Hi People, I've been looking at your forum for a while as a guest, so I thought I should sign up and become a member. I go by the name of Taffy (nickname for someone originally from Wales). Hopefully I might be able to have some input. I've been doing Bonsai for about 20 years and my 'passion' is Figs. I live in Queensland in the Temperate/Sub-tropical climate, so Figs do great here - I can work on them all year round (never drops below freezing). As an introduction, I'll post a few pics of some of my trees.
The first is Ficus Benjamina.
Second is Syzygium Australe (Aussie Boomer - Aussie native).
Third is Ficus Rubiginosa (Port Jackson Fig - Aussie native).
Fourth is Ficus Hillii.
Fifth is Ficus 'Green Island' (lots of aerial roots - grow naturally here).
Sixth is also a Ficus 'Green Island'.
The last one is a close-up showing all the aerial roots on the blue potted one.
[url=https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/FA1a-1.jpg][img]https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/th_FA1a-1.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/CU1d.jpg][img]https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/th_CU1d.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/BN1b17Mar08.jpg][img]https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/th_BN1b17Mar08.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/AD1b1.jpg][img]https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/th_AD1b1.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/Ab1k-1.jpg][img]https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/th_Ab1k-1.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/AA1-1.jpg][img]https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/th_AA1-1.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/Ab1k1.jpg][img]https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/th_Ab1k1.jpg[/img][/url]
Taffy
Introduction
Last edited by aussietaf on Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:07 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Gnome
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 5122
- Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:17 am
- Location: Western PA USDA Zone 6A
Taffy,
Welcome aboard and thanks for posting the pictures, your trees are very nice. I look forward to your input, you obviously have a way with Ficus. I have a few F. benjamina 'Minie Lucie' In my area I am forced to bring them inside for the winter where they slow down greatly. They are really just starter trees right now but I am coming to appreciate them.
Norm
Welcome aboard and thanks for posting the pictures, your trees are very nice. I look forward to your input, you obviously have a way with Ficus. I have a few F. benjamina 'Minie Lucie' In my area I am forced to bring them inside for the winter where they slow down greatly. They are really just starter trees right now but I am coming to appreciate them.
Norm
Thanks guys. Yes Alisios, it's just a top dressing. Even though it's quite humid where I live, we also get temps up to about 34C (about 94F) with hot winds that dry out pots very quickly. I buy what we call 'concrete mix' (the sand/gravel mix used in mixing concrete) by the cubic metre. I then put it through three seives. Below are the three grades I sift out - the remainder is too fine for anything except maybe mixing up a smooth mortar. The largest (which is what you seen on the pots) is to act like a mulch to stop the potting mix drying out too quick - I lay it on about 1/2 inch thick. They are fairly smooth small pebbles. The second grade, I mix with my potting mix to open it up - about 60% potting mix to 40% grit. This is a sharp grit, not smooth like the larger stuff. The third grade I use for very small pots mixed with potting mix.
By the way, that's an Australian 5 cent piece (3/4" dia) in the middle for comparison.
[url=https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/Grit1c.jpg][img]https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/th_Grit1c.jpg[/img][/url]
By the way, that's an Australian 5 cent piece (3/4" dia) in the middle for comparison.
[url=https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/Grit1c.jpg][img]https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/taffyman/Bonsai/th_Grit1c.jpg[/img][/url]
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sean117Ply
- Cool Member
- Posts: 68
- Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2007 5:36 am
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
Hello fellow Aussie, welcome to the forum. Great figs you have there, I keep a couple of Banyan Figs which have been doing great this year down in Melbourne because of the warm humid conditions even after a very bad couple of frosts last winter when every single leaf suffered from the ice and dropped off.
Do you keep any other species?
Do you keep any other species?
