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Moving an aerial root
Aerial roots are one of the very useful and impressive features of some fig trees. As with other design elements of a bonsai the aerials must augment the overall design scheme. In this Ficus virens the aerial root crosses across the trunk and in addition it gives the appearance of a reverse taper to the…
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Ficus cuttings, a great way to get more trees
Over the years I have taken many hundreds of cuttings. Most Ficus can be started easily from cuttings and even large size cuttings can be rooted with success. This is a Ficus microcarpa cutting taken from one of my very large bonsai. It was allowed to grow without trimming to recover strength and over time branches were…
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Working with bonsai artist Hank Miller
I had the great pleasure of spending a few days with Hank Miller. He is a bonsai grower, artist and bonsai teacher. Hank grows mainly species in his greenhouse but he loves working with Ficus natalensis and Ficus burtt-davyi. These clones of Ficus were selected by him for strong growth, small leaf size and responding really…
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Demonstration and lecture – Exposed Root Style
At the recent American Bonsai Society learning symposium in Grand Rapids Michigan I presented a number of programs. One program was a lecture demonstration of the exposed root style bonsai. This happens to be one of my favorite bonsai styles and is little used and discussed. In this style the exposed roots are the focal…
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Repotting a large fig
It has been about three years since this fig was last potted. The soil is somewhat compacted and broken down and therefore needs to be replaced. Since it is a large tree it can’t easily be moved by even two people. So the process involves leaving the tree in the pot, while removing the soil from around…
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Ficus ‘Little Ruby’
Bonsai artist and friend Anthony Webb has a lot of experience growing figs and one in particular that he likes and finds fascinating. Here is Anthony’s summary about his experience with a Ficus rubiginosa ‘Little Ruby’ over 25 years. “Ficus rubiginosa var Little Ruby is native to Australia. A cultivar of Ficus rubiginosa (Port Jackson fig) was…
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Identifying a fig’s proper name
One of the real difficulties that I deal with every day is how to identify a fig in someone’s collection. Simply put this is frequently a very difficult task. There are many plant characteristics that botanists use to ID a plant. One of the really important characteristics would be the syconia or figs of that plant.…
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Ficus ‘Green Island’, cultivar names
Ficus ‘Green Island’ is one of the cultivars of Ficus microcarpa. Its main distinguishing characteristics are thick, rubbery leaves that are nearly round. This round leaf character is not unique to ‘Green Island’ but can be found in seedling Ficus microcarpa. I have one seedling with very round leaves that is not ‘Green Island’ since it…