Bonsai In Progress …
Ficus at the Buffalo Botanical Gardens
The last time this ficus was repotted, it was repotted into the same pot. It was now time to repot once again. However, this time it was decided to get a new larger pot that was more in balance with the size of the bonsai. In addition, there were some design refinements that had been decided upon. Pictured below, is the bonsai as it looked on display at the Buffalo Botanical Gardens just prior to beginning the restyling and repotting work.
An air root had grown right in front of the central trunk of the bonsai. You can see this in the enlarged photo below. In addition, while an attractive composition, the bonsai had come to look more like a “shrub” than a “tree” with its five main trunks.
To make the bonsai look more like a tree, the lower trunks on both the left and right sides will also be removed. Also, prior to repotting, the air root that detracted from the main center trunk will be removed. The photos below show the work to accomplish these things being completed.
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Now that the refining work is complete, the bonsai is ready to be removed from the old pot. The root ball needed to be separated from the pot along the edges prior to being lifted out. Then, about a third of the old soil was removed from the roots. Heavier roots were removed. Prior to removing the tree from the old pot, the new pot had been prepared with plastic mesh and a new layer of fresh bonsai soil.
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Shown below are, L to R, the “before” and “after” photos of the ficus bonsai:
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The volunteers doing the work were from L to R: From the Buffalo Bonsai Society; Vince Philippone, Dick Smith, BBS President, & Dan Trzepacz. John Orluk & Joe Nardiello were volunteers for the Buffalo Botanical Gardens.
