Green Island Fig: Root-over-rot

[BillsBayou]

Long-term project:

Materials
Big bald cypress knee with good taper
Dozen green island fig rooted cuttings
(best if they're all from same tree)
Lots of moist peat moss
Raffia
Mortar tub or other low profile grow pot

Sort cuttings in order of thickness, thin first. These are the "branches" of the tree you are building.
Place an apex tree at the top of the knee and pack the roots with peat moss. Use a strip of raffia to hold the tree in place. Repeat this process working down the knee. Use a bit of raffia to hold the trees in place. Always comb out the roots and arrange them downwards. The last tree will be in a low first-branch position. Don't worry about covering the roots completely.

The process is a pain. Getting the trees to stay where you put them feels impossible. You don't have to use all the cuttings. DO NOT USE WIRE TO POSITION THE TREES. Use raffia to hold the trees in place.

Now cover the roots with peat and hold the peat in place with raffia. Go "Full Mummy" on the roots and peat moss. Tooany trees will be tilting too far down. Now you can use wire.

Maintenance will be required. Over time the raffia will rot away. Peat moss will wash away. Use maintenance to remove roots that grow in any direction but downwards. Also detangle roots before they fuse. They will be a little wonky anyway.

Over time the knee will rot away and ficus roots will grow through the rot.

Here's my progress so far. I'm more concerned with roots up to now. I'll be moving to branches and shape from here. Although I'm tempted to pack the roots with peat moss and raffia again.

 

[ponderingsage]

Looks like a cool project. I love green island figs, and may give it a go as well

 

[BillsBayou]

I'll be chasing the green back to balance out the branch thicknesses. I defoliated and removed nearly all meristems. Two weeks from now this should be exploding with me growth. We have until mid-November before we stop work on tropicals. Plenty of time to get it stabilized in the sun.

Three things:
1) There were other branches near the top when I started the project. Their absence is obvious after repotting and cutting. I'm going to repack the top with new trees.


2) The back of the tree is a mess of fuzed roots. I won't be doing anything about it.


3) Plenty of cuttings! I'll likely be selling these at next year's "C'est Bonsai" at Underhill Bonsai in Folsum, Louisiana. Dates for C’est Bonsai 2025 are March 28-30. This will be the first time they will be doing a three day event.

 

[BillsBayou]

Substrate note: I'm using a blend that is working out very well.
One part each of
Red lava
Black lava (sharp, aids ramification)
Pumice (water retention)
Zeolite (high CEC fertilizer retention)
Diatomaceous earth (water retention, crushable)
1/4 part Bio char (organic component))

I'm calling this "Bill's Bayou Gold Blend". Along with all the other ingredients I've added 5 parts ego. Gotta be sure of yourself when posting substrate recipes on the Internet. As soon as you do, people will be tearing you appart.

So there. My blend is the best.



The only thing that is better is when I replace Zeolite with Mexadama. But it takes me two days to crush a low-fired Mexican chiminea into 7 gallons of substrate. 9 hours of labor at $50/hour makes those 7 gallons worth $450 or ~$65/gallon. Go crush your own chiminea.

 

[Jorgens86]

Those marks from wiring is bad. Will took a long time to heal them up.

 

[BillsBayou]

Those marks from wiring is bad. Will took a long time to heal them up.

Agreed. It might never appear in a bonsai show.