Fusing Ficus

One of my favorite techniques to obtain larger material is to fuse young rooted cutting together. I use cuttings all taken from the same mother plant so that the bark, leaves and general character of the fused plant will be completely the same. In this way I can develop larager plants since my growing space is limited to one indoor growing room and I do not have space for really large pots or the ability to grow plants in the ground. Growing in the ground or in large growing containers would be faster and easier ways to get larger material.

Some images of fusing materials follows. Most are just early on and not totally fused. It takes anywhere from 1-7 years to achieve good fusions depending upon the age of the material, growth and the genetics of the plant.

Ficus virens

Ficus virens

Ficus virens

Ficus natalensis

Ficus virens of a special deep red leaf color

 

What I do when I am puzzled

Very often I have some trees that just seem to be a puzzle. I can’t quite figure out what design might work for the tree. I usually put these on the bottom shelf and just let them grow and wait for a burst of inspiration. Perhaps the tree will speak to me and I can listen to it and style and train it to become a wonderful bonsai.

But, sometimes the tree isn’t speaking or I am not listening. Not all bonsai creations will be created “instantly”. Sometime the bonsai will evolve after the tree or the designer mature.

Ficus virens which has been allowed to grow wild

No brilliant ideas so I take the tree back to the best basic structure and allow it to grow

Another Ficus virens that has not worked for me and it was allowed to grow wild

With no inspiration, I just cut it back to the best trunk line that I could think of. Time and growth may show me a way in the future.

Taking a tree apart to improve it

This is a young rooted cutting of Ficus natalensis but the two roots as indicated did not look right to my eyes. So I split the tree and allowed it to sprout back. I like the two new pieces and with more growth I think each may work out to be a reasonable bonsai tree.

Ficus natalensis, rooted cutting, with arrows showing the roots that I did not like

Ficus natalensis, rooted cutting, with arrows showing the roots that I did not like

cut_23a3316

The small root on the right sprouted out

The small root sprout has been potted up and will be allowed to grow to develop an apex

The small root sprout has been potted up and will be allowed to grow to develop an apex

The larger piece will need more development but I like it better now

The larger piece will need more development but I like it better now

Grafting figs

Grafting is a very useful way to improve a fig. It can add branches, new roots or thicken trunks. One factor to keep in mind is to graft identical parts together. Simply use material to graft, the scion, and the stock that are genetically identical. If this is not done the bark and foliage will be a mis-match and not suitable for bonsai.

_mg_2042

The graft point is at 1 and the 2 shows that the foliage of the graft and the stock are not the same. Both are Ficus microcarpa but not genetically identical.

_mg_2047

Close up of the graft point, 1, shows the mis-match in the bark color and texture

Thickening the trunk of a bonsai

_23a0808

Ficus virens with a nice thick lower trunk 

There are several ways to thicken the trunk of a bonsai. One way is to take aerials that are near the trunk and pull them over to touch the trunk and hold them tightly in place. Over time the aerials will fuse to the trunk enlarging it, as well as creating improved surface rootage/nebari.

_mg_5041

Three or four years ago the same Ficus has small aerial on either side of the trunk. They are pulled close to the trunk and held in position

Aerials are now fused to the base, increase the taper and thickeness of the lower trunk

Willow Leaf fig has small leaves suitible for small trees

Willow leaf fig is a terrific species to use for smaller bonsai since its leaves are already small and will be in good proportion for smaller bonsai.

An assortment of Willow Leaf figs is shown that are all grown from cuttings and are less than 10″._23a3922 _23a3914 _23a3906 _23a3883 _23a3877


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.

Slave branches

Slave branches are used to thicken a bonsai trunk or even branch. By allowing wild and untrimmed growth of these branches the trunk or branch can be thickened.

Once the thickening is done the slave branch can be removed or trimmed back.

 

Wild and untrimmed growth to thicken this branch on a Ficus natalensis/thonningii complex bonsai

Wild and untrimmed growth to thicken this branch on a Ficus natalensis/thonningii complex bonsai

_23a3746

The branch has been shortened back once it has the proper thickness but needs secondary and tertiary branches to be developed

The branch thus thickened, as in this case, now has a proper thickness but will need more work to ramify it and develop secondary and tertiary branches. This can be done with repeated nipping out of buds and defoliation techniques.

Aerial roots are kept on this branch as they speed branch thickening

Aerial roots are kept on this branch as they speed branch thickening

The “Too Heavy” root

In dealing with a fig that has too heavy a root there are several ways to handle the situation. One, is to simply use soil and moss to partially or completely cover the thick root.

Another solution is to cut the large root completely off. After removing the root seal the cut with cut paste and cover lightly with some soil or sphagnum moss. Usually the cut root will sprout and replace the heavy part with a new and thinner root in much better scale than the original. Cutting off one large root on a healthy tree should not prove to be harmful to the bonsai tree.

 

img_6229-2

Heavy root on the left is not in scale with the rest of the tree

 

_23a3221

Heavy root on the left has been totally removed and smeared with cut paste

The removed portion of the root is sprouting and will become another bonsai

The cut end of the root on the tree shows new finer roots taking over and once a bit thicker will be in good scale to the size of the bonsai

Yet other ways to handle the heavy root is to split the root or cut the root in half lenghtwise.

All of these will result in a root that is proper scale to the trunk and design of the tree.

 

Some steps in creating a bonsai from raw material

This is a young plant grown from a root cutting of a Ficus natalensis. The root cutting sprouted three branches.

To develop a new apex and create a better transition to the new apex, two of the sprouts were pulled together with electrical ties. A month or two passed and the ties were removed. The lower part of the fusion appears to be nicely grown together but the upper portion is not fused. So several new electrical ties were placed in areas adjacent to the old ties.

 

Root cutting of Ficus natalensis

Root cutting of Ficus natalensis

2_23a8422

Side view shows three sprouts have grown from the root cutting

3_23a3224

To develop a thicker transition to the trunk two of the sprouts were tied together with electrical ties

4_23a3226

After a month or two the ties appear to have worked

5_23a3232

The ties were removed and the upper part of the fusion was not together. Some mild scars from the ties will be present for about 6 months. With growth they will disappear.

6_23a3237

Two new ties were placed adjacent to the old ones and growth will be allowed to speed the fusion more completely

7_23a3242

Some basic wiring was done to give the young bonsai a bit of shape


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.