So I got myself a ficus....

[froggy]

Ok, I broke down today and bought myself a ficus.

It's a kind of shrubby Home Depot plant and was on sale for 10 dollars, so hey, why not.
I figure it will be a decent place to start learning about the basic techniques, even if it isn't the prettiest specimen....

So I got it home, cleaned all dropped leafs from the pot and removed some dead branches. There were a few leafs that were folded up with black flies in them, so I cut those off too and showered the whole plant with not quite cold water to hopefully remove any pests coming from the store. (As a precaution I have it in a room separate from all my other plants.)
I read about them possibly being caused by the soil staying wet too much, so I will keep an eye on the watering, to make sure the soil gets dry enough in between.

So for now I have it in a southwest facing window in my office. I will be putting up a daylight setup (for photography, but will work for the plant) tomorrow as well.
I thought I'd keep it there for a while until it appears to be settled in before I do any potting or pruning. It will need a bigger pot and better soil (especially if the flies don't go bye bye).

Am I good so far?

Ok, so I like to plan ahead and am thinking that the potting part will be the first thing I want to get done once the plant is settled.

It has about five stems and I am thinking that is a few too many, so do you think it is possible to separate them into individual plants, or will that cause too much damage? Should I maybe just cut them below the soil line so they 'disappear'?
I'll post a picture for better info (when I have daylight tomorrow), but I figure it really depends on the root structure and I am not touching that until it's settled...
The plant is about two feet tall, the stems each about .75" thick.
Edit: Here are the images:
Full View:
[img]https://www.schoggifroeschli.com/images/Ficus_Full_View.jpg[/img]

Closeup on soil and stems:
[img]https://www.schoggifroeschli.com/images/Ficus_Stems2.jpg[/img]

Note, The Location was just for the picture.


I was just wondering if anyone had done this to their ficus with good or bad results....

Since it is my training specimen (as in I am in training, not the tree - yet) I see as an option to start some cuttings and try air layering with the stems I am removing, just so it's not a complete loss...

But if someone tells me that separating the stems into individual plants might work, I'd rather try that for now (baby steps)...

Any input?

Thanks,

Karin

[Gnome]

Karin,

I did exactly what you are contemplating with a small pot of Ficus and everything turned out OK. My group was younger than yours so they were easily divided. Try to wiggle the individual plants in order to determine if they are fused or not. Ficus are pretty tough customers so unless they have actually grown into a unit I would expect that you should be able to divide them. Do you know what species they are?

Don't feel that you must divide them. Here are some links for inspiration, in fact explore the whole site thoroughly.

https://www.bonsaihunk.us/ficusforum/FicusTechniques/FigTechnique15.html
https://www.bonsaihunk.us/ficusforum/FicusTechniques/FigTechnique26.html
https://www.bonsaihunk.us/ficusforum/FicusTechniques/FigTechnique20.html

Norm

[froggy]

Thanks Norm,

that's giving me hope the only other place I found some info on separating the stems (which appear to be individual seedlings until they fuse together) was someone separating them in order to fuse the individuals around a wire shape that they intended to be the stem of a bigger bonsai - he claims to have lost 60% of his seedlings through separating them - and they were younger than mine...
but I am thinking if you do it carefully and keep a good eye on the individual plants the success rate should be higher...

anyways, mine appears to be a weeping fig - but I am not 100% sure (haha the label just says ficus). I read they are prone to hissy fits, so I am still waiting for the leaves to drop off (like in the Harry potter movie :p ). but so far I've only had 1 yellow leaf - I think we might be ok....
It is sitting in a sunny window but above a heater. to counteract the dry air, I've just placed jars of water on top of it (the heater), and voila, humidity

a couple of the stems seem to have started fusing at the bottom, which means I will not get 6 plants for 6 stems, but I'll see what I can do
I assume roots fuse too, so I'll only be able to tell once I've got the whole thing out of the pot and soil (bye bye insects )...

now, I'll have to sit on my hands for another two weeks or so, until I'll repot the plant... itchy finger syndrome is kicking in already though...

I'll post pictures once the 'surgery' is done

on another note - grow lights really don't like to be dropped... I'll have to get myself a few new bulbs

[applestar]

Isn't this the plant that you can intentionally "fuse" multiple plants to achieve thicker trunk earlier than if you grow a single one? Just keep them bound together? Or maybe scrape bark where they touch, then bind.

[froggy]

Yes, you can fuse them
I was just hoping to have more than one to work on...
(since apparently not all beginner plants live to become a bonsai :p)

but if they don't separate, they'll end up fused, or as a grouping - I'm not all that bent on doing it my way, I just have a wish list ...

we'll see...

[manofthetrees]

Howdy froggy,
you can also root cuttings if your looking for more trees. use a rooting hormone on the cut end and plant them. u can use coarse sand, bonsai potting mix. or something called diatomite. the later I've been told is the best but I'm using a coarse white sand and it seems to be working well. I cover the top of the sand with a layer of gravel to prevent cutting movement ,you don't want them moving once you plant them. keep 'em moist and under good lighting and 7 to 10 weeks you can have as many trees to experiment that u wish.

good luck !!!

[froggy]

Ah, you know, I've been thinking of doing just that, but since I only got this baby home like a week ago, I thought that starting to chop it up would be a bit too drastic for now...

I have not yet seen any ill effects from moving it here, but from what I've read I should wait until I see new growth before I try anything(?)

I want to repot it first because of the bugs I found in the pot (some fruit flies and centipedes, nothing I found alarming, just icky) and then I figure I've got to wait again until I chop stuff off.

In spring I want to try and air layer one or two of the bigger stems - that way I'd also see how the tree takes to a bit of hard pruning - and any branches that have to go in the process I can root using your method ...
the rooting hormone is already sitting there kinda sad considering I haven't even got the other supplies ready. (a strategy that should keep me from going too fast and killing everything)

thanks for the input I'll let you know how it goes

[froggy]

Ok, people talk about ficuses having hissy fits and not taking well to new environments - after dropping ONE leaf, this one is growing like crazy and I will start working on it soon.

I just need to build a wider window sill to accomodate my plants - I discovered I had a shefflera and a lemon tree (well maybe grapefruit) that can be bonsai'd too, and then I found a holly and an Araucaria for $1 each...

and whoops, my office is suddenly alive...

So I've changed my mind about repotting it right away, will try an air layer and a few cuttings, until I can re-pot in spring, when I can take the mess outside

[linlaoboo]

Good luck with your ficus. I keep the retusa and related species and have tried air layering with no luck. I do have about 80% success rate rooting semi hardwood and hardwood cuttings in regular and bonsai mix. I learned they have to be at least 4 inches or longer although I've never tried rooting them from October to March. I've got a few water rooted cuttings that will need transplanting to soil in March. Hopefully they'll survive. It's fun to always have young bonsais to develop and to give them away to friends and relatives -)

[froggy]

Thought I'd post an update....

My first attempt at air layering didn't do anything.... I opened it up and removed the piece on top to see if it will root in water (reason why it didn't grow roots - I hadn't removed the bark deep enough - too hesitant again ).
But a second air layer I did about a week ago is already showing 2" roots (okay, it's showing ONE 2" root ). This surprises me, because a week or so before the second air layering attempt, I had taken smaller cuttings to root in soil and water, but they only have white 'knobbles' where the roots are going to form so far...

Now that I know I can do it, I'll be air layering the other 5 stems as well...

Funny how fast one can run out of space, guess some of the ficus will have to be fused, to save some room

[JTred]

Funny how fast one can run out of space, guess some of the ficus will have to be fused, to save some room

I seem to be having the same problem with scheffs. It just allows you to be more bold with styling.

[froggy]

I seem to be having the same problem with scheffs. It just allows you to be more bold with styling.

"you're growing nice and fast" - chop,
"you're not growing fast enough" - chop,
"heck you're in my way" - chop

now there's a way of looking at it...

I just have to stop myself trying to root every (little) piece I cut off in the first place... guess that's just a beginner's habit

[manofthetrees]

howdy,
thats funny, when I hacked my ficus ( I'm talkin 75% of the branches)
I spent an hour figuring out which 5 peices to save cuz thats all the room I had it was hard to toss the rest. ive been creating bonsai for about 4 years now and the window space is gone
heres another way

chop wait prune,
prune wait chop,
wait wait wait.
chop prune wire

I have issues with the waiting part
good luck

[froggy]

Thought I'd post an update. The roots were actually fused quite badly, so I decided to keep this baby kind of in one piece. And repot in a slightly wider pot.
I chopped half the rootball off and removed some of the fatter roots. But the top 2" I'd almost say are solid.
Goes to show that, at this size, they aren't just seedlings anymore
I'll probably air layer the remaining trunks and then just see where it'll go. Give it 10 years and it might be one fat stem...
Or I'll go nuts and take a saw to it seeing all those nebari useles is just frustrating...

Cheers

[kdodds]

In looking at the older pics, I'm thinking it could be entirely possible to produce a very nice "clump style" from this group. You'd need to clear out any thin trunks, keeping only 3-5 of the thickest of them. Then, wire them (3 or 4mm should work well) and pull them away from one another a bit. That, or air layer the individuals you wish to keep.

[linlaoboo]

If the thick branches are too hard to bend by wire. A bonsai bending too maybe useful.

[froggy]

I've already air layered most of the thick ones - I'll post a picture in a bit. The idea sounds good though, I'll just have to grow them out again...