Shohin Willow Leaf Ficus

[markyscott]

This little tree looks dope man. Inspires me to buy a similar looking one from my local nursery. I saw it the other day but didn't get a chance to really study it yet. I'll try to take some photos and maybe you could give me your thoughts on its potential?

certainly

 

[markyscott]

Partial outer canopy defoliation. I’ll repot in July and defoliate completely before the show this fall. You can be fairly aggressive with willow leaf ficus In my climate.

 

[coh]

Looking forward to seeing it in the fall! Hopefully!

I can get in one defoliation per year on my willow leafs in my climate. In fact, just defoliated my two yesterday. By the time winter is over the existing leaves are in pretty bad shape and removing them seems to get the new growth going more quickly.

 

[LCD35]

Partial outer canopy defoliation. I’ll repot in July and defoliate completely before the show this fall. You can be fairly aggressive with willow leaf ficus In my climate.

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How quickly does it recover with new growth in that Houston humidity? I lived in Katy in highschool back in the 90s and will never forget the mugginess.

 

[markyscott]

How quickly does it recover with new growth in that Houston humidity? I lived in Katy in highschool back in the 90s and will never forget the mugginess.

Rapidly in summertime heat and humidity. It’s leafing out now (2 weeks) and will likely be fully leafed out in ~2 weeks more. In summer, the rule for me is to defoliate 4-6 weeks before the show.

- Scott

 

[LanceMac10]

I had to!!!

The pot is just so full of character and color, almost too nice for a (sniff) "fig", but the trunk is so expressive in it's own right that the two really sing together.
Loads of well placed, undulating and compact branching lead to one "sharp dressed man"....

Most of my figs end up on the other side of the dumpster cover!

Great looking combo.

 

[LCD35]

Rapidly in summertime heat and humidity. It’s leafing out now (2 weeks) and will likely be fully leafed out in ~2 weeks more. In summer, the rule for me is to defoliate 4-6 weeks before the show.

- Scott

I'm branching out (oof, dad joke) into tropicals this summer, so I'm interested to see how much truly the humidity, or lack thereof in Idaho, can be compensated for. I've got the heat and sun covered; buttonwood, f. microcarpa, and bougainville are my victims. Love the progression, as it's helping me account for patterns of tree behavior. Ports love the sun and won't burn, so they are in a slightly different capability category. Aerial roots are out of the question with out Houston humidity I think.

 

[markyscott]

Wednesday, July 1st. 3 weeks after partial outer canopy defoliation.

 

[markyscott]

Repotting. Slight angle change- tilted a bit to the left.

 

[markyscott]

As soon as nighttime lows are above 60, it’s safe to work on tropicals in my region. Thinned and repotted. I have a fine mix that I use for shohin in refinement- 1/8-1/4”.

It’s in a show this fall. I’ll defoliate completely in late July or August so it has a nice set of small new leaves for the exhibit. Before and after.

 

[markyscott]

Trying to decide if I want to keep the aerial root down the front of the trunk. What do you folks think?

s

 

[LCD35]

Trying to decide if I want to keep the aerial root down the front of the trunk. What do you folks think?

s

How likely is it to produce additional serial roots before the show? If there were one or two more, I think it would add interest and highlight the growth habits of ficus, setting it apart from other trees. Just one looks a little...contrived? Maybe that's too strong of a word. Odd maybe.

 

[markyscott]

How likely is it to produce additional serial roots before the show? If there were one or two more, I think it would add interest and highlight the growth habits of ficus, setying it apart from other trees. Just one looks a little...contrived? Maybe that's too strong of a word. Odd maybe.

It’ll produce more aerial roots, but it’s unlikely they’ll be significant caliper before the show. When they mature, they graft to the trunk and look really good. Like this:


I think you’re right though. One skinny one doesn’t add much interest.

s

 

[HorseloverFat]

That, sir, is looking fantastic!!

Regarding the aerial root..
Hmm... The idea is great!.. if the trunk where SHAPED differently (Even with scars/bumps in different locations), I believe it would better accommodate this design idea (As is)...

For me.. the light/shadow from the obvious draping onto the trunk is slightly distracting.. ONLY because the fact that AFTER this section.. it “appears” to be tight-to the trunk and straight down. In my opinion: I like the root, The idea is SOLID.. it looks great.. but I would, personally play around with the placement/angle/droop of the root.. try to find something EVEN MORE ocularly pleasing.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Trying to decide if I want to keep the aerial root down the front of the trunk. What do you folks think?

s

I’d remove it.

 

[Sekibonsai]

Remove it - distracting

 

[Gustavo Martins]

Remove. At the moment, being a single one, it adds nothing to the overall composition.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

I would also remove it, as it will eventually cause swelling at that point and create reverse taper.

 

[luvinthemountains]

Count me one more vote for removal. Fused aerial roots would be inconsistent with the style of your base. Also, willow leaf is one species of ficus that I find never really looks good with fused aerial roots. The photo of another tree you posted looks graceful. On a willow leaf, it usually comes out looking grotesque.

 

[19Mateo83]

How is this beast doing this year?