Deleafing my Ficus tree
There is this big Ficus tree which I inherited from my father-in-law, who is responsible for my developing an interest in bonsai cultivation. This tree was barely 1.5 feet across when he passed on almost 20 years ago. The tree is now a huge thing more than 4 feet across. I have left it growing without any wiring as the that was done earlier by my father-in-law. Over the years I have simply pruned it and trimmed it to have a fairly symmetrical shape. Every couple of years I try to deleaf it as the leaves get attacked by some kind of leaf miners or have some kind of brownish spots under them. After deleafing the tree, new leaves start to grow within a couple of weeks and the whole tree looks lovely with a fresh coat of leaves.
Figure 1: Ficus tree in the garden.
Figure 2: Close up of the Ficus tree in the garden.
Figure 3: after a few hours, all I could manage
was remove this amount of leaves by hand.
Figure 4: After a couple more hours, this was the progress.
Figure 5: After some 4-5 hours, slightly more than half of the tree was deleafed.
That's the dog in the foreground to the right hand side of the photo.
Figure 6: A closer view of the partially deleafed Ficus tree with the dog underneath.
Figure 7: A slightly different angle of the tree.
Figure 8: The Ficus tree completely devoid of all its leaves.
The whole job took almost a full day from
somewhere in the mid-morning to late evening.
It was lucky I had the shade of the mango tree
for the most part to stop me from melting in the sun.
Figure 9: The Ficus tree compared to the mango tree
on the right of the photo and the other bonsai in the background
(note those under the mango tree.)
Figure 10: Close up of the Ficus tree in its naked glory.
You could not lift the pot with the tree by yourself.
The only way I can repot this tree (which I have done a few times)
is to remove all the soil from the pot (and that will take 2-3 hours if you are lucky)
and then lift the tree out with all your might
(and hope you don't get a hernia or faint from sheer exhaustion).
Happy deleafing.
