I have a fairly large ficus that I would like to bonsai. I am fairly new to this but have taken an introductory course to this art. I am not a novice to plants, however. The question I have is that it is one of those commercial ficus with a braided trunk base, and am wondering if this would be a good candidate for bonsai? Also, how far back can I cut it down without harming it? Should I leave some branches with leaves, or can it be cut further back than that? Spring is almost here and I'm thinking this would be the time to take this step if I am going to at all.

I love this tree too. The one in Scottsdale is nothing compared to the one in Tempe in the lakes community south of Baseline and east of Rural. I talked to a guy that lives next to it, and he said that one of the original renters of this apartment complex planted it in the early 70s. It's got to be 80 feet tall. Truly looks like a tree out of the rain forest. The ones in the forest of uco at the zoo have those great aerial roots because they are constantly misted in the summer. Mine did not produce significant aerial roots until I hooked us some misters around it. Next time you go to the zoo, notice the variation between the trees. It is not just one species of Ficus. There are three distinct growth types at the zoo. The older ones in the forest of uco and the ones near the entrance have straight growing branches with spaced perfectly oval leaves. I think these are the F benghalensis. The one next to the bird cage that is north of the ocelot has longer and less oval leaves and I think it is a F lutea. Across from it, there is one with sharper and darker leaves that was recently planted. It even has a botanical sign - it is a F trichopoda (amazingly striking) The newer ones across the elephants and near the spider monkeys have more erratic growing branches and less perfect leaves. New growth swirls around and is not erect like benghalensis. This is the kind I have. IÂve been trying to figure out what kind this is for a while. It could be one of a dozen species from Africa that look very similar. They all have large leaves and easily grow aerial roots. There are also several large F palmeri (do not grow aerial roots, but sure can hug a rock) around the zoo that look similar, but these are locals from the southern sonoran desert. Tony

ez, but I sort of like my tropicals to slow down a bit during winter. I just have too many plants in a small space. I need to reduce the number of plants I have - lol. You are right, most ficus of the smaller variety will continue to grow through the winter and all of them prefer to be warm and humid. The larger varieties I have are: religiosa, benghalensis and mysorensis. Religiosa will tend to lose leaves but the other two just slow down a bit but still grow. This happens, to a lesser extent, even in my home town in India where if the temp ever goes below 50F it is considered a cold-wave. I think that only happens for all of one week in the entire year. Religiosa happily grows further north where it will partially defoliate in winter and tolerates (not so happily) down to 32F. But it is heat/drought tolerant too and responds by partially defoliating again. But they do respond very well as soon as the conditions improve. This is my religiosa that I always wanted to make it to a bonsai but never got around to it. About 15 years old.

quote: The available and non-available water in commercial perlite of 0–4 mm diameter was 13.6 and 36.5 per cent of its volume, respectively . it slurps the water instantly but it holds on to it (has to do with surface tension), the water is not released into the surrounding soil to make it soggy. foremost it aerates the soil (true whether it's small or large size perlite) so it helps to prevent root rot by providing more oxygen to the roots, not the other way around. lava rock can be substituted instead - it'll hold water internally slowly releasing it to the mix. it's sort of like the sponge, sucks up extra water from medium and then slowly feeds it back. and it has nutrients too and is much larger. if you can find it - use that to 1/3 of the mix. but perlite is easier to get and cheaper too. https://sohumsoils.com/ingredients/perlite/ https://www.bettervegetablegardening.com/perlite-in-potting-soil.html http://homeguides.sfgate.com/recommended-ratio-peat-moss-perlite-46321.html