Red Balete And The Aftermath

A NEWCOMER TO THE BACKYARD jungle is this young Ficus concinna or "Red Balete" ($25+$24 shipping+$25 repot). Widely found in Mindoro forests, this fig is characterized by fiery red young leaves that give the tropics an "autumn look" much like the cemetery scene above, then turn leathery dark green as they mature. The brittle specimen in the link was collected by "Prince of Collectors"  Hugh Cuming for the Royal Botanic Gardens between 1835-1839 while on Philippine exploration.  

Andrea's drink-dropper at her nursery for $25

Pruned and repotted three weeks after arrival, reddish new leaves apparent

Aged specimen in Jerry Meislik's house of ficus

BALETE  IS VULNERABLE to cyclonic winds due to its shallow ground roots and heavy crowns, but perfect as a bonsai. How else can it be a grim reminder of typhoon Wanda which leveled Pinamalayan when I was a kid in the 60s long before Nona did in 2015? Remember the F. philippinensis pre-bonsai from a year ago? I recklessly reworked it to play with the idea, and thought it was dead with almost total leaf drop a week after the basal roots were pruned, but after three weeks it looks like it is rebounding with tiny new leaves. It is now the leaning tower of Figsa, but still stable with its trusty aerial roots as suhays.

Pompano Beach resident Jeff McMullan grimaces in the wind as his 80-year-old ficus lies over his home after Hurricane Wilma swept through Florida in 2010. (Robert Duyos, Sun Sentinel)

Unexciting as a pre-bonsai a year ago

Leaf drop about two weeks after restyle and repot, with an angry basal root giving the finger

Draped aerial root removed, tiny new leaves apparent after three weeks: it's alive!