Willow Leaf Ficus #2

Redwood Ryan

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Thought I had posted this tree before, guess not. I bought this tree a few months ago from my local "bonsai" nursery, as I had bought the other Willow Leaf from there and I love that tree, so I wanted another. This one had an AWFUL root system that needed fixing so badly. But, I wanted to deal with the straight section of trunk first. So, I chopped it.

Before:
002-50.jpg


After:
007-37.jpg


Backbudded well:
002-65.jpg


Root system before today:
003-62.jpg

002-66.jpg

003-63.jpg


Root system after today:
004-53.jpg

005-50.jpg


I left some larger roots as I did not want to fully remove the life from the tree. I'll remove those in a few months, along with the hideous curve the tree has:
006-41.jpg


All done:
007-41.jpg

008-43.jpg

009-41.jpg


Comments always welcome,


Ryan
 

Redwood Ryan

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Here it is today:

001-110.jpg

002-112.jpg


I'm still not sure about this lean. Any thoughts?
005-82.jpg


I just am unsure of what you could do with something like this. I could, of course, cut it back and make it like the others, but I just wanted to hear everyone elses thoughts. Anyone feel like doing a virt :D
 
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I would let it grow for now... seeing that you have done alot of work on this tree already.
 

Redwood Ryan

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I would let it grow for now... seeing that you have done alot of work on this tree already.

If you mean let the tree rest, I don't think working on it again would hurt it at all. That root work was done back in january and the tree has been growing nonstop since.
 
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just my two cents... January really wasn't that long ago, for the major surgery you did... If it was me, I would at least wait till next spring... well honestly, if it was me I wouldn't do anything with it next year either, other than minor trim and perhaps a little wiring. I would let the branches grow, then cut back hard the following year... this would give me some very thick branches to work with... then start working on the secondary branches feeding off of these.
 

Redwood Ryan

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just my two cents... January really wasn't that long ago, for the major surgery you did... If it was me, I would at least wait till next spring... well honestly, if it was me I wouldn't do anything with it next year either, other than minor trim and perhaps a little wiring. I would let the branches grow, then cut back hard the following year... this would give me some very thick branches to work with... then start working on the secondary branches feeding off of these.

I may or may not work on it more this year. I've found willow leaf to be so forgiving. I was just wondering whether or not I should keep the lean. How could I style it with the lean??
 

Redwood Ryan

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I thought about trying windswept, but the lack of taper and unsightly bulges where multiple branches emerged turned me away. So I did major work on it today and here is how it looks now:

005-88.jpg


I picked bottom branches and aimed for a sumo shohin. So I chopped it and looked again. Somehow I hadn't realized that the branches I had chosen were bar branches. So I whipped out the wire and wired them against the trunk. I'll remove the wire once the branches set so that hopefully they will fuse into the trunk and remove the bar branch problem:

006-74.jpg

007-69.jpg



Your thoughts?
 

treebeard55

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You could get a very nice shohin/mame broom or banyan-style out of this, Ryan.

Just depends on what you like. For myself, and given the leaf size of Ficus salicaria, I'd go for a banyan variation on broom. But it's your tree, m'man.

As for the frequency of working a tropical tree in a temperate climate zone, one thing that definitely needs to be considered is the winter care you'll be able to give it. If you have a good setup, with adequate light, humidity, etc, the tree can keep on recovering from any trauma after being moved indoors in the fall.
 

Redwood Ryan

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You could get a very nice shohin/mame broom or banyan-style out of this, Ryan.

Just depends on what you like. For myself, and given the leaf size of Ficus salicaria, I'd go for a banyan variation on broom. But it's your tree, m'man.

As for the frequency of working a tropical tree in a temperate climate zone, one thing that definitely needs to be considered is the winter care you'll be able to give it. If you have a good setup, with adequate light, humidity, etc, the tree can keep on recovering from any trauma after being moved indoors in the fall.

Thank you Steve, I really like it. Not sure I can visualize what you mean exactly when you say a banyan variation on broom. I've been scouring the net for pictures of shohin Willow Leaf that would fit this tree, but so far nothing. But hey, the sound of Banyan variation on broom sounds nice :D

About my indoor set up for winter, trust me I can keep them growing. I have an aquarium I keep some trees in, and a few greenhouses with humidifiers I keep the other trees in. Keeps them growing non stop.
 

treebeard55

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... Not sure I can visualize what you mean exactly when you say a banyan variation on broom...

Banyan can be a variation on several of the basic styles, but is usually a variation on one of the upright ones -- formal upright, moyogi, or broom (which is itself actually a variation! :D ) The specific characteristics of banyan are a broad, spreading canopy, and aerial roots that can in time become auxiliary trunks.

Here's a quick virt of what I mean, and your original picture with the lighting tweaked just a bit. In both pictures, the red arrow points to the trunk chop you made. (BTW, I think I can safely say I'm a better artist with a tree than with a virt. Hope so, anyway!)
 

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Redwood Ryan

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Banyan can be a variation on several of the basic styles, but is usually a variation on one of the upright ones -- formal upright, moyogi, or broom (which is itself actually a variation! :D ) The specific characteristics of banyan are a broad, spreading canopy, and aerial roots that can in time become auxiliary trunks.

Here's a quick virt of what I mean, and your original picture with the lighting tweaked just a bit. In both pictures, the red arrow points to the trunk chop you made. (BTW, I think I can safely say I'm a better artist with a tree than with a virt. Hope so, anyway!)


Wow thanks so much Steve! Great idea and I will most definitely shoot for it!

I just removed the wire from the branches to let them grow for a bit, btw.
 

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Looking over the pictures I realize something, there are still large tubers under the soil of this guy. Guess I'll have to repot it soon and get rid of those.....

I really like your virt Steve, but the nebari on it would take the longest to create, IMO. When I repot I guess I will get started on that....
 

treebeard55

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I really like your virt Steve, but the nebari on it would take the longest to create, IMO. When I repot I guess I will get started on that....

Actually, I was just trying to illustrate the banyan idea, and not paying much attention to how I was making the nebari look! (Oops.)
 

Redwood Ryan

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Actually, I was just trying to illustrate the banyan idea, and not paying much attention to how I was making the nebari look! (Oops.)


:D:D:D Oh well. I'll just shoot for something nice and see what happens....
 

Redwood Ryan

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I repotted into probably a one gallon pot. I also partially ring barked it to get the nebari started. I went down probably this low:

gg.jpg


The new soil level is above the red line, since that is how wide I did the ring bark:

b.jpg


That should get a good start on a kind of flared base, once those roots come in. Right?
 

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About the bar branches, I found one online with bar branches, and hey it doesn't look too bad. Here is the link to that tree:

Please tell me more of this " I found a decent picture of a bonsai with my same flaw, therefore it's OK" rule.

al
 

Redwood Ryan

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Please tell me more of this " I found a decent picture of a bonsai with my same flaw, therefore it's OK" rule.

al


Well, I liked that tree, so I thought why not.
 
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