Fantastic Ficus

  Fantastic Ficus

The population of Taiwan is around 24 million people.  The island is small but the local hearts are big.  The density of people living in the city can be overbearing but once in the mountains, Taiwan shows its natural beauty.  Two thirds of Taiwan is covered by mountains and trees!

One of the many trees you can see in Taiwan is the FICUS - Ficus Microcarpa.  This tree is also known as the Chinese Banyan.  There are quite a few different varieties of Ficus Microcarpa and the one that I bought a few months ago is what is known as a Tiger Bark Fig.  The stripes on the bark give it away.

 It is Summer at the moment in Taiwan.  With a ficus like this one you can cut every leaf off the tree.  This is what is known as defoliation.  We defoliate for a number of reasons.  The first is that you can reduce the leaf size.  Since more leaves will grow than what you had before each new leaf will be a touch smaller in size as the energy of the tree has a limited push out strength.  The second reason is that by defoliating you can see the tree structure very clearly.  It is harder to see the branches that you want to either keep or eliminate when the tree is covered in leaves.  The third reason is that it becomes easier to wire as the leaves are not in your way.

I defoliated the ficus tree quite quickly.  As I was cutting I attempted to create a silhouette of an uneven triangle.  I was looking out for a lower branch to either the left or right.  This branch needs to be the longest.  I then looked to the other side of the tree and wanted to keep another longer branch that would keep the tree in balance.  I then looked for a back branch, scanning my eyes up the tree.  This back branch is important as it gives the tree depth - it makes the whole tree look thicker.  If you are unsure which branches to cut and leave - the above method is a bases.  You can follow that basic pattern all the way up the tree to the apex.  Left, right, back.  Or right, left, back.  

Once upon a time the thought of wiring gave me a headache.  By practicing and reading a lot, wiring is now much more enjoyable.  I plan to write more about wiring in other posts.  

So here we have cut all the leaves, including some branches, we have also wired and repotted the tree!  Fortunately, the ficus tree is able to withstand the this amount of stress..  Other trees cannot and will die.  It is recommended to really only work on a tree if it is healthy and strong to begin with.  This ficus was full of energy and it is a species that can handle this work.  (The new pot makes such a difference as well!)

2 WEEKS LATER
Two weeks later we see the emergence of new baby leaves.  There is a lot of them.  This is how defoliating once or twice a year, you can reduce the size of the leaves.  Small leaves on a bonsai normally make the tree look bigger and more adult like.  

Here they come!  Seeing new leaves grow is a thrill for me.  

The new apex.

The full tree.

5 WEEKS AFTER INITIAL WORK

5 weeks after defoliating, wiring and repotting.  Buy a ficus mirocarpa and start practicing!  They are forgiving and look good.  You can also keep these guys indoors as well.  Make sure it is in a sunny area and that the air is not still.  The leaves need air passing over them for them to open up and breathe.  It is safer leaving them outdoors in the sun.  Trees prefer being outside!  

Before and After

Update
November 13th - Late Autumn

Time to remove some of the wire.

You can see how the wire has been cutting into the bark.

Once this happens you know that the branch will hold its position that you set.

Another branch that needs the wire removed.

The top sections of the tree receive more sunlight.  The crown of a tree will always be the strongest and because of this it will grow the quickest.  You will find the wire cutting into the top parts will be digging in more severely.

As opposed to more of the lower branches that will tend to grow a little slower.  I will leave this wire on for the time being.  I cannot see it cutting into the bark.  The branch needs time to grow so the wire can set it in the desired position.

The leaves have darkened and the secondary branches are trying their best to grow.