An Indoor Bonsai — Ficus Bonsai Tree
A video of a 30 year old Ficus bonsai tree, some information about the care and pruning of Ficus bonsai trees. … bonsai “indoor bonsai” “bonsai care” “bonsai pruning” “bonsai shaping” “bonsai tree” “bonsai tree care” “bonsai tree shaping” “bonsai tree pruning” “ficus bonsai” “ficus benjamina bonsai”
January 15th, 2010 at 4:25 am
I recently re potted my ficus bonsai and i also wired it….. i was wonder if it is ok to put my bonsai back under the grow light i have it under right after re potting?
January 15th, 2010 at 5:11 am
good vid. don’t worry about the nay sayers
January 15th, 2010 at 5:51 am
why the hell did you cut it ?
January 15th, 2010 at 6:49 am
I’ve been using either Zinser or Bullseye, both are available at Lowe’s. It dries to an off white, and some of the folks at OCBS have been using it on deadwood instead of lime sulfur.
January 15th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Have you used it long? Can you give me the brand name, I might want to try that.
January 15th, 2010 at 8:30 am
It is actually primer — if it will keep the bugs, mold and mildew out of your bathroom walls, it will do the same for the tree trunk.
January 15th, 2010 at 8:37 am
Looking forward to that update. I’m really quite taken with the trunk flair. I know its going to look great after the leaf reduction. What did you use to seal the trunk chop. Looks like latex paint.
January 15th, 2010 at 9:19 am
I would not totally defoliate a Benjamina — they bleed too much sap, and they can die rather suddenly if you take off all the leaves. I intend to do a partial defoliation on this one in the spring when I do the next branch pruning.
January 15th, 2010 at 9:28 am
Ive had bad luck defoliating totally so I keep the leaves at the very end.
January 15th, 2010 at 10:08 am
I think this bonsai looks amazing, I just recently got into bonsai this year. watching videos of your collection inspires me to expand mine. thanks for all the info&tips -fonzi
January 15th, 2010 at 10:22 am
You do cut off most or all of the leaves, but you only do it on a healthy tree whose branch structure and styling are complete or mostly so, and you usually do it in May or June, so that the tree refoliates quickly.
January 15th, 2010 at 11:14 am
how do you defoliae ??? you just cut all the leaves off ?? how far back can you cut ??
January 15th, 2010 at 11:35 am
learn to accept constructive criticism… also just trying to help… and he is right look at the size of those leaves! too big for a bonsai!
January 15th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Fair enough. I am letting that ficus carry more foliage than a finished bonsai would, and the leaves are too large. The tree is too early in its development to be defoliated, and I haven’t even begun work on secondary ramification. This will all be covered in future videos. That tree will likely return before the cameras in April or May 2010 for more intensive work.
January 15th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
How about you post up a video or two of yourself working on your trees so we can all benefit from your expertise? I think that would be much greater help.
January 15th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
thanks
January 15th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
It got that thick from 30 years of growing in a flowerpot. If you want to do it in less time (like 3 years or so) then plant the ficus in the ground, and let it get ten or twelve feet tall, and then prune it back down to bonsai height every so often.
January 15th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
how do you make the trunk of the ficus like that?
January 15th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Luke: I like that — do it as a response to my video. I have another big ficus that my wife bought at our last show (she’s the tropical bonsai enthusiast) and I am still working on shaping ideas for it — I hope to get to it before summer is over. I’d like to see yours just to share ideas.
January 15th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
I also have a very nice ficus that i recently just potted out of a huge pot. I am letting it get over the shock, but it is in very bad need of a trim. Ill make a video and post it soon.