1st Post - Shohin Fig Tree (Ficus Carica)

Hi! I've been following this forum for a while, but I haven't had the courage to post one of my trees until now.
This is a modest project but its one of my favourite tree's and it's been with me ever since I've started my "bonsai fever".
This fig tree was caught when it was still a small seedling back in 2007. Here is one of its first pictures.



In 2008, it was repotted and place in a plastic container for aquatic plants to help produce new roots.



When the roots started to apear through the holes, it was placed on a bigger container to fatten the trunk. Here's a pic of it in 2009.



In 2010, it went to its first bonsai training pot.



Here's a picture of today, in 2011, with its first leafs of the year.



This little tree has still a long way to go, but its developing nicely. The pot is not the final one, but it has to develop much more until such choice can be made. My major challenge now is to develop the secondary and terciary ramification, since it is very dificult to do so with a fig tree, especially in one of this size.

Nice job on an unusual species for bonsai.

Welcome to the IBC also, and please post again.

You have done wonders to reduce leaf size on this. Much more than I thought possible. I have a Ficus carica in my yard as a fruit tree and the leaves are huge.
My ancestors came to Florida in the 16 and 1700's as indentured servants from the Mediterranean area to grow figs commercially. The local Native Americans had other ideas and they were either killed, joined the Native Americans or moved to St. Augustine for protection. But, my family has always kept a fig tree.

I have tried growing Ficus carica on a windowsill in the North (outdoors in summer). It can be done. There are dwarf varieties that might work better. But a word of warning. There is a one-celled, nitrogen-fixing organism that lives symbiotically inside the leaves of Ficus carica in some parts of the world, including the Northeast U.S. (no other Ficus species that I know of). If you have a fig tree on the windowsill & the sun is shining and company comes, they will frown at you disapprovingly, because the room will smell exactly as if you forgot to clean the cat's litter pan.
Iris

Hello Nunovski PT,
Really amazing those small leaves.
You inspired me to pick up a projekt i started 8 or 7 years ago.
I have a cutting in a pot (taken from a big fig in the garden), witch is well established now.
I would like to take this little tree a step further.
Could you share with us how you prune to get such small leaves?
Regards, Sunip

G'day Nunovski,
I just love this tree, you have done well.
The progression is great aswell.
Mick.

Hi Nuno,
That is a great development, from that thin seedling you had in 2007, all i can say is congratulations, and beg you to tell me the secret to reduce the leafs that much, i guess pacience plays a big part in it? thanks for posting. Abraço...

Hi! Thank you all for your kind coments.

Amazingly, ficus carica reduces the leaves very well. Here in Portugal I've seen other fig trees with leaves as small as mine.
My pruning method is no secret. I let the first growth of the season develop up to 6 or 8 leaves, then reduce it to the first node. Normally, the leaves from the extremes are bigger and have longer internodes. The first leaves are smaller and have shorter internodes. If you cut at the right time, these leaves won't grow much bigger and the secondary growth will be smaller. I also defoliate every 2 years and it allows for smaller leaves but also helps to ramify, which is my main goal for now.
Fig trees as bonsai are not so unusual here in Portugal, and there are very good bonsai trees made with ficus carica around here. In Spain, France and Italy there are also good bonsai fig trees. Most of them are medium size bonsai, bu there are also some shohin and even some mame.
I have a cutting that I'm trying to develop as a mame.
Fig trees are easily propagated from cuttings, even large stumps, and it shows a very strong growth when its well established. The main problem is to ramify it because it reacts erraticly to cuts in hard wood.
Here in the south of Portugal, the fig tree grows naturally in the wild and its one of the emblematic trees of Algarve alongside with the almond tree, the olive and the carob tree, so its natural that we try to use them to make bonsai. For me its a very rewarding tree because it has fruits, it reduces well the size of the leaves and it displays very good autumn colors.

Here are some links to some examples of fig trees as bonsai (sorry its in portuguese, but the images show it all):

http://blogjardimdebonsai.blogspot.com/search/label/Ficus%20Carica

http://kintall.blogspot.com/2010/02/alguns-bonsai-ficus-carica.html

Here you can see the size of the stumps you can root with ficus carica.
http://kintall.blogspot.com/2010/09/ficus-carica-uma-formula-para-adquirir.html

Nunovsky_PT,
Nice work with a difficult material.
Jerry

Hello Nunovsky PT,
Thank you for your answer.
I know they root easy with cuttings, but like those stumps shown in the blogspot, i did not realize.
Next time i prune my big fig in the garden i definitely try to root some nice branches.
I am curious how the deadwood parts will survive here in the Netherlands.
regards, Sunip

Forgot to mention,
Yes there it is, that is definitely a mame fig in the galaria Ficus Carica.
Sunip

Fig trees are also growing everywhere in Greek countryside. Easy species.
Some Greek enthusiasts also grow this tree as bonsai.
But the leaves size is always making me thinking.... Now this gives me some push to move on to this!

Billy M. Rhodes wrote: ... ... My ancestors came to Florida in the 16 and 1700's as indentured servants from the Mediterranean area to grow figs commercially. ... ...

Billy, perhaps your surname refers to.... Rhodes island, Greece? Just a reflect in my mind... Can you trace your ancestry in depth?