Commercial ficus bonsai rebuild - 12 month timelapse

Well over a year ago I got a massive ficus from an online trading platform. After an initial cutback and repot, it was left alone over winter. In spring ALL BRANCHES WERE CUT OFF! and I left it to regrow, wired and pruned and grafted over the rest of summer.
A true bonsai rescue timelapse where an overgrown commercial ficus was pruned hard and all grafted foliage was removed, so that new branches can grow, with the original foliage instead of the compact grafted.
0:00 removing all branches to rebuild a ficus bonsai
3:00 The trunk and future direction
5:32 Jumping to end of season: Recovery, grafting, wire and trim
10:16 A few weeks later

[@bobcatbonsai]

Jelle, this was absolutely amazing to watch and see how you took it back to nothing than 3 months later it looked like you did nothing. Thank you for sharing this!!!

[@GrowingBonsai]

keep in mind: key is a healthy established plant !

[@mattbrennan647]

Dr Frankenstein would be proud.😂 That’s a wonderful creation. Ficus are so vigorous there’s no end to how they can be manipulated. Thanks, keep growing

[@GrowingBonsai]

HaHa, yes, at times it feels like that, doesnt it!

[@wijn1008]

I've owned an Ficus from IKEA for 10 years, it had all grafted branches. But I overwatered it, and then overfertilised it and then the whole top of the plant died. I cut it back to let's say 20cm of trunk and now it's producing shoots like mad. So I kind off have the same plant at the moment haha.

[@harrietb2141]

Hi Jelle.Looking forward to see the future of that ficus.😊

[@GrowingBonsai]

me too!!

[@theZCAllen]

so much character in this bonsai, even with all of the limbs trimmed off

[@GrowingBonsai]

thank you! I am hoping it will be a good tree in a decade or so!

[@Sagalaaya14]

good ficus bonsai, and lots of people like it... greetings, beginner bonsai from Indonesia 🙏

[@GrowingBonsai]

thank you, great to see my vids reach Indonesia!

[@abydosianchulac2]

I find trees like this so interesting, because they look so rough and ugly (to my eyes) after all the chopping back but really take on a lot of character with even just a few branches and leaves back out. Can't wait to see where you take this one, Jelle.

[@GrowingBonsai]

agreed, it is a crude method, and my least preferred (have you seen my vid on thickening trunks?). But i. this case I saw no alternative. It will be a few years before this becomes a tree again :(

[@watsup6084]

Front 1: Has much more features and nicer movement&taper plus as you mentioned it leans toward the viewer. Really cool transformation. Love the videos that show the tree over such a time span. Well done!

[@GrowingBonsai]

Thank you! I hope that nrxt year I can push it even further! Much fertiliser and water in summer!

[@watsup6084]

@@GrowingBonsai since you already have it in your killer substrate it will repsond very well for sure!

[@GrowingBonsai]

@@watsup6084 ohwww!!🥰

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Ist front is what I like! A cool tree!!

[@GrowingBonsai]

thank you! Lets see whether I can make a tree out of this project!

[@fusion4262]

Hello Jelle, I just love your channel. Your explanations are clear and to-the-point, and watching you at work is so therapeutic. I am new to Bonsai and always worried that I might end up killing my plants. Your videos provide information, clarity and encouragement. Thank you.

[@GrowingBonsai]

Ohw thank you Fusion! Glad to hear my vids help people!

[@jballenger9240]

Nice, neat and easy grafting technique with push tacks and wound putty. Thanks!👌

[@GrowingBonsai]

now here os to hoping they take!

[@BobMatthews]

Superb information Jelle. 👍 I have a 35 year old Ficus benjamina that I have developed nicely but I'm a little disappointed that it needs branch or two halfway up the trunk and it never seems to back bud there! Your video has inspired me to tackle to an approach graft or two either by using a branch from above or by striking some cuttings in the soil below. Excited to be able to continue on the journey now, so thank you 🥰

[@GrowingBonsai]

great to hear. It should work buuut.. No guarantees!

[@guywatson-bognorregisbonsa7370]

Really great grafting information. Thanks Jelle. 👍👍

[@GrowingBonsai]

Gladly! Here is to hoping the grafts take!

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Great video Jelle. I have had a lot of success with full defoliation on my ficus but it was definitely worth seeing the grafting tips as well. Cheers, Xav

[@GrowingBonsai]

Hey Xav, indeed, defoliation works really well on a healthy focus!

[@natrjack965]

Great job Jelle 👏 👍 👌

[@GrowingBonsai]

thank you natejack!

[@pesoverwatch9324]

That creativity! Nice one!

[@nickybeingnicky]

Love your content. Keep up the good work!

[@GrowingBonsai]

thank you. Will try to keep it up!

[@robertoteixeira6889]

Very amazing work Jelle. I´ve done something like this in a big one I have. Did like your content and go on posting your videos. Congratulations from Rio de Janeiro - Brasil.

[@GrowingBonsai]

Thanks a lot! You live in Rio? In my previous jpb I would be in Brazil at least once a year!

[@pucukbonsaitb2203]

Amazing...good afternoon my friend🙏

[@GrowingBonsai]

thank you! Enjoy yr day!

[@DerZween]

cool video, thanks for all the infos!! Best wishes from Germany

[@GrowingBonsai]

Danke dir!

[@Daravenc]

Definitely the first front, more interesting features and the trunks are leaning towards the viewer. Clear choice if you ask me :)

[@GrowingBonsai]

thank you!

[@Cat-wt4dh]

Thank you for this video. I have a small, old bonsai with a only a couple leggy branches. I am desperately trying to bring back to life. It was my grandmother's, so it has sentimental value - I am terrfied of being too experimental with it. In the past two weeks, about ten new leaf buds appeared, so I'm feeling a bit more optimistic. :)

[@GrowingBonsai]

Sorry to hear this! If you have reasonable weather, it would be good to put the tree outside. Be carefull transitioning from inside to outside, as leaves easily burn the first weeks when in direct sun, so limit that to an hour or two early morning or late afternoon.

[@westvirginiaglutenfreepepp7006]

Looking forward to a follow up on this tree, perhaps this summer sometime

[@GrowingBonsai]

this one? kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKPOep1qd6efaa8

[@its_notta_cedar]

I'm going to try painting roundup on some weed's in pots this year because I have the same problem. My theory is, glyphosate is only absorbed through the leaves so it shouldn't hurt the tree.

[@GrowingBonsai]

Hm.. I am not a fan of the stuff :(

[@its_notta_cedar]

@@GrowingBonsai just realize that it's not the chemical, it's the people using it. Glyphosate breaks down to nothing in three days unless "some guy" decides to unload jugs&jugs of it into one plant. That's when you end up with roundup in the creek. It's probably just some severe coping after years of having to use it for work, I truly understand not liking it but there's also some education out there that could make you not like it less.

[@walterwjr947]

Thank you.... 🙏 😔 🙏 It is nice to know how you did what you did. Thank you very much. 🌮🙏🖖🙏😔🙏🙏🙏

[@GrowingBonsai]

Hey Walter, Gladly. Hope there was some. ew and surprising in there!

[@Bonsaicrazy]

Good vid fella 👍

[@GrowingBonsai]

thank you so much art!

[@peterboneg]

Nice material. I would recommend chopping trunks like that straight across rather than at an angle, since you weren't cutting to a live branch. You can always cut it at an angle later and there's less chance of it dying back.

[@GrowingBonsai]

thx, and absolutely right. Oddly, it is what I always tell people yet in this case dos not do.

[@tumizoomi202]

…. great video, thanks for sharing!

[@GrowingBonsai]

Glad you liked it. In November I will share a follow-up!

[@pucukbonsaitb2203]

Good sharing 🙏

[@GrowingBonsai]

thank you!

[@MKbonsai]

Halo Terima kasih sudah berbagi video bonsai, salam dari indonesia

[@kytran5884]

Thank you! I was looking information on whether it was possible to propagate larger ficus cuttings. Every source seemed to say it was easy with 6 inch tip cuttings but hard with larger branch cuttings. This video really proved it's very possible with larger branch cuttings. Any further tips on propagating 1/2" - 3/4" ficus cuttings?

[@kestane123chesmo]

👏👏👏 that can not be the same tree, it was just a stump

[@GrowingBonsai]

hahaha, thank you

[@user-tx5dm5jy1d]

The bare backside looks like an omnivorous dinosaur looking towards left.

[@TycoonMK]

omg for 3 months, gz

[@GrowingBonsai]

great, isnt it? Key is healthy plants to start with!

[@RO-Smart]

Hi Keller, you talked about bringing back to living room over winter. Want you tell a bit more (light, temperature) because I always get trouble while overwintering my ficuses. Thanks

[@nsellas1]

Nice, but you should consider sharpening your shears. Sharp shears are better for your bonsai and on your hand.

[@GrowingBonsai]

Not so much blunt, as bent. I should have tossed these pliers! Thx!

[@garden--23]

awesome

[@GrowingBonsai]

Thank you!

[@prittib6412]

this wasn't 12mnths. it was 3mnths update. pls share more videos on this specific bonsai to see the end result and ofcourse the process.

[@GrowingBonsai]

It was 12 months from getting the tree and the first work done discussed in the video to the final shots of the tree.

[@prittib6412]

@@GrowingBonsai oh I see. I am very very interested to see the further development... pls do not for get abt fans like me.... and keep posting ur fab bonsai videos.

[@patchymcq]

that was incredible. u keep it in green house during summer? can these trees go out in full sun in hot dry summers?

[@dialecticcoma]

did you figure out the oxalis? i just try and outcompete it or use moss to smother

[@arun-aurum403]

Best video love from india bharat

[@GrowingBonsai]

Thank you so much! A follow-up on this tree is coming later this year!

[@MattressAbs]

The first side was way nicer IMO. 😁

[@GrowingBonsai]

:) This is always the best part of bonsai design.. Thinking about the future tree and seeing how many different fronts people pick!

[@rokimbonsai8112]

Ikut belajar kawan

[@GrowingBonsai]

terima kashi!

[@koenvanmeerbeeck8724]

damn Jelle, what a very nice transformation...really like your videos and your very clear guidance and explanations. BTW, as a beginner bonsai enthusiast it is difficult to get some nice bonsai...how can a beginner like me get hold of some interesting commercial bonsai (as you mention in the title) without paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars

[@GrowingBonsai]

Ha Koen, this ficus I found on ebay kleinanzeigen, sort of a german Marktplaats. Often people have overgrown trees that they would like to get rid of. Similarly, look for people wanting shrubs removed from gardens.

[@koenvanmeerbeeck8724]

@@GrowingBonsai thanks Jelle...time to catch up on my german...here in belgium raw material is scares and if there is something interesting prices are stupid high

[@GrowingBonsai]

@@koenvanmeerbeeck8724 if you ever make it into germany.. Try to go to a field grower. I know of two of them in Germany, one about 1 1/2 hr drive from me

[@koenvanmeerbeeck8724]

@@GrowingBonsai ok top....could you give me the details of those 2 please?

[@GrowingBonsai]

@@koenvanmeerbeeck8724 there is bobsai Linda, and Carsten Sickmann. The latter I have put a video on online in spring!

[@Moicc]

What substrate are you using?

[@GrowingBonsai]

Next month a video will come out!

[@joewatkins1667]

Second option is best front imo

[@Smile_Bonsai_Auction]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@Kurtlane]

I tried cutting off all branches, leaving just a bare stump. Unfortunately, all the trees where I tried it died. Any idea what I could've done wrong? Thanks.

[@GrowingBonsai]

Hi Kurt, key in my view is ensuring the tree is very fit, and you do this in a period of active growth. And of course, each species is different

[@KoncoBonsai]

Fikus bonsai is beutyfull friends

[@GrowingBonsai]

thank you!

[@mikaelafox6106]

5:53 HOW?! 😱 I'm trying desperately to save mine and I don't know how. It lost all of its branches and leaves. It has a Y shaped bulb of a trunk. One side has green when I make a light scrape. The other does not. I took two cuttings last summer on a whim. They're the only ones who have any leaves and they've been growing in water. I don't know if there's any saving my ficus but I hope there is. ☹️😩

[@karlcottingham1472]

Hi Jelle. Love your videos. Do you know what species the parent plant might be. Can you cut back a Retusa as drastically?

[@GrowingBonsai]

I think it is a ficus retusa!

[@GrowingBonsai]

Cutting back hard only works on very healthy trees!

[@vtdgmusic9712]

Hi Jelle, you sound Dutch but I am not sure. I am a beginner bonsai grower and was wondering if I can ask some questions. Have some soil problem for my ficus and looking for some species that do well outside In Holland. Best regards Dennis

[@GrowingBonsai]

Hi Dennis, I am Dutch, Living just outside of the Netherlands. Pretty much all non-tropicals that you see on my channel do well outside :). And even the tropicals play in the garden in most of the year, only in late fall they go inside till frost risk is over!

[@hashiramabonsai]

i liked the 2nd side more, the first one looks like 2 separate trees

[@GrowingBonsai]

Fair point, thanks you!

[@hashiramabonsai]

@GrowingBonsai love your channel :)

[@GrowingBonsai]

THank you so much! Glad to hear it!@@hashiramabonsai

[@firemouse666]

So this is a pure Ficus benjamina now, right?

[@GrowingBonsai]

I think it is a ficus retusa tbh!

[@PanyandKham]

[@GrowingBonsai]

Well, hello again!

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌🙂

[@GrowingBonsai]

😁👍

[@dimuthuharshana9602]

❤️✌️

[@GrowingBonsai]

thank you!

[@yekcim66]

Try spraying weeds with horticultural vinegar

[@GrowingBonsai]

Will that kill the roots though?

[@samyoel5384]

We have a similar pest weed in uk, amongst many, called ‘mind your business’’ we actually introduced it to our garden,, big mistake! It consumes small pots, and to remove it you end up disturbing roots of your bonsai.

[@GrowingBonsai]

It is the worst!

[@user-ug3xx1kd1h]

3:32 front !!

[@GrowingBonsai]

really?

[@lenggongsunardi5065]

sy tertarik dan suka

[@GrowingBonsai]

Thank you!

[@scheers100]

Front 1 seems more interesting/natural

[@scheers100]

Nicely set up for the future. Very curious where it will be in couple more years, and later off course. Keep growing Keep growing 🌳

[@GrowingBonsai]

@@scheers100 I am looking forward to it too. At times I wosh for time travel!

[@lb2791]

At least the oxalis should fertilize your soil by fixing nitrogen from the air.

[@nathalierouhier4726]

on one side that looks like a poney (horse

[@GrowingBonsai]

Who does not like ponies :)

[@arnoldmmbb]

You cant get rid of oxalis you probably can water it with gasoline and still dont kill It hahah

[@GrowingBonsai]

grmpf. Now I just have to get rid of it. Gasoline you say?

[@andremarais2706]

Oxalis grows in acidic soil. raise ph of soil slightly, eg lime.

[@GrowingBonsai]

I think that would create boggen problems for my trees!

[@theoschmitt3037]

Ich hoffe, dass gestern alles gut gegangen ist.

[@GrowingBonsai]

so do I my friend, but I. sure it will work out fine!

[@BUILT2KEEL]

So will cutting of all the old grafts make the tree grow its original foliage?

[@BUILT2KEEL]

1st side is the front

[@Bonsaifly]

Nice! Love working with Ficus. Where did you find such a large one?

[@GrowingBonsai]

this was on ebay from a private seller that had had it for 3 decades and just had let it grow!

[@Bonsaifly]

@@GrowingBonsai I figured it was something like that