Dear All,

Almost exactly a year ago, I bought a ficus at Lodder, one of Europe's largest bonsai traders. It was one of those "one of 10.000" trees, so nothing spectacular or interesting about it. Just my curiosity: Can one actually create an interesting tree from such material. I already have a longer thread on the Dutch version of this forum but I thought I'd share it here too.

As purchased:


After ourchase, I removed all bar-branches, clumps etc and repotted it, taking off most of the roots (Many of which were in bad state anyway). I wired the whole tree i a very loose manner, with long wires: This to allow me to loop the wire around the extending bracnhes during winter.



So, after filling up with substrate, I moved it indoors, and left it to grow for winter. Initial plant:



About a month ago I removed all foliage, in order to get some side-branches going: The branches were getting really long, but without any ramnification. It worker wonders. The tree is now green-ish again. It will be left to grwo the whole winter. If the main branches have thickened enough after that, I will trim all of them back to perhaps 3, 4 cm and let them grow out in order to create taper in the branches. In between I will prune to top, to keep branches there thinner than those below.

Today:

One of the questions on malsai has been solved. The tapering of the trunk is pretty much sorted. As you say it is just the branches to complete now and ramification. Definetely an improvement!

Hi Leatherback,

Well, honestly I love this project of yours and I don´t know how this topic has passed us all almost unnoticed. I mean, ficus is a magnificent species to start this journey on the Bonsai art and at the same time when we start and don´t know practically nothing on this art, quite often we get "fooled" by retailers who sell us the sadly famous: "Ficus Ginseng Bonsai". These are only beautiful words known into this world as "Mallsai". And I´m the living proof of this... I actually started with a Ficus Ginseng myself.

So, it is really nice for most of all to know that these trees are not a complete loss... Sure, they´ll need a lot of work and years of training before they can, perhaps, become a Bonsai, but still there is hope. So, in order to contribute with my two cents as well, I would like to display this link of this very same website that is related to this topic too... Here it goes:

www.bonsaiempire.com/blog/ficus-mallsai

One more thing... it shocks me that this topic had in the dutch forum 47 replies and over a thousand visits and almost none in this English version.

Nice article LB...

Alain

Well, this is to keep this topic alive and show another Ficus Ginseng project...

This ficus was given to me last December by someone that didn´t know much about bonsai and this is how it looked like 10 months ago: www.bonsaiempire.com/forum/general/6843-new-into-this-site

Now, even if I know it would be rather difficult (if not impossible) to turn it into a real bonsai, I´ve become attached to it and somehow I´ve performed a few changes. I´m posting 3 pictures of its current state not necessarily to be criticized (although critics are very welcome too) but to be advised as how to keep proceeding with this specimen. I´m planning to repot it next spring by the way.

Oh, one more thing... You´ll see the photos were taken indoors, but that´s only because these past few days temps fell down below 10 ºC and ficus hate temps that low. Now, days are getting better and I´m keeping it outdoors again

Alain

Hi LB,

How is this project going? Any updates you might want to share with us yet? :whistle:

Alain

The plant is currently sitting in the unheated greenhouse, as temperatures have entered free-fall mode. I defoliated & trimmed little over a week ago.

I will have to see whether I am home during daylight today to take a picture. I won't be home in time tomorrow, and after that I am travelling till october..

Moved my ficus indoors today:

Nice improvement... As you once said about my Pyracantha: "I like where is going". One question though: Aiming for a Broom Style?

Alain

That delightful moment that you wonder 'how did he manage to turn that into a lovely tree'... is what I like about forums.

(though I wonder if the quality/angle of the photograph have got something to do with it )

Auk wrote: That delightful moment that you wonder 'how did he manage to turn that into a lovely tree'... is what I like about forums.(though I wonder if the quality/angle of the photograph have got something to do with it )

Thanks.. Always the cynic are you? (And mayhaps rightfully so?). Of course you will see the best angle. But.. He a couply of cellphone shots. The other views are not as bad as sometimes seen with bonsai pictures (In other words: no, not a staged performance).