i did not advise the EXTRACTION as it includes substances that can dissolve human skin. i did get mixed up with the part where i wrote "people from before our time used it", it is very recent where they have found out that it works well, but as i say i would not advise it as you need to be a qualified biochemist to do it thoroughly, as well as there being dangerous substances and therefore not risking peoples health, the alkaloids cannot kill but give you the "time of your life" (sarcastic). please. not even i wish to dwell on this subject as the chances of moondragon doing this is practically none. please, i am sorry for the confusion and wasting your time, and i do hope we are good as i wish to be with all of you, i really do not wish to speak/write of this subject again. again, i am sorry for the confusion and wasting of your time.

p.s the last of my post was not intended to be after auk's post as the internal server of bonsai empire crashed for a bit in the uk.

bob wrote:

i did not advise the EXTRACTION as it includes substances that can dissolve human skin

Indeed you didn't. You advised to eat raw and poisonous ficus roots, then started to explain how you could make them edible.
That is however really not relevant. Your comment that - using the correct methods - ficus can be used as a herb - is as irrelevant as advising someone asking questions on this forum to eat his juniper, acer or ulmus.

and i do hope we are good

Sure, we are. No worries.

1: i did not say that i advise to eat raw root, i did not even say eat the root, i said take bits of root off now and then, not eat it, but anyways, the past is the past. i am good with you obviously.

bob wrote:

Once you have done this it should not be poisonous and will slightly improve your digestive system, but of course you can buy more effective products.

You really just don't stop trying to prove your point do you? Why would anyone want to do that?
Wouldn't it be easier to get a Ficus Carica? I'm sure that is far more effective.

bob wrote:

i am good with you obviously.

Yep, and that's why I will ignore any further posts about this off-topic issue.

i know, but why not (apart from going through a hell lot more trouble)?, yes you could do many better alternatives, a ficus religiosa would be good.

i get my stubbornness from a member of my family tree 2 branches higher than me y the way, i literally cannot help it, so sorry, again.

if you am to comment on my last post, i am just going to say that i will not be able to respond until tomorrow (anytime tomorrow).
sorry.

leatherback wrote:

moondragon wrote:

I was wondering, is there any hope at all that my plant will grow taller? I know that I can shape the branches, but I think if it gets taller it will look more tree-like. I re potted it so it will have more room, but it looks as though the top of the trunk was cut short. I attached some photos.

The plant will grow taller. but.. As you have noticed yourself, these plants are actually tricky; They consist of a rootstock combined with a canopy, combined though grafting. As such, you have a nasty place where these have been grafted onto one another. This will make it very dificult to make look as a true tree.

The top part was actually selected to not grow extremely quick, so the plant will keep its 'pom pom look'.

Okay, thank you! I am glad to know it will get somewhat taller. I don't mind if it stays relatively small, though. I was hoping to grow the top out to be a lot fuller, although I am not exactly sure how to go about getting it to grow that way.

It is already starting to form new leaves. How long should I wait before beginning to prune it?

You prune with a reason. If the reason is there for you, you can prune.

If you want it to grow taller, I would probably in your situation sleect a small number of branches that you let grow out. The rest you coudl trim. However, as I personally do not like this type of ficus with bloated roots, I would be the worst person to ask for styling advice (Mine would be.. Have a look at the compos )

Still have fun. It is an easy plant to take care of, fairly mistreatment resistant so you get to work on it and make mistakes and have the plant survive. That must count for something.

leatherback wrote:

You prune with a reason. If the reason is there for you, you can prune.

If you want it to grow taller, I would probably in your situation sleect a small number of branches that you let grow out. The rest you coudl trim. However, as I personally do not like this type of ficus with bloated roots, I would be the worst person to ask for styling advice (Mine would be.. Have a look at the compos )

Still have fun. It is an easy plant to take care of, fairly mistreatment resistant so you get to work on it and make mistakes and have the plant survive. That must count for something.

That's true, I'm not entirely sure how to do it, so at least my plant will forgive me when I mess up. I will have to look for some sort of webpage on how to style it. Thank you so much for the help!

moondragon wrote:

That's true, I'm not entirely sure how to do it, so at least my plant will forgive me when I mess up. I will have to look for some sort of webpage on how to style it. Thank you so much for the help!

If you want to only style the existing tree, it will never become a bonsai.
Developing it into a bonsai will be very hard and will require drastic measures.
The problems are:
- The roots. Good bonsai have a good base, several roots that grow in different directions,

www.cutebonsaitree.com/nebari-surface-root-rules.html for an explanation
samedge.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/incredible-nebari/ for some samples (some of which are too exaggerated for my taste, but it gives a good impression.

- The trunk. Good bonsai have tapered trunks, fat at the base and gradually getting thinner towards the top, without a visible cut

- The branches. Good bonsai have tapered branches, splitting up in smaller, secondary, and tertiary branches (ramification)

Your tree lacks all these characteristics. The roots are unnatural and swollen, and hideous (imho). The trunk is straight, is visibly cut off, no good branch placement or any refinement in the branch structure.

I think what LB wanted to say is just leave it as is, a house plant, keep it alive, let it grow. You cannot really style this tree into a bonsai. You can prune the branches so it keeps it shape, maybe grow a bit denser and maybe refine it a bit, but that's all you can do.

It is not impossible to turn Ficus Ginseng into bonsai, but as said it takes drastic measures and the results I have seen so far are interesting, but not that great really. You can find an article on this website (which actually does not concern a 'Ginseng' but it is a mallsai and the same tree species).

www.bonsaiempire.com/blog/ficus-mallsai