Tag Archives: aerial roots

Nearly 40 years

This is a Ficus rubiginosa grown from seed collected by a friend while traveling in Australia. I bought the young tree from him about 40 years ago. The photo shows how the tree has evolved from the left side photo taken in 1985 to the right photo taken in 2019.

Rubginosa is one of the strongest Ficus species that I have grown and responds really well to growing indoors under lights. Leaves are a bit large but with defoliation they reduce extremely well. Even aerial roots can form under moderately dry conditions.

I recommend this fig species for all growers.

The tree with no taper

There are many ways to handle a tree with little or no apparent taper. In this case a Ficus ‘Mystery’ was grown from a very straight and taperless cutting.

Fortunately there were several existing aerial roots that were brought down along the trunk and rooted into the ground. The aerial roots provide a visual thickening to the lower part of the trunk creating some taper that just does not exist. The roots coming off the aerials provide a nice surface flow that helps to visually stabilize the tree.

The area circled in red shows the straight cutting including a few aerial roots

The bonsai shows some nice taper provided by the aerial roots as well as nice surface rootage.

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

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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

Ficus microcarpa in the Denver Botanic Garden

I was gifted this Ficus microcarpa from my good friend David Fukumoto in 2004. It was just accepted into the bonsai collection of the Denver Botanic Garden this July of 2015.

Defol

Defoliated to show the branch patterns

Partial

Partially re-leafed after defoliation

InLeaf

In full leaf

Larry Jackel, curator of the DBG bonsai collection and his Ponderosa pine

Larry Jackel, curator of the DBG bonsai collection, and his Ponderosa pine

I am greatly honored to have one of my best trees find a wonderful home for the next phase of its life. A place where it will live and be admired for many years.

To review the history of this fig please refer to:

http://www.bonsaihunk.us/info/RainforestFicus.html

http://www.bonsaihunk.us/info/RainforestFicus2.html

http://www.bonsaihunk.us/info/RainforestFicus3.html

http://www.fukubonsai.com/5a30.html


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