The Art of Bonsai

Tag: fusion

  • The evolution of a large Ficus microcarpa – Part Two

    The first 5 years of progress with a Ficus microcarpa, Chinese Banyan, was outlined in a previous blog see https://suspicious-pike.51-195-201-14.plesk.page/?s=part+l This  is an update on how this fig has progresse as of April, 2015. It still has some years of refinement to undergo before it can claim its position as a mature bonsai. Two procedures were…

  • Reverse taper

    Trees ideally should have a wide root base that tapers up into the trunk. A bulge or lack of proper taper often ruins the visual flow from the rootline to the apex of the tree and is called reverse taper. In this case several root cuttings of Willow Leaf fig, Ficus salicaria, were bound togeter in…

  • Ficus infectoria or is it Ficus virens

    Ficus infectoria is an invalid name, according to the botanists, and should technically be called Ficus virens. This material shows a coarser grower than some of my other virens. It seems to be quite happy in container culture with no special needs. This bonsai is actually 3 or 4 root fused trees that were grown from seed.…

  • Fusing figs

    One way to get larger bonsai material is to fuse smaller figs together. Basically tieing together several figs that are genetically identical can produce larger trunks. Growing a tree in a larger container or in the ground will produce faster trunk growth but is often not suitable for indoor growers. Fusion is a useful technique…

  • The evolution of a large Ficus microcarpa – Part One

    This Ficus microcarpa, Chinese Banyan, was a gift from bonsai friend, bonsai grower and dealer Bonsai Jack of Florida –  http://www.bonsaijack.com Jack sent me this tree after initially styling it in 2010. In the first few shots you can see how the top of the tree was totally removed and all the China grafted branches…