Ficus Ready to Style

I can't believe I have missed posting this Ficus microcarpa here on the blog. This is the first bonsai I ever purchased. This was when the only thing I knew about bonsai, I had learned from a few books and a recurrent Master Weekend thing at the Bonsai Society of Greater Kansas City. While I've had this tree for a while, I just didn't know what to do with it for years and let it get all out of size. However, recently I have begun to work this tree.

The first photo is the original planting position of this tree. It came straight up out of the pot and bent immediately 90 degrees to the left. My first act was to change the planting angle, which required removing some worrisome roots.



The new planting angle had a nice movement to it, so I was quite pleased in May of 2005 with the way it looked. This was actually quite a few years after actually changing the planting angle.


One flaw of this tree (of which there are many) was the arrangement of the roots that clasp the trunk. They looked a little unnatural:



Notice the nice "X" at the base. I was unsure what to do with this tree until I got inspired on a visit to Fuku Bonsai on the island of Hawai'i (Big Island). I saw this tree among others, and many with aluminum foil and sphagnum moss wrapped around the trunks. I knew this was the way to remake the trunk of this tree.


So in May 2007, I wrapped long-fibered sphagnum around the trunk and held it in place with aluminum foil. I left it on through the year and this is the tree in July 2008. I am preparing to see the result and repot the tree.

During the winter, not having greenhouse access, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I placed the tree in the only south-facing window that was free, draped a clear plastic dry-cleaning bag over it, watered it well, and tucked the bag in under the drip tray. I was hoping that the added humidity and heat would keep the tree healthy and promote aerial roots. I found that this technique worked exceptionally well as the tree sent aerial roots out almost everywhere.


Following the repot:

This pot is actually at least two inches wider than the previous pot, yet the increase in trunk size makes it seem about the same size. I added some tape to bring some of the aerial roots in to the trunk and help them bond there. In future I hope to get more aerial roots farther from the trunk for a banyan style tree.

Oh, and the "X marks the spot" roots on the back of the tree?


I was so pleased with the results, I rewrapped the tree for the rest of the year. I will be starting to work on this tree for styling this May.

I know that there are many folk with a great deal more experience than me with ficus, and many around the world with far better raw stock, trees in development, and finished trees than this. I was merely pleased that I got the results I did from trying a technique that was new to me.

Chris