One Year Developing a Ficus Bonsai - Defoliation, Wiring & Styling with Hugo Zamora Luna

This Green Island ficus has come a long way in a little over a year. I first saw the tree in December 2024 at Penjing Bonsai Gardens in Melbourne, Florida. I liked it immediately, but left without it. When I saw it again several months later, it was still there, and this time I decided to bring it home. After a year of development, it was finally time for its first major styling. I completely defoliate the tree, clean up the structure, remove unwanted branches, and wire the entire tree before working on the final styling with my teacher, bonsai professional Hugo Zamora Luna. I left a good portion of my time working with Hugo in the video so you can hear our conversations and some of the thought process behind the decisions we made. This is still just the beginning for this tree. Now it goes back on the bench to grow, recover, and continue developing. CHAPTERS 00:00 The Story of the Tree 01:40 Defoliation 06:00 After Defoliation 07:20 Cleanup & Branch Selection 08:57 Wiring 17:31 Wiring Complete 18:09 Styling with Hugo Zamora Luna 32:22 Final Result TREE Green Island Ficus Ficus microcarpa ‘Green Island’ MUSIC “With You” – HarumachiMusic “Cinematic Nature Documentary” – Metriko “Deep Timelapse Cinematic Documentary” – ArctSound “Timelapse Chill” – penguinmusic / Oleksandr Stepanov “Night Street” – Ashot Danielyan “Ethereal Vistas” – Denys Brodovskyi “Nature Background” – AlisiaBeats / Marble Space Music used under the respective royalty-free licenses. Styling and instruction: Hugo Zamora Luna Tree development, filming and editing: Rupesh Varghese Ente Bonsai Gardens #bonsai #ficusbonsai #ficusmicrocarpa #greenislandficus #tropicalbonsai #bonsaistyling #bonsaidevelopment #bonsaiprogression #bonsaiwiring #bonsaidefoliation #bonsaitechniques #bonsaiart #bonsaitree #bonsaigarden #HugoZamoraLuna