Neverending work in process by Ed Trout
Publicado: 13 Sep 2011 16:20
I started this Ficus nerifolia around 1972. It was one of my first bonsai. It did very well until borers destroyed most of the branches a couple of years after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
This is how it looks today, after almost 38 years in a container. One Mother Nature deals you a bad hand, you just start over with what is left.
My own teacher, Joe Samuels hated this tree.....because it didn't look like a ficus !! He was right, and ahead of his time. I've learned a lot since then, but also learned a lot from this tree while I had it styled as a formal upright. After all, the tree is our best teacher. Here is a photo in the early stages. Sorry for the lousy photo quality.....no "digital" back then !!
Hurricane Andrew destroyed most of the native slash pines in 1992. Shortly after that borers started attacking many types of trees, and some surmised that it was because their original food supply ( pine trees ) was gone. The borers we have that infest ficus, are very small, but can destroy a tree quicker than you can react. They have been a problem since then. By the way, the first photograph of this tree was taken at The World Bonsai Convention in Orlando in 1993, by Peter Bloomer. I worked that convention as an assistant to Jean Smith, who was the workshop/demo chairperson. One of the headliners that I assisted that weekend was a young artist by the name of Russell Coker !!!!
My oldest tree.....Ficus nerifolia....started at about the same time as the formal one.
Ed Trout
Pembroke Pines, Florida
This is how it looks today, after almost 38 years in a container. One Mother Nature deals you a bad hand, you just start over with what is left.
My own teacher, Joe Samuels hated this tree.....because it didn't look like a ficus !! He was right, and ahead of his time. I've learned a lot since then, but also learned a lot from this tree while I had it styled as a formal upright. After all, the tree is our best teacher. Here is a photo in the early stages. Sorry for the lousy photo quality.....no "digital" back then !!
Hurricane Andrew destroyed most of the native slash pines in 1992. Shortly after that borers started attacking many types of trees, and some surmised that it was because their original food supply ( pine trees ) was gone. The borers we have that infest ficus, are very small, but can destroy a tree quicker than you can react. They have been a problem since then. By the way, the first photograph of this tree was taken at The World Bonsai Convention in Orlando in 1993, by Peter Bloomer. I worked that convention as an assistant to Jean Smith, who was the workshop/demo chairperson. One of the headliners that I assisted that weekend was a young artist by the name of Russell Coker !!!!
My oldest tree.....Ficus nerifolia....started at about the same time as the formal one.
Ed Trout
Pembroke Pines, Florida