I purchased the original Ficus tree from ebay where I get most of my trees really, or from cuttings/collections when out and about. As this was one of the first 2 trees that I purchased before I knew whether I was going to take on the hobby or not. So I went cheap and quite bad. It was a non-trained stump (I have learned to recognise that now) that had a thick enough trunk which was the main reason I got it. The other one was that I liked the bark. It was “broom styled” but that is a style I don’t enjoy, but I thought something could be done with it.

Here are the original pictures that I got from that first ebay listing:

As you can tell I paid a total of about £15 and then I got to work. The main issue was apex - I needed a new apex and I needed to select a new height for the tree. Branches were cut off and the top was nibbled on. The original pot has been removed. In actual fact from first purchasing, I allowed the tree a few weeks to rest and do its thing and then I re-potted it. I wanted to fix the roots which were a tangled mess and wanted to give it a more free draining soil to allow them to grow a bit better.

So in the first year after being re-potted it was left to grow in another training pot allowing it more time to grow and do its thing whilst branches were wired down to give it a more open canopy and allowing it to grow more freely. It grew and still does all year under growlights in the house. In the summer I do grow it outside - but in the winter it moves indoors and is not allowed to go dormant because I am encouraging it to grow more and more.

In winter of 2021 after one year of strong growth I went through with doing more detailed work on the apex and repotting it to a different pot - which I got for cheap which was a glazed blue pot. I think it was 5 pots for £15 or £20 with minor cracks and imperfections. I don’t mind that in my mind it adds to the charm of the tree and the aged look of the whole process.

I am including below the pictures and a short video of how the ficus is at present time:

What is left to do currently is remove the wire - defoliate, fix the structure especially the branches around the back and allow it to grow. The aim is to remove the first 2 branches and make this tree a taller tree overall. Therefore the development of the apex alongside the rest of the branch structure are very important.

I will continue fertilising - although, I have come across certain issues with that. I think I may be over-fertilising which has led to long shoots but not really a lot of real branch development. So from now on - I have the slow release fertiliser and I only give it a good liquid fertiliser when I defoliate and trim the branches shorter.