Making a chinese banyan rock bonsai

I enjoy plants so my new found hobby of bonsai-ing is a natural progression from planting decorative plants to "sort of" sculpting plants. Anyway, I am just a few months old into bonsai and for an art that takes months and years even for "instant bonsai " to produce results, a few months is nothing. 


Here's a Chinese banyan  (ficus microcarpa) that I am training into a rock bonsai. 


The banyan is a very mystical kind of tree in the way that it grows and develops. It looks both reassuring and forbidding at the same time. Many Asian countries have a deep belief that spirits and ghosts reside in banyan trees. When you can apply it's majestic beauty and turn it into a bonsai, you will truly get an exquisite work of art. (Ezine)

 

This particular banyan was given to me by Mr. Bernardo, our school's agriculture teacher, a bonsai enthusiast and the eldest male teacher of the school. I planted it first in loam soil for a few moths so that it would develop roots. Loam soil is a must so that it would be easy to uproot; planting it in sticky soil would damage the root network when uprooting.

I am using a porous rock locally known as adobe. For a more interesting look, the rock can be chiseled to a desired shape but in this particular project, I am using the rock as is.

I chiseled a groove into the rock.

The groove should fit the trunk to anchor the banyan.

I arranged the roots in a way that when it develop,  the roots will envelope the rock. 

To keep the roots hydrated, wrap it with a rug and then stabilize by wrapping  it with wires..

Train the banyan by wiring. Ideally, aluminum or copper wire is used but here I am using an ordinary GI wire which is not good because it would injure the stems so I doubled the wire to thicken it so as not to cut or injure the plant. The good thing about this kind of banyan is that it's a very flexible plant unlike our local banyan, the balite. Here I am training it for a cascading rock bonsai.

Keep in a damp place so that the roots will be hydrated and so that the rock will grow algae and moss and give the bonsai a more natural and aged look. 

Chinese banyans can survive with very little sunshine, its an ideal indoor bonsai.

I don't know how this project would turn out, but here's the beauty of bonsai making: the pruning and the training and the waiting. A good hobby that develops patience and teaches the art of waiting.

Note: plant your cuttings for future bonsai material.