I planning to hard cut where marked. What are your thoughts?
by Technical-Bear4813
I planning to hard cut where marked. What are your thoughts?
by Technical-Bear4813
4 Comments
Did just what you plan a couple weeks ago. Responded with a lot of new buds so I can choose what I want to create primary branches with. Just think about how big you would like the trunk to be before chopping
No, definitely not. Formal upright is a difficult style, it’s not just a straight line. You need to build your trunk first. That’s not thick enough for the proposed height of the chop. Taper is super important on a formal, you can get away with little taper on an informal, but a formal will always look like a twig without good taper.
Have you thought about how are you getting your first three branches in position? Grafting or hoping for backbudding?
Consider leaf size too, have you researched if they will reduce enough for the scale you’re thinking of in this species?
Give it as much warmth and humidity you can provide it and it will thrive
I’m in temperate Australia climate and have a large amount of ficus as I can’t seen to throw out the prunings,
in autumn, heading into winter so I erected a “fake” greenhouse (cheap framed plastic skinned one) and I put them all in there and they are thriving and am already seeing aerial roots forming on the larger ones and massive growth and back budding on the rest.
Give this thing a bigger, wider pot or pond basket style and as much humidity you can, the chop you’ve marked would be fine but you may get quicker results if you leave it be for now and just remove a few tips from the tallest branches to allow the lower ones to help with the trunk width.
Thanks for your comment. I made a typo on the title, I meant informal upright. Your feedback is very helpful. I will move it to a bigger pot and cut the top branches to encourage the lower ones to grow and help with the trunk width. What would be your advice for substrate to thrive in?