ficus cuttings in a terrarium?

[irbyma7297]

I recently did my first wiring on my pre bonsai, and i am trying to save the cuttings. I had placed them all in some akadama, but i was wondering:
If i were to put some cuttings in a terrarium (with some fertilizer, the reccomened amount to encourage growth), would their chances be any better?

 

[carp]

my thinking would be it depends on the type of tree, some root easier than others. then when you say terrarium, i'm thinking you plan on rooting them indoors, which i have no idea if that would work or not, i don't grow anything indoors. then when you said akadama, sounds like it may dry out too quickly if you don't pay close attention.

 

[irbyma7297]

It is a ficus nerifolia. I don't think the akadam will dry out too quickly, it is in a sealed container, and the humidity cannot go down unless the jar is open.

 

[FrankP999]

I recently did my first wiring on my pre bonsai, and i am trying to save the cuttings. I had placed them all in some akadama, but i was wondering:
If i were to put some cuttings in a terrarium (with some fertilizer, the reccomened amount to encourage growth), would their chances be any better?

They should root easily. I would be careful of getting a fungus or the thing rotting so I would open the terrarium daily to introduce fresh air. I would not use any fertilizer until it is well rooted. That is the procedure I used for "Too Little" ficus and willow leaf ficus in the past with success. Good luck.

 

[kirk@localbonsai.com]

i use something like this for cuttings (see link) - the high humidity improves chances for sure: if you want to get fancy, look into intermitent mist or fog- this shouldn't be necessary though, as I believe ficus root easily.

http://www.futureharvest.com/our-products/sunblaster-lighting/nanodome/

 

[M. Frary]

I've never done a ficus.( I'm not a tropical kind of guy) . However I've done cuttings on other plants. Namely non woody herbs. But I've also done cuttings from trees before. I've got 2 elm cuttings rooting right now that are over an inch in diameter.
Unless your akadama is really tiny the cuttings may not root. Too much air. I would use something finer. Regular old potting soil works well.
Some people use rooting hormone some don't. If you want to that's fine because it gives you a little edge. (Maybe. I don't know because I get roots with it and without it)
The one thing I know for sure is to use bottom heat . I use a heating pad turned onto low. And continual moisture.
So
1. Take cutting
2. Dip cutting in hormone.
3. Place cutting in growing medium of choice.( sand,potting soil,fines sifted from bonsai soil etc.
4. Place container that has cutting in pan of water.(not too deep but deep enough it doesn't dry out too fast). This step insures you have proper moisture throughout the rooting process and creates the humidity needed.
5. Place that on the heating pad.
6. I always place cuttings under fluorescent lights for at least 12 hours a day.
One thing I like to do is to root cuttings in something clear
Like clear plastic cheap drinking cups. The reason being you can see root growth. The main thing is to make sure they don't dry out.
I will be taking a picture of my elm ""cuttings" this weekend to show their progress. I haven't learned how to post links to other threads but you can find it under propagation. The threads called Ckeck it out.

 

[irbyma7297]

Thank you, guys! I will transfer my cuttings into a terrarium this afternoon! I'll try to upload some pictures.

 

[justinw]

I used a similar setup for my cuttings as mentioned above. I have not tried ficus nerfolia yet but did have green gem and retusa.

My soil was just peat/sand mix to retain moisture along with a dip 'n stick method (of lower dose rooting hormone). Open air ontop but bottom heat and keeping it moist but not wet. They were placed under my indoor tropical setup with 4x4 fluorescent lighting.

I had enough roots to transfer them over to single grow pots within 2 months time, they did shoot roots quickly compared to trident maple, chinese elm and other deciduous cuttings (but I believe that is to be expected).

 

[irbyma7297]

looks like i need to put myself in a terrarium! (the ranks)

 

[carp]

Ficus don't need any rooting hormone. They just need sunlight, soil and water. I guess it doesn't matter what type of soil you use to get your cuttings started as long as you keep it sufficiently wet.

Any case, I've done a lot of Salicaria cuttings, but I grow all of my trees outdoors 100% of the time. So I can't give you any tips on this terrarium thing.

My trees go into little plastic side-cups filled with dirt, of course I put a hole in the bottom, and I fill a flat potting tray with soil and place the cups into the soil on the tray. None of the cuttings I started are even a year old yet, so unless you want to see pics of what I'm doing I'm not posting them.

These are Ficus Retusa which were grown for about 3 years in a plastic up and then potted into larger mica pots for a few more to get bigger. I just repotted the mame and hard pruned it a few weeks ago. The other was just hard pruned, I'm not going to repot it yet because the soil is fresh from last year.

 

[Lizardfeathers]

Terrarium ficus...

I have successfully rooted ficus cuttings just by putting them in an enclosed plastic container with moist potting soil sat on a windowsill... I didn't use heat or fertilizer at all, then again I kinda did it by accident!