Starting Great Nebari on Cuttings

[The Ficus Guy]

Hey all,

So I've been doing a lot of reading on creating nebari on trees early on, and I've read of a couple of different techniques. One is the classic method of threading the seedling/cutting through a washer. The other is to plant the seedling/cutting/young tree on a tile to grow. Has anyone tried both methods and can attest to the results of either?

I have some Ficus that need to be trimmed real bad, and want to see if there's anything I can do to help them get started on the right footing in terms of nebari and a decent base.

Thanks in advance!

TFG

 

[Deleted member 32750]

Hey all,

So I've been doing a lot of reading on creating nebari on trees early on, and I've read of a couple of different techniques. One is the classic method of threading the seedling/cutting through a washer. The other is to plant the seedling/cutting/young tree on a tile to grow. Has anyone tried both methods and can attest to the results of either?

I have some Ficus that need to be trimmed real bad, and want to see if there's anything I can do to help them get started on the right footing in terms of nebari and a decent base.

Thanks in advance!

TFG

This is something I've been reading into a lot as well. I don't know anything about Ficus so I don't know what's considered aesthetically pleasing for Ficus Bonsai, but for Japanese maple bonsai a flat "Pancake" Nebari is considered aesthetically desirable. This is achieved by starting ideally from air layers where you already have a radial root structure. From there you plant in a shallow container or box and fan the roots out. there is even a technique of screwing the base of the tree into a board to ensure the roots grow out and not down.

Now I'm sure this pancake Nebari isn't desirable for Ficus so you don't have to get crazy and screw your tree into a board. But if you have quite a few cuttings or seedlings to work with, I would be inclined to try both of the techniques you mentioned, the washer technique and the tile/board technique, and see which result you like better.

 

[canoeguide]

I save the domed bottoms off of plastic bottles and plant cuttings on top of them. With large enough cuttings, it's possible to screw the plastic disk to the cutting. If the screw splits the bottom of the cutting a bit, all the better.

This is a very tiny example, but can be scaled up with larger cuttings and the bottoms from larger plastic bottles.



I've also seen people split the bottom of a cutting into four or more sections with a knife and wedge open the cuts with matchsticks.

 

[leatherback]

I feel that properly working the roots from early on is giving very good nebaris. I am not convinced that the threading though a tile is giving you might more than you wuold by regular rootwork. In fact, I would say that you need to do proper rootwork every few years anyway else all the previous work comes undone when one or more roots decide to take control.

 

[SeanS]

This IG post from @Canada Bonsai came to mind (hope you don’t mind me using your pic)

 

[ConorDash]

This is something I've been reading into a lot as well. I don't know anything about Ficus so I don't know what's considered aesthetically pleasing for Ficus Bonsai, but for Japanese maple bonsai a flat "Pancake" Nebari is considered aesthetically desirable. This is achieved by starting ideally from air layers where you already have a radial root structure. From there you plant in a shallow container or box and fan the roots out. there is even a technique of screwing the base of the tree into a board to ensure the roots grow out and not down.

Now I'm sure this pancake Nebari isn't desirable for Ficus so you don't have to get crazy and screw your tree into a board. But if you have quite a few cuttings or seedlings to work with, I would be inclined to try both of the techniques you mentioned, the washer technique and the tile/board technique, and see which result you like better.

I can see where you are coming from but I don't think the pancake nebari is desirable by most. Its way too extreme.

Personally, I think its pretty horrible.
A radial nebari, in whatever form it might take, to show stability and age for the tree, is all that's desirable. This looks better on some than others.

 

[Shibui]

I've used both techniques with a variety of species.

Planting on a board makes a flat root system if done properly but any roots that are turned under push the rest up and away from the board and can negate all the work. You still need to do regular root work to make sure the arrangement is still OK and to cut roots to get better ramification an prevent some getting too strong at the expense of others. I see planting on a tile or board as the method for lazy growers or those who are still frightened to cut roots.

Good root pruning will produce results as good or better than the board. Pruning vertical roots will stop strong verticals and promote laterals which is just what the board is supposed to achieve. Regular (yearly) root prune will allow you to make any adjustments and manage strong or weak roots.

Washers are not big enough to produce best nebari IMHO. A ficus trunk will swallow any normal washer in a single year without even noticing. I use 2"-3" metal plates with holes drilled to thread the seedling through. As the seedling thickens it is cut off by the size of the hole and new roots grow above the plate which forces all new roots horizontal across the plate. still need to check and root prune each year to get good radial root ramification. This probably won't be necessary with cuttings as they usually have a good radial root system already. I usually just chop ficus seedlings at the widest part of the bulge and plant them as virtual cuttings and they easily develop great radial roots without other techniques.

My preference is to use root pruning to develop and maintain a good root system with most species. Most ficus are easier than many as the roots are so responsive and they grow new roots so easily.

 

[sorce]

In the time it takes to fuss with one, you can haphazardly strike 5 and get one with perfect roots.

The ugly truth is, if you don't get that many cuttings off of a ficus, it's not healthy enough to have pruned in the first place.

Sorce

 

[Crazy Diamond]

Also helps as soon as posible get al the roots growing in the same level and cut the roots above or below, any dominant thick roots, roots growing straight down or up, etc..

 

[MrWunderful]

Deciduous Nebari development

I wanted to start a thread to document and discuss developing deciduous nebari through ground layering, tourniquet methods, Ebihara techniques and ground growing. Some backstory: I am a firm believer in not wasting time on bad nebari. There are exceptions to every rule of course, but when...

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