linlaoboo
Green Thumb
Posts: 469
Joined: Sat May 22, 2010 1:15 pm
Location: NJ

Ficus starter needs help

Hi, I bought 3 ficus 2.5" starters a few weeks ago and the biggest one out of them all needs urgent help while the other 2 have adjusted and started growing. The tiger bark and green island with oval leaves survived but not the tiger bark with large leave . .
[img]https://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd340/malagabee/1cmstarters.jpg[/img]

It's probably a newbie mistake but I repotted all of them as soon as I got them.
[img]https://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd340/malagabee/015.jpg[/img]

It went through being rained on a few days straight to another few days of 90 degree weather here. I tried sheltering it but it was evident that it's was unhealthy and dropped alot of leaves. I scratched the bark the other day and it seems dead.
[img]https://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd340/malagabee/CIMG1531.jpg[/img]

I cut away the dead trunk little by little just now.
[img]https://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd340/malagabee/CIMG1530.jpg[/img]

To my surprise I found a little bud all the way down. Is there still hope? What can I do to bring it back to health again?
[img]https://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd340/malagabee/CIMG1532.jpg[/img]

Thanks in advance.

kdodds
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1436
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2008 7:07 pm
Location: Airmont, NY Zone 6/7

Before I saw the end pic, I was thinking exactly that, chop it almost to the soil line, and hope for the best. Give it time, water when drying (don't let it go completely dry) and keep it humid. I have a Calliandra that became a cat toy that I had to do this to. It's coming back after a year or so, just ever so slowly.

linlaoboo
Green Thumb
Posts: 469
Joined: Sat May 22, 2010 1:15 pm
Location: NJ

Kdodd,

I just googled up Calliadra, such beautiful flower, didn't know it's a bonsai. As to my sick ficus, I just put a bag over it this morning to protect the new bud and will see how it goes in the coming days. Thanks for the feed back and happy bonsaing!

kdodds
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1436
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2008 7:07 pm
Location: Airmont, NY Zone 6/7

Hope it makes it.

Did you buy these trees from a seller who identified them as "bonsai starts"? If so, I'd never buy from that same seller again. The trees are long and lanky and are going to make your development process that much more difficult. IMO, if a seller is selling "bonsai start" material, he or she should ONLY be selling 2-4" pots with specimens that show potential to become great bonsai already. Otherwise, you're just buying a seedling or sapling. Much over a 4" pot and you're starting to get into real pre-bonsai material. If 6" or larger pot contains a tree that doesn't show real potential, again, that seller shouldn't be selling trees as "bonsai" material.

For the record, I get most of my starts from Meehan's and have been very pleased with what I've gotten in 2-3" pots. If I buy pre-bonsai, I've been greatly impressed by Wigert's offerings. Anyone else I've purchased from is a more or less so-so proposition. I've found some real individual gems on e-bay, but also a lot of stinkers too.

linlaoboo
Green Thumb
Posts: 469
Joined: Sat May 22, 2010 1:15 pm
Location: NJ

Hi Kdodds,

I see what u r saying. I'm not one who will spend much money on buying good material eventhough money is no issue. Currently I'm very into ficus macrocarpa and they reduce very well by frequent pinching. To get shorter internodes, only let it grow to a pair of leaves per branch and pinch it off before the branch lengthens too much. Since I prefer small bonsais, seedlings were exactly what I wanted, shouldn't have called them starters then :) Also this place called Allshapes off of Rt 202 has quite a bit of stuffs in 3 greenhouses. Seedlings, starters as well as developed bonsais. The 3 I bought were the same price and I picked the tallest one thinking I can hack it down and get more bonsai building material out of it. Well that didn't pan out but it still has a good flare at the trunk base if it recovers.

The projects I will be working on will involve fusing a bunch of seedlings together into a single trunk so I catch up on trunk thickness in a couple years. Other than the lower primary branches, the higher primary and 2ndary to 4 generation branches don't need to be so thick so I don't need a decade to develop them.

Meehan's in MD? That's so far. I see they have good selections too. Wonder how much they charge for shipping the 2". Thanks for the info, I bookmarked them. :D

kdodds
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1436
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2008 7:07 pm
Location: Airmont, NY Zone 6/7

As far as I can recall, their shipping is reasonable. Of course, if you just buy one 2" tree, shipping is going to make it expensive no matter what. The best that can be said about them, I think, is that they're fair, reasonable, and ethical. They're selling starts at start prices, mostly. And "more refined" are just that, "more refined". What you get from them in a 2-3" pot for $3-4 you would easily pay double for most anywhere else online, at half the quality, and their selection is phenomenal. In fact, in larger pot sizes, and even the smaller ones, you'll be getting starts that have already been pruned, LOGICALLY, with bonsai in mind. That's what really kills me with other sellers. For instance, I just got a Sageretia in a 6" pot, sold as "bonsai stock" that is little more than a topiary "straight stick with a dense ball on top". I'm going to have to chop it to the soil, and it was around $7-9, if I recall.

Now Wigert's, they're in a league of their own. They sell pre-bonsai tropical material on their websit in 8-10" pots, generally for $25. Shipping is very reasonable, considering weight and size. What you get from them, at that size, are trees that have actually been trained through pruning (sometimes some wiring, but not usually) by an award-winning, world-class, bonsai master. These trees are of an unbelievable quality for the price. And, if they were in pots, would easily go $100 upwards online or in nurseries, etc., from most sellers. So, if you're ever looking for something more established, check them out. They sell on e-bay as well, but then you're getting a little more pricey as they're picking the best of the best, in-pot and ready for final development, trees mostly style exclusively by Wigert himself (they do tell you if any work has been done by anyone else, where the tree originated, etc.). As well, their customer support, I have found, has been outstanding.

Almost forgot... Rt. 202? Where? What town and county? I mean 202 comes running up right through into NY and then some. I'd be very interested to find someplace with reasonable pricing on tropical materials. The best I've come across is one nursery that sells tropical perennials and shrubs as "annuals". There's always Matterhorn, but they're so darn expensive that it's cheaper for me to buy a half dozen/dozen trees from Meehan's, shipped, more often than not. And finding what you're looking for in tropicals is difficult even still.

linlaoboo
Green Thumb
Posts: 469
Joined: Sat May 22, 2010 1:15 pm
Location: NJ

Yes it's the same 202 that's near Suffern but it's just 2 minutes South of Flemington in Ringoes called Allshapes bonsai and nursery. The thing about Wigerts is that they're in Fl, just longer time for the plant to spend in transportation, but I'll check them out when I want to look for new bonsai species.

TomM
Greener Thumb
Posts: 749
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 7:28 am
Location: Cedarville (SE of Utica) NY, USA

Here's a tip. When ordering from a good reputable nursery ALWAYS request that they ship on a Monday. Your plants will arrive on Wednesday, assuming no holidays delay the shipment. No weekends are involved causing extra time in a warehouse someplace "WHOKNOWSWHERE"?

Two days in a box is no problem. These guys know how to pack for safe transport. They give good tracking info and tell you when to expect delivery.

kdodds
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1436
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2008 7:07 pm
Location: Airmont, NY Zone 6/7

Ditto, their packing method is unsurpassed. I've yet to receive a tree with even a tiny bit of damage across some half dozen or so trees in about 4 separate shipments. Heck, even their larger 8" potted starts got here just fine. A week later I root pruned (and defoliated where needed) as potted down into 6" pots, no problem. Unlike many "bonsai start" nurseries, these aren't trees that are crammed together in flats with no personal attention. I don't know how he manages to do it (probably works 16 hour days is my guess) but every single tree they ship is in prime health as has been at least moderately worked to make your life easier. Shipping is a bear on the larger trees, sure. Those 8" pots can run you into the $30 range for shipping a single pre-bonsai. BUT, for the $50 you'll spend on that tree, you'll not find ANYTHING else, ANYWHERE, at that price. Potting up and training into a pot and you'll have a tree worth (assuming you've done a nice job of it) something like $200 or more in a single season.

Allshapes is 3 hours for me, round trip... ouch. Maybe I'll get down there one day. I *was* looking at their website and I'm wondering if maybe they do get some stock from Wigert's. I'm pretty sure he does sell wholesale as well.

linlaoboo
Green Thumb
Posts: 469
Joined: Sat May 22, 2010 1:15 pm
Location: NJ

Tom and Kdodds,

Thanks for the good info!

Dave at Allshapes seems nice to deal with, he let me flip through his bonsai book there =)

Regards,
Peter



Return to “BONSAI FORUM”