The Art of Bonsai

Tag: cutting

  • Creating something from nothing

  • One way to create a bonsai

    There are many ways to shape raw material into a bonsai. In this case the bonsai was created from a Ficus rubiginosa cutting. At first it was allowed to grow long and healthy in a large container. It was then chopped down to a short segment and it was allowed to grow for several years. Next stage…

  • Creating a bonsai from a cutting

    Taking cuttings is one of the best ways to start a bonsai tree. In this example a cutting of Ficus ‘Mystery’ was taken. It was a long straight piece of stem with several aerial roots. A cutting taken with aerial roots is almost guaranteed to root. In this case the cutting rooted successfully and several…

  • Root cuttings

    Some species of Ficus will grow from pieces of root. This is fortunate as repotting of figs is required every few years to maintain the health of the tree. At this time thick and unnecessary roots can be removed and rooted to form new plants. A root cutting is shown from a Willow Leaf fig.…

  • Ficus ‘Mystery’, piece 4

    Ficus ‘Mystery’ is an unknown fig given to me in 2004 by friend David Fukumoto of Fuku-Bonsai. The first shot shows one of the pieces of the tree that was initially sectioned into 5 pieces. The second shot shows the piece #4 in 2014. This material is vigorous and aggressive and shapes up into beautiful…

  • Splitting a fig into two future bonsai trees

    Sometimes splitting a fig into several parts is the way to go with initial styling to maximize the material’s potential. The pant is a Ficus natalensis grown from a root cutting and perhaps two years old. The only exciting thing about it is the twisting lower trunk which should make a nice tree using that as…