Howdy,
this is a bonsai i picked up a year and a half ago it started out quite bushy and overgrown,but the trunk and nebari were well developed and the price was right.





these and the next were taken in december 2009 it was with a phone so the pics aren't that great



this is march 2010 after a very hard prune nad wire...it had me worried cuz i took 75% of the foliage off,but it pulled through fine.I also had 2 cuttings that survived 3 trees for one





this is the base 7 inches at the soil 3 inch trunk





this is september 2010 after the wires were removed and it was left to relax a month





after a prunning





and wire

next update will be in a month or so she's ready for another haircut soon

Wow, the nebari is beautiful really! I like all the pictures, first one the beginning then it became more a bonsai and more and more, I like it. I just know that this will be a great bonsai after a couple of years! Now it needs some more leaves, and then more refining, but the base looks great!

howdy y'all,
well i lied its been more than a month its been 3... well i actually had some time to do some work on this one again.
i have let her grow especially the back side which was lacking stucture. i have been giving that side more window time to force more growth.it has alot of unwanted branches they just seem to grow from anywere



back


front

here she is after 2-1/2 hours of clipping and wireing, and once again i am amazed at the transformation


back

front

its been a week and the new leaves are just starting to pop it still worries me to cut them all off but it is so much easier to wire, moving the branches changes the leaves growing angle ,plus it promotes backbudding and better ramafication.ill post another pic when she fills out,i can't wait

Wow, Keith!

This is one fantastic looking tree! You are doing a great job with it! I can certainly understand your apprehension in cutting all the leaves and/or branches. I'm really nervous about starting mine. The transformation you have created in this bonsai is amazing. You obviously are doing all the right things.

May I ask...what kind of wire are you using to shape the branches with?
Have you ever developed a trunk and nebari like this before on your own? I read that the Ficus is particularly suited for the robust root and trunk system however, there must be a lot of work to create this effect. I luv it! Thanks so much for sharing your progess.

Leslie

That ficus is beautiful! It was practically a bonsai already, and now it's gone from "cool!" to "OMG WOW!!!!! XD" Great work on the upper branches, they're really developing nicely. Thanks for sharing!

Nice work. It looks like a serious candidate for some prices in the future. I like how you have taken the risk of trimming the tree back to it's base and start rebuilding from there. Always a risk but you have done well here.

One thing that I noticed is that the roots sometimes take a long time to reach the soil, and actually seem to go around the trunc. One root (the medium thick one in the back) suffers from this particularly. When repotting, maybe have a look at a natural gradual movement into the soil. Now it seems to drop to soil level, and then turn back towards the trunc.

thanks for the accolades much apreiciated. i am not much more than a newbie myself

leslie,
i use aluminium wire (1,2 &3mm on this one)copper is tougher to use but has more holding power. i haven't needed anything more than a 4mm alm wire yet so i havent used it. as for the root system i think it comes with age.i am growing 3 cuttings that came from the original top of the tree( i killed the original cutting of the top )so i guess ill find out myself in time

lb,
yeah i have some issues with the roots and trunk i have no idea what it looks like under the soil tho .i have been searching for a pot for 8 months now (its in a plastic one now) and will at least do some root work next year.i figure ill find the perfect home for her after i do the repot

thanks again and ill share more pics when the leaves come back

The tree is really doing well, I like the progress you see in the tree, good work! Can't wait till it gets new leaves

howdy yall,

well its been 3 months and she is back to her winter hideout.the summer outside has done wonders on the leaf reduction it was a hot on eand she liked it i guess here's a pic of her in her winter window to get an idea of the development.my plan is to fertalizer up to get ready for another december chopping so until then on this one...

Wow. What a great tree. Amazing work. You really should be proud.