Ryan's Blog

The Purpose of "virts" in bonsai....
Jun 25, 2012 | 10:14 AM PST

Hi everyone,

 

 

<
p>In bonsai we use image editing software that allows us to look at the future of trees. We call these" virts" which is short for virtual. So, I thought I'd show you all a virt that was made for my large Ficus. If I could create a tree that looks like this virt, I'd be blown away. I'm going to try to, at least.

 

So, using this picture:

 

 

<
p>This virtual was made:

 

 

I
'll let you all know how it goes! 

My biggest Ficus yet
Jun 2, 2012 | 12:42 PM PST

Hi everyone,

 

 

Haven't posted in a couple of months. Yesterday I received a huge Ficus microcarpa from a friend down in LA. This guy stands two feet tall, has a two foot canopy, and has a base of 8 inches. Thought I'd just share it with you all and answer any questions/comments you all may have.

 

 

Repotted:

Built Another Tropical Setup
Apr 11, 2012 | 5:29 PM PST

Hi everyone,

 

 

I built yet another setup to grow my bigger, taller Ficus trees.

 

I took an old frame:

I made it bigger all around:

Started wrapping it in mylar (to really reflect the light):

Then added a roof:

And enclosed it a bit more:

Then finally added a door:

And I'm ready to grow:

 

Any comments are welcome.

 

 

 

Ryan

A New Tropical Enclosure
Mar 21, 2012 | 4:11 PM PST

Hey all,

 

 

I worked on a new tropical enclosure for my Ficus trees this past week. It's made out of PVC and 2 mil drop cloth. It should work out just fine with keeping the humidity very high around the trees.

 

Frame built:

Covered in 2 mil drop cloth:

Door cut out:

I created a swinging door by taping one side down and using velcro strips to attach it to the other side:

I then moved it under the lights and added the trees:

 

Feel free to leave any comments.

 

Ryan

My Latest Ficus
Mar 16, 2012 | 11:30 AM PST

Hi everyone,

 

 

This is my latest tree that I have purchased. It's an 8 inch tall Willow Leaf Ficus. I plan on repotting it once it starts growing again and working on the roots and ramification. Feel free to leave any questions, comments, etc.

 

Front:

 

Back of the tree:

 

Ryan

A Trip to California
Feb 2, 2012 | 10:54 AM PST

Hi everyone,

 

 

Way back in June of 2011 I went to California with my parents as a high school graduation gift. I just realized that I never shared the pictures with you all. So, here are some shots I took. These were taken at Yosemite National Park and Sequioa National Forest. These first few were taken at a zoo in San Francisco:

Forest shots:

Landscape shots:

That's all for now, there may be more to come later on. Hope you all enjoyed these!

 

Ryan

T5 Grow Lights
Jan 20, 2012 | 6:37 PM PST

Hi everyone,

 

 

With indoor growing there is always a question about how much light should I give my trees and what kind of light do I grow them under. I'm here to hopefully clear things up for anyone with questions like that.

Many people think that growing plants indoors next to a "bright" window will give more than enough light to their plants. However, that is not true. Artificial light is always best when it is possible to be used. What kind of artificial light? I've gotten the best results from fluorescent lights, and the best fluorescent I've found to use is T5 lighting. There are 3 kind of T lightbulbs: T12, T8, and T5. I've used T8 lighting to grow some of my trees, and the results are nowhere near as powerful as T5 lighting. T5 is more output and brighter lighting.

A typical T5 light price varies. I have two four foot, four bulb T5 lights, each costing $130, and a two foot, two bulb light costing $60. The growth you receive from the lights, however, makes it all worth it.

Hopefully you all have learned a little bit of something from this. Growing under lights is not only great for growing trees indoors, but it's also very useful for getting a jumpstart on your vegetables and herbs.

A Better Picture
Jan 18, 2012 | 11:22 AM PST

Hey everyone,

 

 

Thought I'd update you with a better picture of the tree I posted in my last blog. I chopped off the top portion of the tree and now it looks like this:

I'll let that new leader grow in for a few months, then hack it back again to increase taper. Feel free to leave any comments/questions.

 

 

Ryan

A New Tree
Jan 13, 2012 | 11:22 AM PST

Hello again everyone,

 

 

I received another tree today and thought I would share it with you all. It's a shohin Ficus microcarpa. Feel free to leave any comments you may have.

 

New Tropical Bonsai Setup
Jan 9, 2012 | 5:46 PM PST

Hey everyone,

 

 

When growing tropical trees such as Ficus indoors, you must give them the best growing setup possible. The light must be adequate, the temerature must be warm, and the humidity must be high in order for the plants to thrive. So today I set off on constructing something like that, and ended up with this setup below. I used PVC pipe to hang a four foot, four bulb T5 light above the plants. Then enclosed the sides and top with PVC. Just thought I would share with you all.

 

Frame built:

Enclosed the frame in foil (to reflect light):

And plants underneath the light, ready to grow!

 

I'll adjust it as the days go by, I just thought you all would like to see what I've done so far.

 

 

Ryan

 

Green Island Ficus
Jan 1, 2012 | 10:59 AM PST

Hello again everyone,

 

 

I purchased this Ficus microcarpa 'Green Island' from an online source last week, and it arrived yesterday. It has about a 2 inch trunk and stands probably around 10 inches tall after pruning.

 

Here is the tree as it arrived yesterday:

 

And here it is today after pruning:

 

Comments are always welcome.

 

 

Ryan

Update from a tree back in a July blog
Dec 4, 2011 | 7:44 AM PST

Hey everyone,

 

 

No one probably remembers this guy, but I first posted it back in July and I've been working on it since. Here's a shot of the tree from back then:

And here is the tree after a little wiring yesterday, final branches ready to go:

 

Comments always welcome.

Shohin Willow Leaf Ficus Progression
Nov 28, 2011 | 10:48 AM PST

Hey everyone,

 

 

Here are some pictures of one of my Shohin Willow Leaf Ficus as of today. It originally started out at almost 2 feet tall, it is now about 7 inches tall and will be shorter soon.

Check out my blog for more pictures, www.theficusguy.wordpress.com

 

That's all for now, comments always welcome!

 

Ryan

A new Willow Leaf Ficus
Oct 28, 2011 | 4:38 PM PST

Hey everyone,

 

 

I bought another Willow Leaf Ficus last Saturday and it arrived a few days ago. It stands about 17 inches tall and has a base of 3 inches. Here are some pictures:

Front:

Back:

Base:

My plans. I cut it back to what is seen in the picture. I will then cut the branch on the right all the way off. By cutting that branch off I will get buds in the orange area. I will take one of those buds and make it the new leader, which is the blue arrow in the picture. Once that branch grows larger I'll remove the branch on the left and be left with a tiny, powerful tree:

 

I've made a new blog as well. Enter your email address to subscribe to it and follow it please!

http://theficusguy.wordpre
ss.com/

 

 

Ryan

Seperating the air layer
Oct 11, 2011 | 6:26 PM PST

Hey everyone,

 

Not sure if you all remember or not, but back in mid July I had started an air layer on a Ficus microcarpa. Well today it was time to seperate that layer and do some clean up work on it.

 

Top half of the layer:

Bottom half of the layer before work:

The bottom half after work:

 

The first branch on the right will either be layered off or chopped off later down the road.

 

Comments always welcome!

 

 

Ryan