General Ficus growing

[remist17]

Hello
I have two burte davy ficus now for three years. I was hoping someone can advise on some growing techniques I am doing wrong.

I have the ficus under (2) four bulb florescence lights about 6 inches from the top of the trees for 12 hours a day and they are also by a southern window. I fertilize the trees every two weeks with standard miracle grow mix. I have not trimmed the trees since they were purchased in order to help trunk growth. The branches do not seem to extend out from the basic original design. The trunks have grown but not to much. Example the tree (#1) was purchased at 17 inches tall with a .25" trunk. Now the tree is 18" tall and .50 to .75" trunk. What else can I do to help promote trunk growth.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

There really isn't much you can do. Burtt-davyii tend to be a bit more slow growing than other Ficus, from what I've found. You could try moving your lights closer to the trees. Fluorescent bulbs won't be hot to the touch, and I've got the tops of my trees pretty much touching the bulbs.

 

[linlaoboo]

If you're not limited to indoor growing, should grow them in the ground from April to Fall. They grow the fastest when you give them room in the ground or a grow bed.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

If you're not limited to indoor growing, should grow them in the ground from April to Fall. They grow the fastest when you give them room in the ground or a grow bed.

I've actually asked this before and was told that by the time the tree would have adjusted to being in the ground it would already be time to remove it, so I'd avoid that route.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

See this thread:

http://www.bonsaisite.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24725

 

[linlaoboo]

Well the Burt Davy may be more finnicky which I don't grow but I do grow the macrocarpa kinds. From April to October gives me 6 months of in-ground growth here in NJ and in VA should be even longer. I do see major increase in the thickness from just one growing season but I see what they mean about the concern of roots thickening as well. Therefore I really like the idea of using netpots or collanders. It should work good. Alternatively I've used netpots for hydroponics on the inside of another bigger nursery pot for the purpose of combing the roots as they grow while preventing them from growing too long.

 

[remist17]

Ryan thanks for the comments. You are the ficus king.

What about fertilizer, any better type /kind than the miracle grow?

 

[FrankP999]

I would use the lights for 14-15 hours a day.

 

[jk_lewis]

What else can I do to help promote trunk growth.

Move to Florida. There's going to be a limited list of options available to you up in Pennsylvania.

 

[tmmason10]

They're all right. I'd move the light closer, and maybe leave it on for 16 hours a day. Bottom line is it would clearly grow faster outside in Florida where it could grow all year in spots. Ryan will tell you from experience, might be better to buy stock from a grower in Florida with a thicker trunk and go from there. I do also think that one of the keys to keeping trees indoors might be size. Most of the successful trees I see grown indoors are mame-shohin size(unless you're Jerry M.). Shorter the tree, the thinner the trunk can be.

 

[Kevster]

I have tested the seasonal in ground growing. I used 6 Ficus B cuttings that were a year old. Put 3 in the ground in mid march and covered them with bags at night if it got to cold. I put the other 3 in a 12 inch pond basket. All trees got the same amount of sun. I watered and the ground trees when needed. I also fertilized them heavy but only when I watered them. The potted trees got watered when needed which was almost every day. I fertilized them every 2 days with a normal dose. All plants also had a time release fertilizer though the ground plants got much more.
I dug the ground plants up the first week of October. Again on cool nights I'd cover them with plastic.
In the end the ground plants had a slightly bigger nebari and it was only slight. The overall growth in fullness and height was won by the potted plants by a long shot.
Again the 6 cuttings used came from the same mother plant and were overall the same size. Also keep in mind that the ground plants were outside about a month total longer than the potted plants since they wouldn't have the warmth from the ground to keep them warm at night.
I'm assuming the potted plants took the overall growth because of the controlled fertilizing and watering. The ground plants got the nebari because the roots grew huge and unsightly. I removed most of the roots from them because in 3 years the tree still probably wouldn't have caught up to the size the roots grew.

So I wont bother with the seasonal ground planting anymore.

That being said. I do have a 20gal aquarium I did a test with. I put about 2 inches of pea gravel in the bottom and 3 inches of potting soil on top of that. I planted a 1 year old cutting inside the tank sprinkled some time release fertilizer on top have everything a good mist of water and used clear plastic to seal the top.
The tank gets about 8 hours of sun under my stand a day and once in a while I pull the plastic back to see what's going on. AMAZING growth is what's happening. The plastic is now off the top since the 8 inch cutting is now almost 18 inches and growing thick.
It has grown bigger and faster then anything I've ever had.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

That being said. I do have a 20gal aquarium I did a test with. I put about 2 inches of pea gravel in the bottom and 3 inches of potting soil on top of that. I planted a 1 year old cutting inside the tank sprinkled some time release fertilizer on top have everything a good mist of water and used clear plastic to seal the top.
The tank gets about 8 hours of sun under my stand a day and once in a while I pull the plastic back to see what's going on. AMAZING growth is what's happening. The plastic is now off the top since the 8 inch cutting is now almost 18 inches and growing thick.
It has grown bigger and faster then anything I've ever had.

Oh yeah, tanks are a great way. I've got a couple and the results are excellent.