How should I shape my Ficus benghalensis (Audrey)?
Mandarina Optimista
3 years ago
Finally took my first jump getting a medium-large ficus! I got a Ficus benghalensis (aka Audrey). It's about 4 feet tall from topsoil, trying to figure out how to prune it to give it more of a (non-lollipop) open tree structure. Most pictures from the US shape it like a lollipop, but I've found and fallen in love with Japanese-style open tree structure where I can actually appreciate the trunk and branches like this one from https://www.tree-tree.jp/?pid=48546042
The best advice I've found for specifically Ficus benghalensis (aside from Houzz forum's user Tapla) is the following from Smart Garden Guide, looking for more advice like this but maybe a bit more in-depth and hopefully with illustrations or videos (closest thing I've found is bonsai masters pruning away). This is the advice from the link:
- Cut the top off a tree once it reaches your preferred height. For appearance’s sake, the plant will probably benefit from some preparatory trimming … so get started!
- To encourage branching, cut the chosen branch back. Keep one to three leaves: new buds will form at the base of the remaining foliage.
- To keep the structure open, prune so that emerging branches grow outwards.
- Trim crisscrossing branches and those that grow downwards or into the center.
- Correct crooked branches by cutting them back to a section growing toward an imaginary center line.
- To create a harmonious picture, trim branches so they grow closer together as they reach the top, as happens in nature.
Been nonstop reading articles and watching videos about bonsai, niwaki, arboriculture, etc. If you have any advice or know of any sources of info that could be helpful, I'd be very happy to hear any recomendations 🤗
I just pruned a few downward facing branches and leaves from near the trunk to be able to see better, here is the result:
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Comments (7)
shaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b)
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoHad to laugh at the "medium large." Whatever you do, don't plant it in the ground. It's the tree with the largest canopy in the world. This first pic is just one tree. Aerial roots hit the ground, grow into another trunk whose aerial roots hit the ground, and so on...
Mandarina Optimista thanked shaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b)
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoMandarina Optimista thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)Related Discussions
How do ficus rubiginosa/benghalensis do here in Phoenix?
Comments (5)If you want to go look at some benghalensis, you should go to the zoo. They have several trees and several variations. There are also other types of ficus all over the place. The biggest one that I have seen in the valley is in the lakes neighborhood south of baseline between Rural and McKlintock. It hangs over an ally that runs along houses that are on the south side of the southern most lakes on the west side of the development. It is REALLY big. I asked a guy that lives by it about it. He thought it was a magnolia and said that rumor has it that one of the original tenants of an apartment complex on the other side of the fence planted it when the area was developed. There are quite a few unusual ficus in that neighborhood. There are also some benghalensis that Scottsdale planted near the Osborn hospital. I'm not sure, but I think that the beautiful ficus planted in front of the Vine restaurant in Tempe on Apache may be a rubiginosa (if not, perhaps a macrophylla?) I always though it was just another elastica until a got a closer look. GREAT TRUNK! Looks twisted and knarly. If anyone knows for sure what type of ficus that tree is, please divulge the information. PenBuilder...See MorePlz Help - How should i wire this ficus ????
Comments (1)You have a long way to go with your Ficus tree and my first suggestion would be to let it produce more branches and leaf fill before wiring and training. I would give it at least one more year before training. True Bonsai takes years and years of patience. You can remove that center stump in the center (looks pretty dead) with a pair of concave cutters, as close to the main branch as possible. It's hard to tell how large the pot is or how tall the tree is from the photo, but if you have not yet trimmed the roots of the tree, you may want to try that. Up to one-third of the ORIGINAL root system can be removed. Avoid removing the fine feeder roots and look for larger roots with little to no fine feeder roots and roots that are mushy or dead and remove those first. Depending upon how much you can trim the root system, you may want to transplant to a smaller unglazed clay pot as well. Root trimming and a smaller pot, with pinching of larger leaves will help the Ficus produce a smaller leaf, ideal for Bonsai. However, I do not recommend removing any more leaves at this stage - she's pretty bare already and needs the leaves for photosynthesis to occur. Ficus is also VERY susceptible to spider mites, so be on a constant look out for any white cottony substance underneath the leaves or if leaves start dropping for inexplicable reasons. Ficus require high humidity and spider mites appear in dry hot air. Personally, I gave up on Ficus because of the mites and did not want to accidently infest my other plants. It is supposedly very easy to grow, but I've had better luck with more "difficult to grow" plants. Look at the link below for professional care instructions. It's a wonderful site, filled with good information and photos. Here is a link that might be useful: Specific Bonsai care guidelines for the Ficus Bonsai...See MoreFicus 'Audrey' -- Overwatering? Fungus?
Comments (10)What it looks like to me is localized death of tissues caused by something phytotoxic (poison to plants). What would cause this is spraying something the plant doesn't like on the leaves and allowing the solution yo dry on the plant. How did you apply the neem product? Was it pure cold-pressed neem oil in an emulsifier like soapy water or is the neem fraction already dissolved in a solution? It's not unusual for plants to react poorly to the vehicle that delivers the neem fraction of the product. For clarity, if you were spraying saltwater on weeds to kill them, salt would be the active ingredient (like neem is) and the vehicle that delivers the active ingredient is the vehicle. Often, the vehicle used for insecticides and neem products are solvents, and solvents are often used to extract neem oil from the branches and twigs. Both solvents and detergent emulsifiers can destroy the cuticular wax in leaves that protect the plant from moisture loss and pathogen entry into the plant ...... which is why cold-pressed neem oil is best. It's possible the leaves are in the process of being shed. The chlorotic look (yellowing) of the leaves might be because the leaves are being shed. Part of that process is recycling the Mg from the chlorophyll in the leaves. Chlorophyll is a green pigment, so when it's broken down, expression of other pigments follows. Also, part of the shedding process before the leaf falls off is a layer that forms at the leaf attachment site. The layer (abscission layer) first inhibits movement of water/sap/nutrients/all bio-compounds across that layer/region. Because it doesn't look like under or over-watering, my guess, if it is related to the leaves being shed, is that it's ultimately related to A) a reduction in light levels or B) poor nutrition, which causes the plant to rob mobile nutrients from oldest leaves in order to fuel new growth. You really need to fertilize. Don't use a fertilizer advertised as being specifically for Ficus - they're scams. You won't find better than Foliage-Pro 9-3-6. When the cause of the problem isn't conspicuous, it's often best to review what you're doing for the plant, culturally speaking - how much light, temperatures, watering/fertilizing habits, etc. Comparing your care to this Overview of Good Growing Habits might isolate something that, if improved on, could make a significant difference. Al...See Moreetiolated growth on my ficus Audrey
Comments (32)Take the aluminum wrap off the pot to ensure water can escape through the drain hole. The affected leaves show localized parts of the upper layer of the leaf's superior (top) surface which have been destroyed by photo-oxidation (sunburn). Too much light causes release of a hydrogen atom which joins with a water molecule to form the oxidase H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide), the same chemical compound used to bleach hair and disinfect wounds. H2O2 is a powerful oxidizer which attacks the first organic molecule it comes in contact with, in this case, t was the pigment chlorophyll. The leaves first turned a silver/gray color before desiccation became a player and turned the surface brown. The plant has chemical messengers that will inform plant central when the affected leaves move from being net producers of energy (via photosynthesis) to net USERS of energy. When the plant recognizes the leaves as a liability as opposed to assets, it will start adsorbing mobile nutrients and other compounds from the leaf for use elsewhere in the plant. That means they are still an advantage to the plant; however, the plant appears healthy enough that removing them for aesthetic reasons wouldn't be a significant setback as the leaves are already about 25% compromised insofar as their ability to produce food/energy. Your call. If you decide to remove them, only cut through the petiole (leaf stem) with a pair o scissors an inch or two away from the leaf's attachment point - especially the top leaf. If you cut the top leaf too far back, you could remove the apical meristem at the stem end where all extension growth occurs. Do this, and the trunk will never be able to extend. Instead, a new branch will occur from the new top leaf and take over as the new leader. The problem with that is, it will likely grow in a direction other than up for several feet unless you train it to grow upward as soon as the new branch appears. If you have questions, I can offer guidance as I have many bonsai Ficus and am very familiar with how you can expect them to respond. Al...See More
popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
3 years agoMandarina Optimista
3 years agoshaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b)
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
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