Ficus Update

Here is a bit of an update on the ficus you've seen here before. You can click on the title for a link back to previous posts.

The tree grew wonderfully for the next two months. By May, it had gotten away from the shriveled leaves from its recovery.

With the warm summer weather (what we had of it was in July), the tree really accelerated its growth.

(When a pack of cigarettes is not available, a pop can may be substituted as a measuring device.)


By the end of July, the tree was ready to be defoliated. After much staring, I decided that the new leader should be encouraged to grow by removing everything else, thusly:

I noticed that the large aerial root on the right in the final photo supported a branch that would not come down without major work, but decided to keep it all as it is, and use it as a sub-apex to produce a lower crown there. It's a bit unorthodox for bonsai, but I think it will work very well. Here's a crude diagram of what I hope to accomplish:


Hey. I said it was crude! All in all, it's been a real pleasure working on this tree for the last two years and seeing it respond so well.