Hundreds aerial roots on Ficus..

[Squeaker]

I realize this is an old thread, but i wanted to subscribe so i can go back to it when im ready to try it out (when im not such a noob). Great info though. Ill surely try it out one day great thread mr. Greenthumb

 

[Neli]

I am a newbie, so be patient with me.
I would like to ask. If the scarification is done somewhere on the trunk, and after the roots come out, can You bandage it so they fuse to the trunk, enlarge it and give it character?
We have strangler figs here in Africa, that attach to other trees and it look very nice?
I am asking since most of my figs get aerial roots on their own, they dont dry and reach the ground. Can I do it to a bonsai and will it look acceptable?

 

[Neli]

Putting the tree in the well draining soil 2 months in advance is a good idea. It preps the tree by slowly acclimating it to less moisture, then you attack it with hormone and humidity and to goes nuts. I'll have to try this on my schefflera.

I am in Africa,
i get more aerial roots on my sheflera than on the figs...So it will work.
Why do you want the roots on the sheflera? what will you be trying for?

 

[Squeaker]

I am in Africa,
i get more aerial roots on my sheflera than on the figs...So it will work.
Why do you want the roots on the sheflera? what will you be trying for?

This is a pretty old thread, i just ressurected it so i can subscribe to it so i can access it through my user cp later.... hopefully theyll chime in and give some updates

 

[Redwood Ryan]

So I just accidentally did this on a Ficus of mine. I cut off a large root and covered it in cut paste. The tree is kept in a warm, humid environment, and, well, this happened:

 

[KennedyMarx]

Nice, Ryan! I bet that the aerial roots around the cut will help it to heal, like having a branch sprouting near a cut.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Nice, Ryan! I bet that the aerial roots around the cut will help it to heal, like having a branch sprouting near a cut.

Yeah, they just might.

Roots as of yesterday:

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Fast forward 5 days and the roots are just about in the soil.

 

[tmmason10]

Fast forward 5 days and the roots are just about in the soil.
View attachment 35565

Pretty neat.

 

[Dr.GreenThumb]

Never too late

I am a newbie, so be patient with me.
I would like to ask. If the scarification is done somewhere on the trunk, and after the roots come out, can You bandage it so they fuse to the trunk, enlarge it and give it character?
We have strangler figs here in Africa, that attach to other trees and it look very nice?
I am asking since most of my figs get aerial roots on their own, they dont dry and reach the ground. Can I do it to a bonsai and will it look acceptable?

Yes
For the last question, yes I guess.

Fast forward 5 days and the roots are just about in the soil.
View attachment 35565

I'm happy to see it works for you too. It's really fast huh ?
But careful with this cut paste, it's the one that becomes hard no ?
If it's the case don't use it or use a Japanese one (looks like a doe).


Mine froze to death with 4 of his ficus friends.
My wife unplugged the heater from the greenhouse (she didn't know... ), -5°C for 2 days.
It was a good lesson anyway: Do not grow a tropical tree in Norway (-20°c during winter), it's not made for it.

Please, feel free to put your feedbacks in this thread.
Some trees could become very original...

 

[Redwood Ryan]

I'm happy to see it works for you too. It's really fast huh ?
But careful with this cut paste, it's the one that becomes hard no ?
If it's the case don't use it or use a Japanese one (looks like a doe).

Yes, it is one that hardens, but feels rubbery. As you can see, the roots still poke through, so it's not too hard. I also just did this technique to a Ginseng Ficus today.

 

[Dr.GreenThumb]

Then you shouldn´t put any, it will work better.
Thanks for sharing and good luck with your trees

 

[Kelly]

Didn't work for me ... sigh!

Greetings Dr. Greenthumb,
I read your post with great interest and tried it a couple times this summer. For some reason, nothing happened ... no aerial roots started at all - tree was in a greenhouse, rooting compound .4%, cut paste, etc. Tried it from June 7th to June 21st ... let the tree "recover" outside the greenhouse for a couple weeks ... then tried it all again ... but nothing happened.
I think that perhaps the only difference was that my soil was not very free draining and it stayed pretty wet in the humid/hot greenhouse ...
Do you think that the wet soil prevented the tree from reaching out with aerial roots?
What strength rooting powder are you using?
Any suggestions?
The tree grew really well in the greenhouse with very high heat 5o+C and 70+ % humidity ... It grew a whole bunch of new leaves and back budded along branches but no aerial roots at all. I then let everything grow for 3 weeks and aggressively fertilized with liquid Miracle Grow and with many more leaves actively growing, I tried again for a couple weeks ... same result.

I will try and post a couple pics ...

Colour me frustrated ...
THanks!!
Kelly

 

[James H]

This is very interesting. Does the new roots grow through the cut paste or just around it? I have a tiger bark that has a curve to it and I might have to try this on that curve to that I was thinking of making a root over rock so this might help with that. Would it do the same thing if you were to use Sphagnum moss around the cut if you dont have cut paste.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Greetings Dr. Greenthumb,
I read your post with great interest and tried it a couple times this summer. For some reason, nothing happened ... no aerial roots started at all - tree was in a greenhouse, rooting compound .4%, cut paste, etc. Tried it from June 7th to June 21st ... let the tree "recover" outside the greenhouse for a couple weeks ... then tried it all again ... but nothing happened.
I think that perhaps the only difference was that my soil was not very free draining and it stayed pretty wet in the humid/hot greenhouse ...
Do you think that the wet soil prevented the tree from reaching out with aerial roots?
What strength rooting powder are you using?
Any suggestions?
The tree grew really well in the greenhouse with very high heat 5o+C and 70+ % humidity ... It grew a whole bunch of new leaves and back budded along branches but no aerial roots at all. I then let everything grow for 3 weeks and aggressively fertilized with liquid Miracle Grow and with many more leaves actively growing, I tried again for a couple weeks ... same result.

I will try and post a couple pics ...

Colour me frustrated ...
THanks!!
Kelly

It doesn't look like you scraped a big enough area. If you try again, scrape more bark away, and maybe cut a tad deeper.

This is very interesting. Does the new roots grow through the cut paste or just around it? I have a tiger bark that has a curve to it and I might have to try this on that curve to that I was thinking of making a root over rock so this might help with that. Would it do the same thing if you were to use Sphagnum moss around the cut if you dont have cut paste.

The new roots grow straight through the paste. Sphagnum works, it just becomes difficult to remove the moss from the roots later down the road.

 

[bonsairxmd]

This is probably a stupid question but is high humidity needed just for the roots to sprout or for the entire process until the roots reach the soil and harden off?

Does anyone use the straw method still to guide these down? Wonder if one could just use this and spray inside the straw to keep the humidity elevated around the root

The reson I ask is that I have a set up for heat and humidity in a dart frog vivarium but am trying to figure out the minimal amount of time that I'd need to stick a tropical bonsai in there to complete the arial rooting process


Thanks!

(Is Dr GreenThumb MIA? )

 

[Neli]

They say when the tree is stressed it develops aerial roots to survive...Humidity is needed so that the young tender roots survive and dont dry before they reach the ground...so if you keep the soil on the drier side you have better chances of developing aerial roots...heat helps too.

 

[James H]

This is probably a stupid question but is high humidity needed just for the roots to sprout or for the entire process until the roots reach the soil and harden off?

Does anyone use the straw method still to guide these down? Wonder if one could just use this and spray inside the straw to keep the humidity elevated around the root

The reson I ask is that I have a set up for heat and humidity in a dart frog vivarium but am trying to figure out the minimal amount of time that I'd need to stick a tropical bonsai in there to complete the arial rooting process


Thanks!

(Is Dr GreenThumb MIA? )

I have a willow leaf ficus in a Temple Viper exhibit at my work and it is growing arial roots with around 60% humidity. It varies as the exhibit gets misted on daily but that is the average when I have taken readings. It took it around a year to establish, put on new growth and start making arial roots. Good luck.

 

[ericN]

This is probably a stupid question but is high humidity needed just for the roots to sprout or for the entire process until the roots reach the soil and harden off?

Does anyone use the straw method still to guide these down? Wonder if one could just use this and spray inside the straw to keep the humidity elevated around the root

The reson I ask is that I have a set up for heat and humidity in a dart frog vivarium but am trying to figure out the minimal amount of time that I'd need to stick a tropical bonsai in there to complete the arial rooting process


Thanks!

(Is Dr GreenThumb MIA? )

bonsairxmd,

Straw method work well. I had a banyan tree that was developed with this method.

Eric

 

[linlaoboo]

Make sure the cut sites are covered up from sun. Roots dont emerge in direct sun. Straws work but you need aero roots to emerge for an inch or longer 1st. Shorter, tender roots can snap off easily. Straws should be removed once roots are into the ground for a while. Roots can rot inside the straw after a while