Worked a Little on One Of My Ficus Neriflora Today

[Mellow Mullet]

I took a look at my trees today and decided to give this one a little trim, not too much since it is winter, but just a little cleaning up, wire removal, and branch repositioning. I cut it back pretty hard in July and it really grew over the last five months. What do you think?

John

The first picture is after the carnage in July.



Before work today


After work today

 

[edprocoat]

MM, so the air layer failed and you re-applied rooting hormone or are you just showing that for a size reference? I ask because it should be well ready to be separated by now if you started the layer in July.

ed

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Not actually trying to air layer it, I was using the rooting hormone on some cuttings that I had cut from some azaleas and it just happens to be on the bench. I am actually trying to thicken the trunk, it is the result of something that I observed while experimenting on something else. The soil packed around the trunk seems to make the trunk increase in girth quickly, this one has doubled in 2 summers. Another reason for the soil on the trunk on this one is that I want to have a lot of knarly roots growing out of the trunk and around it, jungle-tree like. I poked holes all over the trunk and dusted it with hormone before covering up.

John

 

[carp]

Not actually trying to air layer it, I was using the rooting hormone on some cuttings that I had cut from some azaleas and it just happens to be on the bench. I am actually trying to thicken the trunk, it is the result of something that I observed while experimenting on something else. The soil packed around the trunk seems to make the trunk increase in girth quickly, this one has doubled in 2 summers. Another reason for the soil on the trunk on this one is that I want to have a lot of knarly roots growing out of the trunk and around it, jungle-tree like. I poked holes all over the trunk and dusted it with hormone before covering up.

John

I've never tried this on a salicaria of this size, but i can confirm that the trunks of my cuttings swell quickly when planted deeply so I can see how this would work. Maybe I'll dick around with some of mine and see what happens.

 

[James H]

Very interesting trick, have you tried this with other species of ficus? I just bought a ginseng ficus that I really want to develop into a very short tree with a very fat truck. I might try this trick with my tree.

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Haven't tried it on any other type. Let us know if it works.

John

 

[edprocoat]

Very interesting trick, have you tried this with other species of ficus? I just bought a ginseng ficus that I really want to develop into a very short tree with a very fat truck. I might try this trick with my tree.

James, the problem with a Ginseng Ficus is that it will never really look like a tree. Doi an internet search and you can find some of these from Taiwan that are 50+ years old and although they have a lot of the bulbous tubers that look almost like freakishly large roots, they still look nothing like a tree.

ed

 

[carp]

Very interesting trick, have you tried this with other species of ficus? I just bought a ginseng ficus that I really want to develop into a very short tree with a very fat truck. I might try this trick with my tree.

I have some Ficus Retusa Kinmen that have been developed with fat trunks by growing them in small containers.

 

[KennedyMarx]

James, the problem with a Ginseng Ficus is that it will never really look like a tree. Doi an internet search and you can find some of these from Taiwan that are 50+ years old and although they have a lot of the bulbous tubers that look almost like freakishly large roots, they still look nothing like a tree.

ed

I think it just takes skill to train the ginseng ficus that you find at Walmart into actual tree looking bonsai. Adam Lavigne made a few posts on it if you look on his site.

This is one that I believe started as a ginseng: