Michigan Tree Murderer
Masterpiece
I really like banyan style tropicals so in March 2023 I decided to give it a try. I bought two of these Dwarf Schefflera in 1 gallon nursery pots from the local bonsai nursery. I'm going to focus on the one I've done more work on since I have two of these. I haven't taken a lot of pictures until lately, and I'm basically learning from doing, and anything I can find on the internet. Any advice is appreciated, & opinions good or bad.
Picture from when I first got them.
I put the plant into a big clear plastic bag to trap the humidity so Aerial roots (AR) could form, I keep them under lights & take it out of the bag every 4-5 days to check on it, and let it breath. The AR began to form in a week and, then the weeks long growth process to reach the soil.
Here's a pic of the AR that made it to the soil in April of 2023 about 5-6 weeks from forming. You can also see some that dried up & died.
A week later I decided to direct these AR to were I wanted them with plastic straws (see below), using some moss inside the straws. I removed the straws once the AR hardened off.
I didn't take any pictures of it during the spring/summer while it was outside, but below is a picture in early September 2023 with the roots fully formed. I also completed defoliated it in late May of 2023, and that was a real nail bitter for me, hoping the defoliation wasn't going to kill it.
I just let it do it thing for the rest of they fall, trimming when needed. Fast forward to December 2023 I put it in a clear humidity tent that I could vent more easily, for more AR to form, but this time I misted the trunk and all the branches until I saw the AR forming. I now see the misting is the key.
Below is a picture from February 4th 2023.
I just let them grow wild instead of using the straws to direct them like last year. Seeing all of these AR I cut the ones I didn't want off and let the rest harden off.
Below is a picture of it today with the AR hardened off, I now have a grow tent with fans and proper ventilation, so I don't worry about mold and fungus as much. My next step is to see which/how many of these AR survive, and to place them where I want when I repot this year.
I mentioned that I have two of these Schefflera, and this is just one of them. At some point, (not quite sure when) I want to plant both of them together to form a wider Banyan Tree. The second one is currently in the grow tent and instead of letting the AR grow wild I'm going to be more selective & direct more to the ground with straws.
The final goal is a smaller version of this.
Picture from when I first got them.
I put the plant into a big clear plastic bag to trap the humidity so Aerial roots (AR) could form, I keep them under lights & take it out of the bag every 4-5 days to check on it, and let it breath. The AR began to form in a week and, then the weeks long growth process to reach the soil.
Here's a pic of the AR that made it to the soil in April of 2023 about 5-6 weeks from forming. You can also see some that dried up & died.
A week later I decided to direct these AR to were I wanted them with plastic straws (see below), using some moss inside the straws. I removed the straws once the AR hardened off.
I didn't take any pictures of it during the spring/summer while it was outside, but below is a picture in early September 2023 with the roots fully formed. I also completed defoliated it in late May of 2023, and that was a real nail bitter for me, hoping the defoliation wasn't going to kill it.
I just let it do it thing for the rest of they fall, trimming when needed. Fast forward to December 2023 I put it in a clear humidity tent that I could vent more easily, for more AR to form, but this time I misted the trunk and all the branches until I saw the AR forming. I now see the misting is the key.
Below is a picture from February 4th 2023. I just let them grow wild instead of using the straws to direct them like last year. Seeing all of these AR I cut the ones I didn't want off and let the rest harden off.
Below is a picture of it today with the AR hardened off, I now have a grow tent with fans and proper ventilation, so I don't worry about mold and fungus as much. My next step is to see which/how many of these AR survive, and to place them where I want when I repot this year.
I mentioned that I have two of these Schefflera, and this is just one of them. At some point, (not quite sure when) I want to plant both of them together to form a wider Banyan Tree. The second one is currently in the grow tent and instead of letting the AR grow wild I'm going to be more selective & direct more to the ground with straws.
The final goal is a smaller version of this.
I know nothing about them. What you have looks awesome so far. Keep up the work!
