My New Ficus Microcarpa

MattE

Shohin
Messages
381
Reaction score
315
Location
Edmonton Alberta
USDA Zone
3b
Hey there all i picked this on up at ..dare i say it IKEA lol i mean 36.99 i couldnt resist its about 9 inch, i use to hate looking at these thinking thats not a bonsai!! but for some reason after reseaching and watching videos online i just fell in love with them...grow huge arial roots with a nice big thick canopy looking like something out of the jungle book!
Some questions tho, some places i have read say they are two ficus's fused together.. is this true? and also , how are these to propagate ? i hear they are rather easy and quite hardy. also any styling tips would be greatly appreciated.. i plan on doing a cutting and making a pine style ( ish ) bonsai with huge airial roots.
Also how bad is it to hack chunks of roots off on these guys ?

any tips and tricks or styling suggestions would be greatly appreciated and yes i did put it in a bonsai soil mix of 1:1:1 akadama , lava rock and pumice with a small bit of orchard
20180916_161125.jpg
 

MHBonsai

Chumono
Messages
669
Reaction score
2,056
Location
Nashville, TN
USDA Zone
7a
They can be chopped severely and still root. Like this thread.

Keep it humid, don't overwater and it should push new roots from the chop site once you behead it.
 

Shinjuku

Mame
Messages
207
Reaction score
639
Location
Sacramento, CA
USDA Zone
9b
Yes, this is two ficus plants fused together. One bigger ficus donated the large roots, and a smaller ficus donated the branches and leaves.

Good choice on the soil mix.

I don’t know if all ficus trees can create aerial roots or if only some can. Either way, they need near 100% humidity to grow them. Since you’re in Canada, you’ll need an artificial way to give it that high humidity to make a ficus grow aerial roots.

As @MHBonssi wrote, ficus are very easy to propagate.
 

cockroach

Chumono
Messages
564
Reaction score
1,555
Location
Taichung, Taiwan
Yes, this is two ficus plants fused together. One bigger ficus donated the large roots, and a smaller ficus donated the branches and leaves.

Good choice on the soil mix.

I don’t know if all ficus trees can create aerial roots or if only some can. Either way, they need near 100% humidity to grow them. Since you’re in Canada, you’ll need an artificial way to give it that high humidity to make a ficus grow aerial roots.

As @MHBonssi wrote, ficus are very easy to propagate.
I think these are grafted not fused. But yes, two trees used to make one.

Hey there all i picked this on up at ..dare i say it IKEA lol i mean 36.99 i couldnt resist its about 9 inch, i use to hate looking at these thinking thats not a bonsai!! but for some reason after reseaching and watching videos online i just fell in love with them...grow huge arial roots with a nice big thick canopy looking like something out of the jungle book!
Some questions tho, some places i have read say they are two ficus's fused together.. is this true? and also , how are these to propagate ? i hear they are rather easy and quite hardy. also any styling tips would be greatly appreciated.. i plan on doing a cutting and making a pine style ( ish ) bonsai with huge airial roots.
Also how bad is it to hack chunks of roots off on these guys ?

For styling use guy wires and pull the lower, outer branches down. Put outside in summer and fertilize. Allow it to grow freely to thicken up the branches and heal wounds.

They are simple to propogate. Cut off branch and put in water or damp potting soil. Wait.

They are tough as a bag of nails in hot weather. Be careful doing anything to them in cold weather. I worked on one of mine in our "winter" +-14C. Took about 5 weeks before it started growing again. Thought it have given up the ghost.

As for styling, you could let the two upright branches grow to make apex and other branches fan out and down radially.

In your climate a cutting and your intended style are possible but will take a long time. Your growing season is very short.

If the tree is healthy and the weather is hot and wet. You could all but chop off the roots completely without a worry. They will spring back. Often when buying medium to larger ficus at the bonsai market here, the ficus have no leaves and barely any roots to make it easier to transport.

This tree was basically a stumop with some spindly twigs. has been work on for about 6 or 7 years. Slowly.
A year after I bought it.
IMAG0631.jpg

About 3 or 4 years of working on it.
DSC_0077.JPG

A pic from May this year.
24-5-18 Size Cropped.jpg

Hope this gives you an idea what you could do. Your timeline may vary due to your weather extremes and shorter growing season.
 

MattE

Shohin
Messages
381
Reaction score
315
Location
Edmonton Alberta
USDA Zone
3b
I think these are grafted not fused. But yes, two trees used to make one.



For styling use guy wires and pull the lower, outer branches down. Put outside in summer and fertilize. Allow it to grow freely to thicken up the branches and heal wounds.

They are simple to propogate. Cut off branch and put in water or damp potting soil. Wait.

They are tough as a bag of nails in hot weather. Be careful doing anything to them in cold weather. I worked on one of mine in our "winter" +-14C. Took about 5 weeks before it started growing again. Thought it have given up the ghost.

As for styling, you could let the two upright branches grow to make apex and other branches fan out and down radially.

In your climate a cutting and your intended style are possible but will take a long time. Your growing season is very short.

If the tree is healthy and the weather is hot and wet. You could all but chop off the roots completely without a worry. They will spring back. Often when buying medium to larger ficus at the bonsai market here, the ficus have no leaves and barely any roots to make it easier to transport.

This tree was basically a stumop with some spindly twigs. has been work on for about 6 or 7 years. Slowly.
A year after I bought it.
View attachment 210413

About 3 or 4 years of working on it.
View attachment 210412

A pic from May this year.
View attachment 210411

Hope this gives you an idea what you could do. Your timeline may vary due to your weather extremes and shorter growing season.


Thank you so much for your input, i notice everyone goes with a broom style on these , is there any reason i couldn't get a straight cutting and make in an informal up wright or cascade ect? i personally dont like the bulbas roots so i will definitely cut it some time , or propagate also i have mine in a 1:1:1 akadama , lava rock and pumice with a tiny bit of orchard bark is that an ok mix?
 

MattE

Shohin
Messages
381
Reaction score
315
Location
Edmonton Alberta
USDA Zone
3b
Yes, this is two ficus plants fused together. One bigger ficus donated the large roots, and a smaller ficus donated the branches and leaves.

Good choice on the soil mix.

I don’t know if all ficus trees can create aerial roots or if only some can. Either way, they need near 100% humidity to grow them. Since you’re in Canada, you’ll need an artificial way to give it that high humidity to make a ficus grow aerial roots.

As @MHBonssi wrote, ficus are very easy to propagate.

thanks that picture was taken before i changed the soil i wasnt sure if my 1:1:1 with a bit of orchard was ok or not
 

cockroach

Chumono
Messages
564
Reaction score
1,555
Location
Taichung, Taiwan
Thank you so much for your input, i notice everyone goes with a broom style on these , is there any reason i couldn't get a straight cutting and make in an informal up wright or cascade ect? i personally dont like the bulbas roots so i will definitely cut it some time , or propagate also i have mine in a 1:1:1 akadama , lava rock and pumice with a tiny bit of orchard bark is that an ok mix?

Their growth naturally is well suited to it and it replicates naturally occurring ficus in tropical areas. Some do grow upright and cascade. The choice is yours. These trees are very trainable. Some styles harder to maintain due to growth patterns.
You could ground layer it where you want to remove the roots.
The substrate mix sounds fine. I however, put some more bark in or perlite for water retention.
My literati ficus. It needs attention and optimal growing conditions to keep it up.
17 Sept 18 - .JPG

Cascade
DSC_0084.JPG

This style is much harder to keep. I use it to play with and keep me from working on trees that need to be left to grow.
17 Spet 18 - Front.JPG

Broom just look nicer with thick trunks IMO.
P_20130707_162931.jpg
 

Mercator

Seed
Messages
4
Reaction score
1
Location
WI
USDA Zone
4a
Hey there all i picked this on up at ..dare i say it IKEA lol i mean 36.99 i couldnt resist its about 9 inch, i use to hate looking at these thinking thats not a bonsai!! but for some reason after reseaching and watching videos online i just fell in love with them...grow huge arial roots with a nice big thick canopy looking like something out of the jungle book!
Some questions tho, some places i have read say they are two ficus's fused together.. is this true? and also , how are these to propagate ? i hear they are rather easy and quite hardy. also any styling tips would be greatly appreciated.. i plan on doing a cutting and making a pine style ( ish ) bonsai with huge airial roots.
Also how bad is it to hack chunks of roots off on these guys ?

any tips and tricks or styling suggestions would be greatly appreciated and yes i did put it in a bonsai soil mix of 1:1:1 akadama , lava rock and pumice with a small bit of orchard
View attachment 210325
How thick/depth is that topping? It looks like bark mulch.
 

MattE

Shohin
Messages
381
Reaction score
315
Location
Edmonton Alberta
USDA Zone
3b
How thick/depth is that topping? It looks like bark mulch.
hey actually it was a mix of coconut and some other stuff, i actually swapped that out like 3 days after i bought it and put it in a bonsai soil mix of 1/3 akadama , 1/3 j pumace / 1/3 lava and its doing stupidly awesome .. its really just a donor tree i have been propagating
 
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Hey there all i picked this on up at ..dare i say it IKEA lol i mean 36.99 i couldnt resist its about 9 inch, i use to hate looking at these thinking thats not a bonsai!! but for some reason after reseaching and watching videos online i just fell in love with them...grow huge arial roots with a nice big thick canopy looking like something out of the jungle book!
Some questions tho, some places i have read say they are two ficus's fused together.. is this true? and also , how are these to propagate ? i hear they are rather easy and quite hardy. also any styling tips would be greatly appreciated.. i plan on doing a cutting and making a pine style ( ish ) bonsai with huge airial roots.
Also how bad is it to hack chunks of roots off on these guys ?

any tips and tricks or styling suggestions would be greatly appreciated and yes i did put it in a bonsai soil mix of 1:1:1 akadama , lava rock and pumice with a small bit of orchard
View attachment 210325
Hi, I am from Toronto, Canada. I bought one(Ficus) almost identical to your 6 weeks ago. After about 3 weeks ago, the leaves start falling don't know why. I placed it beside the widow like yours. The temperature is around 21c in mid day. What is the temperature is good to it? Thanks
 
Top Bottom