Should I? (Ficus advice)

amcoffeegirl

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Very brave of you.
Get some wire on the top to add some movement.

All wired. Tomorrow my local bonsai society meets so I’m going to take it and hopefully get someone to coach me through the guy wire process to bring in the trunk line a bit and drop the right branch some.
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sorce

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All wired. Tomorrow my local bonsai society meets so I’m going to take it and hopefully get someone to coach me through the guy wire process to bring in the trunk line a bit and drop the right branch some.
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I would snuff out the smaller of the 2 branches atop The chop spot and leave it on the bench.

IMo...your best tree will come from those 2 remaining branches, one below one above the chop.

I'd wire the rest out of the way to allow those branches light if anything. Or even just cut that high left branch off.

You see how the skinny segment is about twice the length as the previous segment?
It should be half as long. So if you get a bud half way down it when you chop that high left Branch...that could be a good new lead for a taller tree.

Everything above that is useless if going for the best tree. And if you want this to be anything apart from the other millions of them out there....go for Best!

Sorce
 
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I agree @sorce that’s why those shoots haven’t been plucked off. The way it sits on my bench now allows for them to get full sun. The wiring and positioning of everything above is just practice, being new, I need this.

I wired a few of my trees this weekend and while it was much better than last time I need to learn to plan ahead when placing wire, I can’t find my way out of crossing wires sometimes.

The tree, I believe, has been through enough for now but once those new shoots have a good amount of life in them that top part will be all gone. I don’t believe I will get a bud from that long segment. When bending it a few a couple months ago it cracked and instead of budding it’s trying to root. Id it buds my plan might change but if not it leaves the lowest shoot being the first branch and one of the two on top would be the new leader and the other a new branch.

This tree will also be going into something wider this spring so the roots can spread, they are something terrible.
 

DonovanC

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I think it has potential! It’s not a cut I would have done, but it’s done! Lol, and I think it looks good. I’ve done some pretty drastic operations with microcarpa, they’re resilient.
Here’s just for fun...54F5284D-D0C6-40FE-87D6-2A125041AD98.jpeg
 
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@DonovanC I had sketched something very similar to that actually. Lol this was drawn the day I started the thread.
 

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MHBonsai

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I would snuff out the smaller of the 2 branches atop The chop spot and leave it on the bench.

IMo...your best tree will come from those 2 remaining branches, one below one above the chop.

I'd wire the rest out of the way to allow those branches light if anything. Or even just cut that high left branch off.

You see how the skinny segment is about twice the length as the previous segment?
It should be half as long. So if you get a bud half way down it when you chop that high left Branch...that could be a good new lead for a taller tree.

Everything above that is useless if going for the best tree. And if you want this to be anything apart from the other millions of them out there....go for Best!

Sorce

Cool material to play with. :)

I'm with Sorce on this one. Unless you grow it much much bigger, I think this is your best tree:

257361
 
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I cut the top off about a month ago, it was growing out of hand and covering light for the lower branches where I really wanted growth. While cutting the top I ruined two of the new shoots but they’re finally growing again. The wood from the first cut was rotting so I had to carve it out a bit. I didn’t use cut past this time in hopes of different results. I cut back the two bigger branches and will keep them from growing too much (even though I think I already let them grow too thick) while the first branch catches and passes them. Also set up a new apex, that’s going to have to grow freely too. I felt ok about doing this because I planted the top as a cutting and roots are already growing out of the bottom of the pot and where I cut back to there’s shoots already popping. It looks terrible but I’m happy with the trunkline now. Now to work on that apex and the branching.. I think. Lol I’ve learned a lot with this tree in the short time I’ve had it.

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sorce

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Great move!

The future looks bright as well as you have it set up for success.
That right branch could probly be cut back further in the soon future, but it seems you are attentive to this already.

Sorce
 
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This guys still chugging along like it’s nobodies business. Want to get it in an actual pot soon, not a final pot but nicer than plastic and smaller. Needs wiring too, it’s kind of annoying how much wire you go through with ficus and that in just a couple weeks without wire everything starts reaching for the sky again.

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@jason biggs Thank you. Yeah, it’s “winter” where I live but that’s like maybe 1-2 weeks of 50-60 degrees F (10-15 C) but for the most part it’s in the mid 70s (20-25 C) now its already getting to the 80s (25-30 C).

@BrianBay9 There’s bends in there, not up and down because they’re mainly primary branches. Once I start setting secondary branches there will be more and more movement.
 
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