,many are not so much boring as contributing to a sort of bonsai ennui.However, I looked at your shot of what you have decided for this group and felt excitement. Thanks for that.