Viewing post #1033188 by DavidLMO

signet said:David , have you tried to bonsai a ficus ? They would be pretty amenable to the process I would think .

I would love to try my hand at it but figure it is too long a process. I would never get to see the finished product.

We don't realize that some trees grow fairly fast ....and would it show it more quickly in a bonsai ?. When a maple takes 50 years to mature normally , in a bonsai situation ,would there be a lot of noticeable growth . I would think as the tree doesn't have to concentrate on upward growth because one keeps it cut back that it's energy might be focused in it's root growth, trunk thickness etc . By that I mean does the tree thicken out faster , mature faster when this parameter is eliminated . . Is this true in your experience? I am not sure if I am making myself quite clear in my meaning here .

Ficus is a very popular species used in Bonsai. Do an Internet search. Some very neat ones. My seedlings died and I did not start others. :(

Regarding long process et cetera. Yep - me too. I don't care.

You are very clear and yes that is more or less the case.

I just started 2 years ago, so I have very little experience. But regarding trunks growth I have a Myrh and a Frankincense that are both growing relatively large trunks. The plants are only ~ 15 or so inches and trunks ~ 5/8ths inch.

One of the keys for Bonsai is getting a tree that has small(er) leaves. A couple of my best specimens are Bauhinia with very small leaves. They will be neat looking even when full grown. They are 2 YO and ~ 12 ".