Page 39 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2014Q3

below the branch that is being used for
approach grafting. The latex dried and
regularly I will use a knife or other sharp-
edged tool to irritate the cambium. This
stimulates the cambium to grow, to grow
more than the amount removed by scrap-
ing the cambium.
Top left is a closeup of an old scar at the
base of the right hand tree: The light gray
color gives away the old scar; with a few
more scrapings, it will be the same as the
rest of the bark. Also, the old scar does not
yet have the same horizontal markings as
the tree above and below the scar. Don’t
try that with your junipers; they have a very thin bark and do not callous over well.
The ficus is the only tree I know that will respond this way.
The same root trimming is applied to my ficus retusa (Ficus microcarpa) shown
below. It is not a miniature. The largest Lucy I have is two inches at the base of the
tree, estimated at 25–30 years old. The retusa was imported from Taiwan, was 10–15
years old when I bought it about 15 years ago. The widest part of the trunk is six and
one half inches across. It is 22 inches tall and 28 inches wide. This is a tree that could
grow to be 30 feet tall in the ground.
Because the leaves are larger than those of the Lucy, I sometimes cut them to
maintain an even silhouette. Latex seals them and they continue to function as leaves.
It is too heavy for me to lift. My apprentice, Eitan, helped me transplant it in April
2014.

Top left; The light gray color
gives away the old scar; with
a few more scrapings, it will
be the same as the rest of the
bark.

Top right; Planted in a larger
pot, the roots and the ap-
proach graft will grow and
develop faster.

Bottom; The same root trim-
ming is applied to my ficus
retusa (Ficus microcarpa)

July/August/September 2014 | BCI | 37