Pruning My Ficus microcarpa, Part 2, The Bonsai Zone, April 2022

The pruning continues in part 2. I'm trying to get the basic structure looking good for the future.
To see previous videos of my Ficus microcarpa, click on the playlist here....
• Ficus microcarpa from ...
#TheBonsaiZone

[@sbragaglia]

What a day! Two videos and Theo zombie apocalypse jokes! 🧟‍♂️ The tree now looks beautiful, like it always meant to be this way!

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

A 30 year old masterpiece!

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

A lot of thought went into the trimming of the tree. Great work done by our Master Surgeon, Dr. Saunders. Super!

[@L3G3ND_TO_B3]

You’re a brave man Nigel 😂 great work, can’t wait to see the new ficus Forrest from all those cuttings haha

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I sure hope they root!!

[@JackC1961]

@@TheBonsaiZone So do I Nigel as you haven to spread them across the globe, I'll have one please👍

[@craft-o-matic2377]

Wow Nigel, this was a beautiful transformation! You had some tough decisions, but you made all the right ones I think. I can't wait to see how it develops from here. It's going to be stunning! Lisa

[@scotthogbin613]

I enjoyed your verbal thought process Nigel, great video and excellent result on your first tree mate 👍👍

[@patsfreund9164]

Did you hear me applauding every time you made a major cut on your tree? That ficus is looking FANTASTIC! What an improvement! Such a jewel in your collection. Thanks for sharing your videos.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks Pat, I really like it now too!!! Thanks again!

[@BlueJayBonsai]

Great job Nigel! Ficus is looking really good. 😍 So many big chops, I thought I was watching Mippy 🤣

[@WolfgangKeim1]

I like your approach not using wire. This time you could have saved a lot of the tree though. I really enjoyed the video. Thank you.

[@thenaturecreater8906]

Great work nigel! It looks older and bigger. Its vierd how it works. Takes off half the tree and it looks bigger. Then you know you did a good Job with the structure of the tree

[@ig7806]

awesome results on this tree! i bet people would pay good money for those cuttings...you'll see rooted cuttings like that at professional nurseries for $18 a pop, even. they'd make a great gift for some lucky club members

[@jokesterk5302]

Can almost see the tree take a sigh of releave,but i think it is mostly very difficult to think ahaed concerning the future form of the tree. But I think it is beautifull as it is allready! Loved watching again,thanks for the effort of sharing,too.

[@JGhudsonvalley]

What a dramatic difference. This tree looks so fantastic. I can only hope my trees live 30 years and have such beautiful shape to them. Btw Nigel… if you need someone to take a cutting I’d be proud to grow one of the ones from your 1st bonsai. All good things to you and to anyone who reads this

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

Cool gifts. Leave it up to Jay to come up with a prize named fertilizer. Seeds, great!

[@dan-ig2ds]

Excellent work, looking ancient!

[@lukasmihara]

You ended up cutting much more than I expected at the beginning, but I'm sure it'll be a big step forward for the tree!

[@astounded]

Awesome improvement to the tree! The simplified structure has changed not only the appearance, but the "presence" and "mood" of this ficus. I'm not seeing a small tree any longer, but a giant spirit expressed in a miniature form-- the essence of the bonsai art. Success!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you very much!

[@kreativ_corals]

love love love this tree. I could really sense the pain in your eyes as you made some of those big cuts. So much time went into those, but in the end, it'll all be worth it. Thanks for sharing!

[@PlantObsessed]

Wow, the transformation was stressful but totally worth it.

[@t3dwards13]

I always use fish and turtle waste on my trees. It's funny that I've never thought to market it. Great name though! Lol

[@IamWhizz]

I love the tree it looks amazing after the pruning

[@BostonBonsaiIdiot]

I can’t believe how big and full this thing has gotten. Really cool to watch these things grow.

[@danbehrens1621]

Can’t wait to see the canopy when summer is in full swing .

[@mangeshthawre416]

That was supperb , how much u hav removed from that tree, itss going to look amazing after new growth, as it has come out so well after that huge huge pruning carried out, great job Nigel!!!!

[@JackC1961]

I would love one of your cuttings Nigel, maybe Tropical Expressions could help with the exporting 👍

[@dabblingwithbonsai]

Oh my, from the plan "no pruning" to the result of prune a lot and look magnificent! I liked how it looked before, but this look suits so well! Ficus makeover! Ficus's new groove! 💚💚💚

[@mindfulmusicing7900]

Nigel, this detailed pruning is a real treat.

[@michaelmott7402]

I can’t believe I missed you when this happened I must have been sleeping. Excellent job well done 👍 your perception of what this is going to look like in the future is purely inspirational. Looks like a old tree like sixty years old but instead it is only thirty remarkable. Keep up the great work Nigel look forward to seeing your next video.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks Michael, it is totally bushy now and will be getting trimmed in a future video!!!

[@debfaulbonsaigurl]

Your very first bonsai looks really cool now Nigel. Pyracantha are beautiful plants, they are used as hedging here in the UK I love mine

[@arnoldmmbb]

I like the move you made with the tree Nigel, by summer it will be lush and full for sure!!

[@leszekrybak5067]

This thick aerial root is like a handle... it will make repotting easier.... Jokes aside, I think it was time to bite a bullet with this tree... it was due for a serious restyling. Grew so big so fast... nice to see you chop it back to introduce both taper and ramification. Even though the tree is smaller it will soon look bigger... Nice work. Got to be bold sometimes... or rather all the time when you do bonsai.

[@marysoldeeley2218]

That is quite the change! For the future good. Makes me feel better, you think long like I do.😊

[@punyarthshukla9812]

Some really big cuts... But the tree looks more mature and realistic now. It will look wonderful with leaves on it this summer... The thick aerial root adds life to the tree, the tree looks like an ordinary ficus otherwise. Big decisions taken.

[@YOtaBZH]

.......great job here!!! not an easy task ! but what a pleasure ! !

[@Liisa3139]

Damn, all those engines making noise there! I'm surprised how much noise you have in the neighborhood. I live in a city apartment with buses and streetcars driving by, but it is much more quiet. This too I wouldn't know if I hadn't watched your channel for a good while now. Note that I'm not saying this to bitch about neighborhoods, but just as an observation on my own neighborhood and on how the KZbin makes it possible to learn new things about things that are far away and that are not even the topic of the video. Like looking out of the window and seeing to another world. It is so fascinating.

[@ヤミヤミ-y8t]

Nigel Saunders used "cut" on the ficus. It's super effective!

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

If they all root you have the makings of a cool forest.

[@IamWhizz]

Can you ship a cutting to the USA Nigel?? 😂 I would love have a piece of Nigel’s first ever bonsai

[@Pawulon-bonsai]

Hey Nigel! I haven't seen it to the end yet but the transformation of this ficus microcarpa looks very spectacular so far! I love your work with the trees, you actually got me into that hobby and you always make I am fired up to do more with my plants! Keep up the good work boss, and thank you a lot!

[@baldyeti]

Daggum, Nigel! That was wicked cool, brother. Talking us through the selection process was very educational. The emotional roller coaster expressed on your face throughout was entertaining as well. I can only imagine what that felt like, 30 years into a tree from seed. I am looking forward to an update once it leafs out! 🍺 here’s to the next 30 year!

[@Floydsdad101]

Nigel, thanks for yet another amazing video. You go into so much detail and explain why you are doing what you are doing , which is great for beginners like me . Thanks to you I’ve found lithops , and have ordered a few as accent plants to my fledgling bonsai collection . I saw that fans from the UK sent you pyracantha seeds as gifts ..If I had some UK gifts where would I send them to ? Thanks again for all your videos 👍🏻🌲

[@AleksGenD]

Excellent decisions, Nigel! Tree looks awesome! Really nice work, and lots of great cuttings also.

[@jaybolinger2865]

Hey Nigel, always impressed with your work. I would love to have one of your cuttings if they root. I've always wanted a microcarpa but I've found it difficult to find one without that s shape in the trunk. I don't really care for that look. Much rather have a tree that's mostly straight. If you feel like messing with the shipping when the time comes I'll pay for all of it.. thank you yet again for another great and informative video. The tree looks great!

[@catsup4me]

I'll happily buy a cutting

[@ashleybonner5423]

Heya Nige, another good pruning vid that I'm learning from! My ficus benjamina are struggling outnin my garden (I think two have died) but I'm continuously researching them and even my schefflera, which was wilting, has bounced back after a nice bout of heavy rain. Think I might need to get all them in and monitor them more carefully... Oops! Your first bonsai is breathtaking as always man. I wouldn't mind a nice cutting of it, I'll hopefully have mastered the art of ficus keeping by then! - Ashley Bonner

[@michaelkramer3468]

Hi Nigel, Another great video from you and the tree is absolutely gorgeous. I am impressed by the way you trim its crown and branches and I have learned a lot. But I don't understand why you didn't remove the root that grows straight down from the lower branch. Greetings from Germany

[@christianhuber4054]

Hi Nigel! What a difference, the tree looks excellent..would love to hear you talk more about, and show examples of a trees “apex” as it’s something I find tough to understand. Love all your content thanks a ton.

[@brianbarnes2184]

I really like that way it turned out!!! It will be exciting to see if the cuttings took root.

[@gerardoforesthillsbonsai]

Nice work Nigel, big decisions 👍

[@jballenger9240]

A real treat of a video! You most definitely rescued your, ficus from a seed, from being a hedge at the top. Really like the open, more mature, flowing appearance of its structure now. Understand how you had to defoliate to see what it’s “bones” were, so to speak. Looking forward to its leafing out. Sending wishes for steady warming breezes. Thanks.

[@barbkrienke8400]

I learned a lot from your work on this tree! There were a lot of challenges, and seeing your decision making process was so helpful and interesting!

[@PSPMHaestros]

Absolutely love this tree!

[@Rblock777]

It looks much better now, only branch that is bothering me is that lower one which comes from that areal root

[@DavesBonsai]

Mark me down for a cutting Nigel. Oh I’ll take a sample of the fish shit too.😂 your tree is looking wonderful!!

[@almariosalenga2806]

Nice pruning

[@liquidxskin19]

I think it looks really good!

[@t3dwards13]

Being that those are cuttings of a now "famous" tree, you could raffle them off. Lol I did take cuttings from my mom's in ground (20' tall) ficus, and was wondering how long they take to root. Guess I'll have to watch to find out.

[@connorcardinal671]

Thats some serious pruning Nigel, an amazing transformation though! If any of those cuttings root I'd love to receive one if you could post to England ? Thanks for another great video.

[@diutami2426]

Hi from Sydney! This is one beautiful tree! PS: Nigel, big big request would you be able to slip in a "Happy birthday Mark" in your upcoming 19 April video? My boyfriend is a huge fan of yours. Makes me rather jealous that he watch you almost every night before bed :D :D :D

[@randyhenderson2377]

Nigel, I am a newbie with about 50 trees in my collection all in early development. I am also a commercial nurseryman in Florida. I would love a cutting from such a special tree as that. Keep me in mind if you need to find homes for those cuttings.

[@TobyJin]

Lots of improvements to the Ficus, the thick aerial root does add some character to the tree, otherwise it wouldn't be 'unique' as such. Never noticed the aerial root that came down from the top of the tree. Would you risk cutting some of the lower branches back hard if they still look too leggy and there isn't any backbuds forming on them?

[@otterwench]

wow! I would treasure a cutting from your first bonsai. would it be possible to ship to Michigan?

[@bonsai_life_style]

Nigel get wild )))) but that is ok tree need something like that in time

[@MrFreddess]

Im in line for a cutting!!!!

[@sergiosart8406]

Hi from California. I would love one of your cuttings.

[@CoNkOrE]

My microcarpa is only about as thick as one of your aerial roots. Do you know any tricks to thick the trunk up? I have avoided pruning since last fall to let it get wild but I was thinking of just dropping it into a large flower pot for a while to let it have more space.

[@jaybolinger2865]

I split the trunk near the root base on one of my ficus trees and just buried the wound. It did thicken up my trunk but left a nasty scar, healed up though within a years time.

[@Rblock777]

Rooster in the background had an argument with that crow

[@Aftek]

you should tell that tree how lucky it's not in my care... that thick straight aerial root would go lol.. tree is too big now.. shouldn't it be further back ? or as you said maybe a whole new trunk/tree ?

[@stevenbonsai]

Love it! Is the back now the front?

[@TheBonsaiZone]

No, I still like the current front!

[@theprofessor3472]

Love from India 🚩😍😊👌🏻💐❤🇮🇳🙏🏻👍🏻 I want this cuttings 😍😊

[@cornbreadburglar]

Crazy question. If someone absolutely loved your ficus and wanted to buy it is there a dollar amount you'd let it go for or is it more like a longtime friend you couldn't part with?

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I'd never part with it!!

[@Yurup]

Nigel! Where did your tree go?!

[@Liisa3139]

Fish sh*...smells like fish sh*. :D OMG, all the things that can be sold as products.

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌👌🍎

[@moistgoolem5048]

Secoind

[@LetsDoBonsai]

foist

[@LetsDoBonsai]

Foist

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Lets Do Foist in the Bonsai Zone!!

[@justlucky13]

Foist

[@jugalkishorekalita9611]

Foist