Favorite Bonsai Species

Ficus carica. Not really a conventional bonsai tree to cultivate, but nonetheless a favorite. The history of this tree’s cultivation is fascinating tracing back over 11,000 thousand years ago. It all began in the cradle of civilization (Mesopotamia). Reason for its success included, productivity, durability and ease of propagation. These fundamental reasons our ancestors chose this plant is why it makes for a great bonsai candidate. I have found in the dry Mediterranean climate of Southern California these trees thrive (even in small containers). Here is an example of a large carica airlayer I have in training.

Another reason to love these trees, propagation is easy. I have been able to get roots on extremely thick cuttings with propagation techniques I will cover in another post. Here is a rooted cutting that has been transferred to a bonsai mix.

If you have nice neighbors you can get some fantastic little shohin trees with this species. Lastly, this species back buds and ramifies very well. If kept healthy and consistently pruned to the shortest internode possible you can get some incredible branching. This branching complimented with the gnarled white bark makes a spectacular bonsai. Here is a shohin sumo in training.

I hope you enjoyed the first blog post! I’d love to here feedback and hear about your favorite species. Thanks.