Thought on first attempt at propagating cuttings?

[StruggleBus]

First attempt at propagations. Today took some cuttings from a ficus benjamina and then a juniper, not sure what type, from my yard. I drilled a bunch of holes in the bottoms and put a good layer of drain rock at the bottom.

 

[brentwood]

Ficus want to grow, you can stick them in almost any soil and they'll root. I find junipers need heat, usually don't anything for me until they start feeling that. I will take cuttings in the spring and put them in akadama, maybe perlite, mist them and keep the soil from drying out - that's 70-80% effective for me by summer. If I try too early or late, rare I get roots. If you can use a heated mat, that would probably change that drastically.

Good luck
B

 

[StruggleBus]

Ficus want to grow, you can stick them in almost any soil and they'll root. I find junipers need heat, usually don't anything for me until they start feeling that. I will take cuttings in the spring and put them in akadama, maybe perlite, mist them and keep the soil from drying out - that's 70-80% effective for me by summer. If I try too early or late, rare I get roots. If you can use a heated mat, that would probably change that drastically.

Good luck
B

They are on a heat mat. Thanks!

 

[Shibui]

Looks good to me.
I always use rooting hormone on cuttings. Ficus will probably root without it but I did some tests many years ago and found that with hormone I got more roots sooner than cuttings without so I now dip all cuttings in hormone.

 

[StruggleBus]

Looks good to me.
I always use rooting hormone on cuttings. Ficus will probably root without it but I did some tests many years ago and found that with hormone I got more roots sooner than cuttings without so I now dip all cuttings in hormone.

Which rooting hormone product do you use?

 

[Carol 83]

I use Clonex gel, ficus root very easily.

 

[Shibui]

Which rooting hormone product do you use?

I also prefer clonex gel but there's not a lot of difference between the different formulations. Powder will work just as well with most species. Liquid hormone works well too. For small numbers of cuttings, use whatever you can get easily.

Agree that Ficus root really well and will root pretty consistently without any hormone treatment but Junipers are more of a challenge. The hormone treatment definitely helps with Juniper cuttings.

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

Should probably be fine, I took a cutting from a ficus microcarpa in the fall and it starting growing roots just in a plastic cup half full of tap water, left it there about a month or so before I put it in some moss, then I'll get it into actual bonsai substrate when it's ready to go outside in the spring, they're tough plants.