This powerfully built gem is from Ficus, the Exotic Bonsai by Jerry Meislik. It's a Ficus Microcarpa. In addition to its rugged good looks, small leaves and a strong penchant for survival make it a bonsai favorite.
The photos shown here originally appeared way back in January, 2010. I enlarged them to fit our current format and I’ve tried to bring the text up to date.
If you want to grow bonsai indoors (winter or year round), you’ll be hard pressed to find subjects better suited than Ficus.
But not all Ficus are created equal when it comes bonsai and to growing indoors. A couple that I’ve had luck with are the Green Island (a variety of F. microcarpa) and the ‘Too Little’ (F. benjamina ‘Too Little’). I’ve also had some luck with the Willow Leaf ficus (F neriifolia – there is some disagreement about the botanical name – here’s a discussion by Robert Kempinski). If you have any experience with other varieties (successful or otherwise), let us know.
A large Willow leaf ficus with some impressive aerial roots from Ficus, the Exotic Bonsai.
A large Benjamina with a well developed nebari by Bradley Barlow, from The Art of Bonsai blog.
This simple Willow leaf planting is from a bonsai exhibit on Morikami's website. Though it's far from a masterpiece, it does have some charm and is the type of project that almost any beginner might attempt.
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