howdy yall,
i was poking trough the site looking for my progression thread for this tree and there wasn't one.this can't be right this is my first pretrained bonsai and i havn't shared it with the gang ...impossible
well it's possible so here i go
about 5 years ago my girlfreind bought me a little ficus at a bonsai expo i was so happy FINALY I HAVE A BONSAI 2 weeks later i came home from work to find it knocked from its windowsill and used as a hockey puck by one of the cats .she lost half of her split trunk and i was left with a damaged ugly tree...so my styling began.
it is now my #1 favorite and is flourishing.here are some of the older pics i have found










the tree is 8 inches tall and the pot is 3 1/2 inches round

Yeah, cats are evil like that. I've actually blocked off parts of my house that I have fragile/valuable stuff cause they're always knocking stuff over. If it's on a table it must come down I guess.

Lovely Ficus by the way.

ha ha you beat my to my newest post had to attend to the human children
well its been about 8 months since the last pics (i can tell by the iced over windows it had to be jan. or feb. of this year)the rocks that were on the soil are now buried. i am going for a semi cascade,root over pile of rocks look, the largest of the rocks are red white and blue ...well as close as i could find.


proposed front


back


cascade side

my camera died so i can't upload the after wireing pics now but ill share them soon

Hi Keith,

This little Ficus has come a long way (since the 'accident') and is quite lovely looking. I luv the root over pile of rocks idea and seeing the rocks on top of the soil as well. Kin ya tell I'm a wee bit ova rock nut?

Just as a point of interest...I was just recently reading in Jerry Meislik's book "Ficus the Exotic Bonsai" where he says the front of your tree should never bend away from the viewer. Do with it as you may.

I'm looking forward to viewing your wiring pics. So glad you *finally* shared this one! LOL!

ha ha a rock nut is an understament for me...on one occation i carried 120lbs of rocks in a backpack (yes i weighed it when i got home)on a hour hike out of a small gorge my shoulders were bruised but i couldn't leave anymore behind

as for the tree you have discoverd the fatal flaw i guess i am an insulting stylist ,this isn't my only tree i hace that has that issue. i really don't see the reasoning behind that rule anyway. well here's the new and improved version...







well the change was very suttle. next step it terminal bud prunning. im going to let the branches extend 1 more leaf set which are sprouting now and hope for some backbudding 'cuz defoiliation was unsucsesful

Well, they say rules are meant to be broken. Personally, I think the tree is adorable...and look at the changes compared to your first photo!

How do you mean the defoliation was unsuccessful? Were you trying to achieve smaller leaves or more back budding? I think the leaves are definitely smaller, wouldn't you? They don't back bud easily except with hard pruning. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with consistent terminal-bud pruning tho...I must admit, I've never tried that before.

I don't know if you are familiar with this link...*leatherback* shared it with me. www.bonsaihunk.us/info/ScheffleraBonsai.html

You are developing such lovely flow and movement of form in this tree. I've only just hard pruned my mini arboricola and I truly hope to be able to achieve the wonderful results you have. Thank you sooo much for sharing!

thanks for the accolades leslie i love to stare at her when i do dishes .even the soil is interesting to me ive added so many different things to it over the years .as for the pruning since i have no idea what species she is i have no resource to referance so i expeirament.last time i defoiliated i left the terminal buds on in fear of killing her and i think i got 1 new branch. this time figuring it is wanting to grow, so if i pinch the end buds and leave the foliage it will have no choice but to make more branches ...i think

I believe you are right, Keith...pinching the end buds should force new branching. Even tho it's an entirely different kind of plant, this is how I have forced my Jade plants to branch out.

I can completely understand why you love to stare at her and at the soil. *I* love to stare at her and her soil in the photos! The soil is very interesting plus you have made it look like a mini landscape which I find fascinating. I imagine the rocks/stones would also help keep the soil from washing away when watering? I'd really like to create similar mini landscapes with my Ficus *Jamina* and a couple of others (minus the root over rocks part). Does this have to be done during repotting or can I gently move some soil away from the edges of the pot in order to semi-bury some stones? Will this do harm to the roots?

Thanks so much, Keith for sharing your progressions, your knowledge and experiences and most of all, your creative thoughts and ideas. Oh...yeah...and for so patiently answering my questions!

i just put the stones on top of the soil ,but as long as the roots aren't near the surface a little poking aroung won't hurt

Thanks, Keith!

PS ~ I keep forgetting to mention...I adore that little, smilin' froggy in your first photos. I want one!!! LOL