The Chinese Banyan as Bonsai

From seedling in the crook of another tree to a cathedral of roots.

The Chinese banyan (Ficus microcarpa) is one of the most popular bonsai subjects on earth, and it's also a genuine Australian native, found from Cape York down through coastal Queensland. This guide is about getting the most from it: fast, forgiving growth, and the aerial roots that fuse into a banyan trunk. It's also honest about the trade-offs.

This 13-page guide covers:

- Placement and climate, including frost and the afternoon-sun problem in an Australian summer.

- Watering.

- Soil, repotting and feeding.

- Fusing aerial roots into a banyan nebari, the technique this species is grown for.

- Growth pattern and the seasons.

- Pruning and structural development, and wiring.

- Bark, overall character and display.

- A realistic timeline, so you know what to expect and when.

- A safety note on the sap, which is a genuine skin and eye irritant.

It's also straight with you about a caveat many guides skip: outside its native Queensland range this fig is listed as an environmental weed, so it's a tree for a pot and not for your garden bed.

A species report at the back gives the facts at a glance: a suitability score of 90.2 out of 100, strengths and weak spots, care ranges, regional suitability and pot and style matching.

Written for Australian conditions, and it tells you plainly where the evidence is thin rather than dressing guesses up as fact.

Digital download (PDF). Part of the Bonsai Australis Australian Native Bonsai Library, Collectable Series Edition.