The Art of Bonsai

Tag: defoliation

  • Playing with images to design your tree

    One thing that I find very useful is to photograph my trees on a regular basis. This allows me to see how the trees progress over time and lets me photographically change the images to see if a better design emerges from the image manipulations. A series of pictures to illustrate how the design might…

  • Ficus ‘ExoticaJS’ and defoliation

    This Ficus ‘ExoticaJS’ has been in training for only a few years from rough pre-bonsai stock. It is an excellent material for bonsai and it is not often available for sale. Periodically I defoliate many of my bonsai figs. Doing this produces smaller leaves and makes the tree more showable. It also allows me to…

  • Ficus ingens, the Red Leaf Rock fig

    Ficus ingens, the Red Leaf Rock fig, is an African species that is not very commonly used for bonsai. I have been working with several plants and do not find them the easiest species for leaf size control, and proper density of branching. Here is one before defoliation with old, tired leaves. The appearance is…

  • Starting with less than wonderful material

    This is a pretty typical plant. Ficus rubiginosa, that one can purchase in a nursery. It has had little or no training and seems unlikely to develop into a bonsai tree. At last one begin to see the potential bonsai emerging from its rather humble beginnings.

  • How to work with a large leaf bonsai

    Utilizing large leaf plants for bonsai is difficult. There are various techniques to deal with plants that have large leaves, like Ficus benghalensis. The first shot shows the tree with its various sized leaves. These are large but already reduced just by being grown in a small container. The second shot shows the tree in…

  • Ficus ingens, Red Leaved Fig

    Ficus ingens is a fig found in Africa and it is often growing over rocks and is thus called a “rock-splitter”. The leaves are moderately large with a wavy edge and prominent yellowish veins. Its main attraction are the new leaves which come out varying shades of red. The spring flush is a very attractive growth with the…