Willow Leaf Ficus Progression

[Redwood Ryan]

Hey everyone,


Just thought I would show a progression of a tree I've had for a few years. Here it is when first purchased:

After some initial root work:

 

[Redwood Ryan]

I allowed it to grow wild, and this is it today before work:

After work:

I originally was fine with this:

But then I went out and made a new leader:

Thoughts??

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Here is the tree from about a month ago, a stump with lots of branches:

I then thinned out the branches, after finding the front of the tree:

And after some work today, here is the tree:

 

[edprocoat]

What? no "stick it in the ground" posts yet? I like the progress you have made so far, are you going to keep it small, maybe Mame. Personally I am partial to the small trees, the ones that evoke an old tree are my favorites. I wonder if you could fuse one of those side shoots with the new leader to increase its girth, I have done this with great success on many ficus over the years, I have never found a willow leaf to work with though. Did you save any of the material you cut off, the can be fused or grafted on easily with most ficus.

ed

 

[Redwood Ryan]

What? no "stick it in the ground" posts yet? I like the progress you have made so far, are you going to keep it small, maybe Mame. Personally I am partial to the small trees, the ones that evoke an old tree are my favorites. I wonder if you could fuse one of those side shoots with the new leader to increase its girth, I have done this with great success on many ficus over the years, I have never found a willow leaf to work with though. Did you save any of the material you cut off, the can be fused or grafted on easily with most ficus.

ed

Personally I'm fine with the trunk, it's about 1.5 inches. I do plan on keeping it small, though shohin or mame size will depend on how small I can get the leaves. I never saved any of the material I cut off, I just didn't see any use for it back then

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I would not have moved it into a smaller pot while I was doing the early development. Smaller pot will just slow down the growth. Make sure to let it regain its strength before trimming it again. Think of each leaf as an energy factory for the tree - you need to let the tree get really bushy to generate a lot of strength (and growth) to close up that trunk chop wound. If you get buds down low again (at the soil line) consider letting a couple of them grow unchecked for a year or so - they will thicken the trunk at the base while also providing energy for the tree.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

I would not have moved it into a smaller pot while I was doing the early development. Smaller pot will just slow down the growth. Make sure to let it regain its strength before trimming it again. Think of each leaf as an energy factory for the tree - you need to let the tree get really bushy to generate a lot of strength (and growth) to close up that trunk chop wound. If you get buds down low again (at the soil line) consider letting a couple of them grow unchecked for a year or so - they will thicken the trunk at the base while also providing energy for the tree.

Thanks Nut. Not sure what I was thinking when I put it into a smaller pot. Oh well, too late now. I've found that these guys grow like gangbusters whether they're rootbound or whether they have plenty of room to grow. If I find the roots growing through the holes in the bottom of the pot I'll place another pot below it for the roots to grow down into.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

No worries - just let that guy get really strong before you trim again otherwise that wound won't close for you. If it gets root bound you can always just slip it into a larger pot. Don't mess with the roots now, though - you want it to be able to recover.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

No worries - just let that guy get really strong before you trim again otherwise that wound won't close for you. If it gets root bound you can always just slip it into a larger pot. Don't mess with the roots now, though - you want it to be able to recover.

Thanks again Nut. I removed another tuber from this guy so I really don't want to bother the roots. The pot it's now in is from a tree from Puerto Rico which I forgot to wash out before potting this guy into it. No problem though, I assume.

 

[tmmason10]

Thanks again Nut. I removed another tuber from this guy so I really don't want to bother the roots. The pot it's now in is from a tree from Puerto Rico which I forgot to wash out before potting this guy into it. No problem though, I assume.

What is this tree from Puerto Rico? Have you posted this yet?

 

[tmmason10]

Thanks again Nut. I removed another tuber from this guy so I really don't want to bother the roots. The pot it's now in is from a tree from Puerto Rico which I forgot to wash out before potting this guy into it. No problem though, I assume.

What is this tree from Puerto Rico? Have you posted this yet?

 

[Redwood Ryan]

What is this tree from Puerto Rico? Have you posted this yet?

I've posted that tree a while back, but unfortunately lost it for reasons unknown to me.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

After a few weeks of leaving this guy under T5s, the growth is phenomenal with buds popping everywhere: