Author Archives: jerry@bonsaihunk.us

Ficus concinna a red leaved Ficus

Ficus concinna is one of the figs that has the reddest new leaves as well as being an excellent material for bonsai.

The following shot shows the tree, grown from seed, in old and then new foliage. The new foliate sprouts out red and gradually turns green over the next 1-3 weeks. There are other Ficus species that can have new red leaves but concinna seems to have individuals that can show very red or bronze new leaves.

Tree on the left with old leaves and new leaves showing quite red on the right.

Ficus ‘ExoticaJS’ initial styling

Ficus ‘ExoticaJs’, probably another cultivar related to Ficus salicaria, is a great material for bonsai. In 2013 I purchased a pre-bonsai and did an immediate rough styling. The first image shows the result of an hours’ trimming back.

The second shot shows the tree rin 2018.  It is beginning to take a nice shape. I think a few more years of training and it will be an attractive bonsai.

On the left after trimming it back quite hard. On the right the tree some 5 years later.                To learn more about growing figs buy the definitive reference work on Ficus for bonsai. The book is a softcover, 8 by 10 inch volume, with 144 color pages, containing detailed information for the beginner as well as the advanced hobbyist.                                                                Click here for more information

How to create a bonsai form a long and thin plant

It is not easy to create a bonsai from a long and thin piece of material. One way is to use some heavy wire and shape the limber material to your desires. Be creative and try many different shapes. Some will be exciting and some will be losers.

In this case a root cutting of Ficus ‘Mystery’ was used to create an interesting bonsai.

On the left a root cutting of Ficus ‘Mystery’, center is the cutting wired for shape, right is the bonsai design beginning to take shape

Root-over-rock style

One of my favorite forms of bonsai is the root-over-rock design. It incorporates an attractive stone with nice texture and fissures and a bonsai tree growing over it.

In this case it is a Ficus ‘Mystery’ that was planted on this rock about 15 years ago. The original plant was quite boring and frankly ugly but over the years it is maturing into a lovely piece that surely will improve over time.

More secondary branching is needed to mature out the design.

The ugly cutting placed on the stone about 15 years ago

 

The same plant on the left before trimming and on the right after trimming and some wiring.

Ficus microcarpa development of cuttings

Here are two Ficus microcarpa bonsai of small size. Both were taken from cuttings from one of my large Ficus. They have always been in small pots so their growth has been slow. They are now more than a dozen years since having been harvested. The mother tree has provided many cuttings over the years.

 

A cutting removed from the mother tree at least 12 years ago

Another cutting  removed from the mother tree at least 12 years ago

Ficus microcarpa mother tree

In developing bonsai it is best to first start in larger containers for the early development of structure and size. Once structure and size are nearly completed the plants can be transitioned to bonsai sized containers for their final refinement training.

 

 

 

 

 

How to create bonsai figs

We all learn to appreciate thick trunked, massively tapered trunks in our first years in bonsai. I remember well trying to achieve this look with my trees and failing. I could neither afford nor find material that worked well for this style of bonsai.

In the last number of years I have come to appreciate and cherish trees made from young, thin materials that are relatively easy to find. In many ways these may be considered bunjin, literati or penjing type styles. In any case I hope you like some of them.

Long thin materials work well for these types of designs

How to get a thicker branch

In order to get a thicker branch on a bonsai fig it would mean getting the branch to grow faster and have more leaves than other branches on the tree. Another way is to fuse several branches together to achieve greater thickness.

The red circle shows three small branches that are coming out of nearly the same spot on this tree

The three branches were fused into one and created a branch that is heavy enough for this trunk

Air layering Ficus

The easiest way to propagate most Ficus trees is to use cuttings. Cuttings of any size Ficus generally  will root. However, some people prefer to use an air-layering process as this can be a safer way to propagate a specific piece.

Ficus salicaria that should be shortened

A groove is created around the area in which roots are desired

A plastic bag with sphagnum moss is wrapped around the grooved area- water the moss to keep it moist 

Once roots fill the bag the air-layer is cut off

 

The top of the tree with all the moss is placed into a pot and watered normally. The lower section of the tree will sprout out in 1-3 months.

Leaves vary a lot

One interesting thing to know is that Ficus leaves can vary greatly. They can vary in size, shape, texture, color etc. They even can vary on the same plant or whether the plant is growing strongly or just slowly.

Growing figs from seed reveals also that almost every seedling shows some subtle or not so subtle variations. The picture below shows two leaves grown from a Thailand seed source and the other from an Australian source. They are both the same species, Ficus virens, Lipstick fig, Red Balete, Spotted fig are all common local names for them.

Ficus virens, left is Thailand form, right is Australian form

The two leaves really do not look similar and yet they are the same species! Makes me scratch my head trying to ID figs from across the world by just looking at the leaf. For a true identification the syconia or figs need to be seen. Unfortunately, we seldom see figs on our bonsai.

 

                                                                        To learn more about growing figs buy the definitive reference work on Ficus for bonsai. The book is a softcover, 8 by 10 inch volume, with 144 color pages, containing detailed information for the beginner as well as the advanced hobbyist. Click here for more information