Deleafing my FicusTree

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.

Images of recently deleafed bonsai trees

These are bonsai in my garden that have been recently deleafed. 

The purpose of deleafing the bonsai is to create a false autumn. 

Being in the tropics (some 5 degrees above the Equator) 

we in Malaysia do not have the four seasons. 

In order to get the bonsai to flower 

(especially the jasmin species which most of the following bonsai belong to), 

we deleaf the tree. 

Within a few days, new leaves sprout 

and within a month we get flowers. 

These trees also produce seed, 

from which more plants can be propagated.

The images here are simply for you to enjoy 

the shape and intricacy of the bonsai 

that I have been cultivating for several decades now. 

1. Note the root system and the twisted branches. 

New leaves have started to spout out from the tree. 

2. A bonsai with a less elaborate root system 

but with the branches more spread out 

compared to the bonsai above.

3. Another old bonsai with one bunch of branches 

being bigger and more than the other.

4. This bonsai has a nice bend just before it branches out. 

The canopy is quite balanced. The photo was taken

a few days after the tree was completely deleafed.

5. Two bonsai, side by side; the one on the left was shown in figure 3 above. 

The bonsai on the right has a rather stout stump 

with the crown having its branches very near to each other.

6. A closer view of the bonsai shown on the right of figure 5 above.

7. Two bonsai with the branches reaching out a little further than the others shown above. the one on the right has been wired to give it a more dramatic turn of the branches.

8. A closer view of the bonsai shown on the left of figure 7, 

showing the new leaves that have sprouted out 

after the bonsai was deleafed a few days earlier.

9. Another bonsai arising dramatically from the pot 

to create a balanced canopy on the top. 

The bonsai on the right is not open to too much pruning or shaping 

 (of the boxus species) and so has been left to grow according to its own inclinations. 

The only thing done to it has been pruning of the top branches 

from time to time. It is more than 20 years old.

10. Another bonsai in all its deleafed glory with wires on some branches to shape it.

Wiring and Shaping Bonsai

The following are photos of young bonsai plants which I recently wired to shape them

.

 1. This is a few months old jasmin plant which was 

left to grow freely but now being wired for shaping.

2. Close up of the young bonsai plant showing the wire wrapped 

anti-clockwise around the plant. (If you are in the southern hemisphere, 

you are recommended to wrap the wire clockwise around the plant.)

(The reason for this recommendation is because creeping plants 

in the northern hemisphere will creep anti-clockwise and 

those in the southern hemisphere anti-clockwise. 

So the idea is to follow nature as much as possible.)

3. Shaping the bonsai according to what I would like it to be in the future. 

The idea is to make the tree be as natural as possible 

(though the shaping may look drastic) 

and to follow the inclination of the plant, 

especially when dealing with more mature ones. 

The plant above is a few months old and so is still flexible. 

4. A slightly different angle of the plant after being shaped.

5. These are two other young bonsai plants, the leaves 

of which have been plucked off so that the wiring can be done more effectively.

6. The shaped bonsai seen from the top of the plant.

7. The same plant seen from a lower angle.

8. This plant had two trunks (so to speak) and so I wired both of them as shown above.

9. The plant after being wired, seen from the top.

10. The same plant seen from a different angle.

11. The three bonsai plants after being wired (seen from the top).

Composting - No Frills

Composting - No frills.

Ever considered purchasing one of those gadgets for making compost? These are usually drum shaped, with a handle to mix the contents and with which you have to sprinkle with water regularly. While these are nice to have, especially if you have space in the garden to place one in, I don't have the luxury of garden space nor do I want to invest in one since the amount of composting that I do is rather modest.  Having a small garden and with pots of plants all over the place, I thought it would be easier (and inexpensive) to do composting as follows:

1. Get an empty pot - this one is about 11 inches (about 28 cm) high. 

A smaller shorter pot should be just fine.

2. Fill it with a little earth - about 2 cm.

3. Put in about the same amount of kitchen waste 

(fruit peels, vegetable peelings, tea leaves, egg shells, etc. but no meat) 

as the next layer.

4. Cut up the kitchen waste into smaller bits if you like 

(this helps to increase the surface area of the kitchen waste 

and therefore helps it to be converted into compost quicker).

5. Fill it with another layer of soil.

6. Cutting up the kitchen waste into smaller pieces using a pair of garden scissors.

7. Adding more kitchen waste.

8. Adding another layer of soil.

9. Yet another layer of kitchen waste

(vegetable cuttings, onion skins, broken egg shells, potato peelings, payaya seeds

- whatever is biodegradable).

10. Yet another layer of soil.

11. Topping up the pot with the rest of the kitchen waste 

(this is about 3 days kitchen waste).

12. The final layer of kitchen waste.

13. Cutting up the kitchen waste into finer bits.

14. The final layer of soil added up to the brim of the pot.

15. With a little bit of acrobatics, turn the pot upside down, without spilling the contents.

16. I place one of my bonsai trees in a pot over the pot 

filled with kitchen waste for composting.

17. When I water the bonsai tree, the water from the pot of the bonsai tree should seep down through the holes underneath the pot with the kitchen waste and so the mixture gets watered regularly.

Mindmapping

Mindmapping* 

(*Mindmapping is a term coined by Tony Buzan)

I have been using mindmapping for various things that 

I thought it is time I shared some thoughts and mindmaps here.  

Introduction

Mindmapping is a way for you to put on paper, the words, symbols, images and codes that are related to your thoughts, ideas, concepts, expressions and even emotions that are unique to you.  

You draw, write or express your thoughts and ideas in a global, free-flowing, free-associating and visual manner, rather than in an analytical, linear manner. 

It encourages the use of both the right and the left brain since it combines the analytical, logical and linguistic part of your brain with the images, feelings and musical part of your brain.

 General Uses

Mindmapping can be used in many aspects of work and play.  It is particularly useful for

• making notes
• preparing assignments
• preparing papers
• planning presentations
• planning and thinking out projects
• preparing speeches
• brainstorming
• exploring ideas in a free-associating manner
• doodling
• taking down minutes of meetings
• thinking
• exploring ideas
• making decisions

Advantages over traditional methods

Mind-mapping is superior as a note-taking and memory-recall device, compared to the traditional full-sentence technique for some of the following reasons:

• Saving time in recording and later re-reading words (eliminating about 65% of the words)

• Key words are used and the association and connections are precise as well as can be in image form.  This translates to more effective and quicker recall.  It is possible to mind-map key concepts and terms on 1 to 2 pages for a chapter consisting of between 10 to 20 pages.

• Your creativity and personality is highly involved.  This makes your notes very much more personal and valuable than using those made by other people.  

• Mind-maps are free-flowing, spontaneous and free-associating.  This means that there is less rigidity and “confining” of thoughts compared to the traditional style of taking down notes

• On the whole, the use of mind-maps allows the learning process to be somewhat accelerated.  Once the mind-maps are drawn up, the material can be mastered from 2 to 5 times faster, compared to the traditional way of learning from written notes.

How do you mind-map?

• Begin at the centre of the page with the main topic or idea.  Placing the paper in landscape format is recommended.

• Work outwards from the main idea in all directions to produce an image of ideas and sub-topics; that reflects the way you see things in your mind.

• Use key words and images to reinforce concepts and ideas.

• Use 3-dimensional perspective and colour to create more interest and “drama” in your mind maps.

• Printed, rather than cursive, words should be used to make the words more distinct and memorable as images.

• Words are written on the lines and not at the end of the lines (I break this rule all the time and put my words in bubbles).

• Normally one word is used per line to make it more concise (I break this rule often as I need to put phrases and sometimes whole sentences for better recall).

• Arrows, colours and designs can be added to show connections and associations.

• Make use of personal short-forms, codes and symbols for fun and effectiveness.

• Be creative, original and have fun.

Examples of Mindmaps

 (My apologies for the maps placed on the side but this is partly so that the maps can be bigger than if they were to be placed right side up.)

1. This is a mindmap of mindmapping.

 2. This is a mindmap of the Dr. Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences 

(now 9 have been identified)

3. This is a mindmap of the SQ3R method of studying

(Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review technique)

4. This is a mindmap of a chapter from a Strategic Management book. 

The chapter consists of 20 pages. 

his mindmap was done just for fun on an A3 size sheet of paper.

 It has too many words and would be more useful 

if broken down into many more mindmaps. 

5. This is a mindmap about the different ways in which a person learns. 

 It is based on the book "Power Learning" by Gwen Gawith (1995)

6 This is a mindmap on the benefits of having a personal time table 

as well as what should be considered in doing one.