me, myself & my (scarce) bonsai experience

[AlexanderSupertramp]

hello everyone! my name is Filippo and i am quite new to bonsai, and even newer to this forum, so i’m going to introduce (briefly) myself! i am a student in my last year of university in management, i love sports (basketball in particular) and i am passionate of bonsai, as i consider them to be incredible, but i can’t say that my passion goes along with deep knowledge of the matter.

so here’s why i am writing to you: for christmas 2012 my girlfriend, knowing my passion for bonsai, decided to buy me one so that i could finally prove myself with it. she bought me this ficus microcarpa:

http://imageshack.com/a/img40/3200/wy94.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img571/9832/5zrp.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img834/9178/l51p.jpg

which i am sure is not the rarest of the specimens (on the contrary, from what i saw on the internet) but that i loved instantly. at first, given my super-limited knowledge of bonsai, and given that everyone told me “you gotta be really careful or it’s going to die!!”, i decided to focus just on the survival of the plant. and indeed after some months, the bonsai was suffering, mostly due to the placement in my old apartment. when i moved to my actual place, lot brighter than where i was living before, the bonsai started recover, and also a new branch (that you can see in the picture) grew. now some time has passed and the plant survived optimally up to now, so i decided to start to give it my “signature”.

what i would mostly like to change in the aspect of the bonsai is that it looks like a trunk with a couple of branches on it, and not properly a tree. you can see that the log is way bigger than the branches, and i suppose this is because the branches were “glued” (excuse my vocabulary but i’m not a technician just yet) to the peak of the trunk. from what i saw it is kind of an “industrial” bonsai, probably grew in series and that might be the reason. anyway, what i would like my bonsai to look would be more like this:
http://www.easybonsai.it/images/ficus microcarpa.jpg
or like this:
http://www.bonsaihunk.us/pic/FmicrJPgWeb/FicusMont1.jpg

now, i know that to have something like the trees i’ve posted i would require years and immense attentions, but what i really want to know is: from the starting point that i am showing you, will i be able to set the style that i want, or will it be impossible?
and in case it is possible, what would i need to do? re-pot? prune? both of them?? as i already said my knowledge in bonsai is really limited, but i have passion and i’m a good learner so with the right advices i’m sure i could make it.. just let me know what should i do and i will!

on another note, i would also like to create a new plant from my bonsai. will it be possible? should i start from a branch? and in case, how would i do it?

if anyone has been so patient to read all my post and is willing to give me any advice, i’ll be immensely grateful

 

[Jason_mazzy]

the ginseng ficus is easy to root. makes an unconventional bonsai. perhaps you will lead the forefront on creating beautiful ginseng ficus.

 

[bonsaifromscratch]

Rooting is pretty easy. Take branches that are not woody, snip, and put it in a rooting medium (vermiculite works well) and water it. To preserve humidity, use a bag and put the cuttings inside with the medium in a pot and occasionally mist to preserve humidity. It will take about a month to see growth.

 

[edprocoat]

Alexander as already posted here they are easy to grow from cuttings. They do not make really nice looking Bonsai as the roots never look close to a real tree. There are many other varities of Ficus Bonsai that can be purchased reasonably and will grow indoors and also are easy to propagate from cuttings.

BTW, welcome to B-Nut ! There is loads of information in the tropical section on growing these plants and lots of progressions to look at too. There is a guy here who has tons of posts up with good info Redwood Ryan and I think he is even selling his stock off too.

Have fun,

ed

 

[Eric Group]

Welcome!

Harsh reality time- if you want your tree to look like the pics you posted, you will need to get a new tree.

Most serious enthusiasts don't seem to like that type of Ficus because they won't turn into the type of tree you said you want.

Do you have any outdoor areas to grow trees in or are you limited to indoor space? We could recommend some different species for you, but let everyone know where you Live, what kind of space you have access to...

 

[CHUCHIN]

Welcome to the greatest form of art in the world(my opinion). You will experience joy and learning beyond your imagination. Also welcome to b.nut. I am a participant, student and share advice where I can. People on this website have extensive knowledge and experience. Tons of goodies available. Do a lot of research and outreach to build your knowledge. Most importantly experiment and adapt.

In terms of your ficus I am sorry but have no knowledge on that specific variety however in general ficus is a good place to start..l have good drainage, don't over water and provide good lighting

James

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I personally don't think it is possible with a ginseng ficus - because of the tubular roots.

That's ok though - just gives you and excuse to buy more trees Give us a little more info about your location and whether you have outdoor space. You can also check out this thread for a discussion about ficus development in Thailand that look very much like what you are after.

 

[AlexanderSupertramp]

thanks everyone for the warm welcoming! you all kind of confirmed what i was thinking about my tree..oh well as some of you said it'll only give me an excuse to grow some new ones, of course keeping my ficus along with them! btw, the tropical from thailand! just wow!

about my location: i am pretty far from most of you i am italian but i live currently in belgium where i am in my last post-grad year.

i do have a courtyard where i could position plants, but since almost certainly i will move somewhere else (in europe) after the summer, i was reticent to grow a new tree as transportation might get complicated for me when i'll get to move.. however i really wanted to get myself a fagus (or beech? i'm not sure which one is the correct name) but once again i would be on the verge of an adventure without any idea of what will expect me

if i finally decide to give it a go, should i grow it from seed or better from cuttings?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I am past my "grow bonsai from seed" stage just because of the time required. Cuttings will get you a two year head start on a tree, and air-layers will get you five years or more. European Beech is a very popular and common bonsai tree. You might check bonsai nurseries to see if they have any pre-bonsai stock. Walter Pall (who visits here often) has some amazing European Beech bonsai.

I don't think moving within Northern Europe would be a problem - but if you are eventually going to return to Italy you may want to make sure that your location would work for beech. It would be a shame to develop a few nice trees and not be able to return home with them.

Here is a link to Walter's site where you can see some European Beeches to aspire to!

 

[AlexanderSupertramp]

that is absolutely gorgeous. in case i'll move back to italy (which i doubt) i'll go back to my birthplace, which is not too far from this place
http://www.renonews.it/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Santuario_1.jpg
whose name means literally "sanctuary of the virgin of the beech", so it shouldn't be a problem of course in case i decide to buy this tree, i should place it in my courtyard, right? no indoor..?

and for my ficus, you moved my curiosity with your post! would it be possible for me to even try to do something like that thai tropical tree? and if yes, where should i begin from? i know i'm being bothersome but i really want to work on my plant, just i really don't know how to do it