Eric continues his journey with a Golden Gate ficus that he got from a mass-market retailer. Check the previous videos in this series here:
Part 1: • Bonsaify | Ficus: From...
Part 2: • Bonsaify | From Mass M...
Part 3: • Bonsaify | Mass Market...
SiDiao book website:
www.sidiao.com
There's nothing fundamentally "wrong" with a mass market Ficus like this. Typically they are produced in China and imported into the U.S. with a predictable "S" curve. They're just repetitive and not what Eric likes to work with. The goal of this series is to follow the tree through a few years of development work to make it into a tree that conforms more to Japanese shohin rules.
00:00:30 Eric takes a look at the wound he created in the last video and how it is healing.
00:01:25 Eric discusses the effect of the seasons on his decisions.
00:02:10 Discussion of the SiDao book by Cheng, Cheng Kung
00:03:00 Back to our tree - Eric is going to cut off all the branching much the way the tree was cut back in the first session.
00:03:15 - Big Cuts!
00:03:42 - Much smaller tree again! We expect to do the same cycle of grow out and cut back a couple more times. We don't want to leave more of the branching to build taper and movement and character in the tree.
00:04:50 - Eric discusses the decisions about design - contemplating more movement by using the side portion rather than the center shoot as the new section of trunk.
00:05:20 Contemplating whether there is enough space as a shohin for all the branching, Eric elects to cut a bit further back.
00:05:50 Discussing the exact cutback points of each branch, and how similar to part 3, further cutback will be needed once the new shoots have emerged and started to make wood.
00:06:25 Eric measures the lower trunk above the nebari as about 2" x 1.75" depending on the angle. Recording this to see how much the trunk changes over time.
00:06:39 For aftercare - the tree will be kept in the greenhouse from here through the winter. (although we have mild winters in the bay area the tree will do better in as much warmth as possible.)
Eric anticipates little growth after September so he plans to follow up again in March, April or May of 2024!