Anyone know how to root willow ficus cuttings...??

esteve59

Yamadori
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I have a few trees I am cutting back and I hate to trash all these cuttings.....
I tried a few but I am not having any luck...

Thanks,
Steve B
 

KennedyMarx

Omono
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I've had success putting them into bonsai soil without defoliating and putting the cuttings into a sealed clear plastic tote in the shade.
 

Mazzou

Seedling
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You can also cut a 8"-10" section and keep it in a glass with about 2" of water and you should root anywhere from 2 days - 2 weeks.
 

penumbra

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I have nearly 100% success with rooting these. Strip bottom leaves from cutting and allow at least one leaf node on bottom for ne root development. I usually use a rooting hormone but it is not really necessary. Put cutting in any descent mix which allows for free drainage. Water. Put under plastic dome, which can be as simple as a plastic bottle with bottom cut off (throw away lid, it will be more than humid enough without it) Put under bright light, no sun. Wait for roots and growth, it won't take long.
This plant is so simple to root that when I was pruning a young forest planting, I stuck a couple cutting directly into bonsai pot with the larger plants and they rooted in and are growing well.
 
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Putting willow leaf ficus cuttings in a container to help with humidity is ideal. I’m in humid crazy St. Louis, I just toss them into whatever pot or container I want and they start growing. Sometimes I use rooting hormone bc it’s cheap, but most of the time I just get lazy and toss them in soil without the hormone and they usually do fine. Just don’t let them dry out
 

Alfalex

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Root them in water under hot and humid condition!
 

penumbra

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About rooting in water, there are advantages and disadvantages. The good thing about water rooting is that you can see the roots develop. However, with a plant this easy to root, it is not really important. If you do root in water my advice would be to switch them to your growing medium as some as the root nodes develop. It is best to do this because plants form a different type of root in water than they do in soil. (Yes, they do!) With a plant this easy it really doesn't make any real difference, but with many plants the difference is significant. Water roots are very fleshy and very fragile. They tend to bruise or break very easily. When a plant has a lot of water roots many of them die in soil as new roots are formed. Finale word of caution; if you use a mix, best to use a sterile mix and if you use water, change the water at least every third day and better yet, every day. But if you are curious, try different methods. I continually experiment and I have been rooting plants on and off for over 50 years. There are a lot of tips you can garner from other people who propagate by cuttings. One example is additives of other ingredients. These are very broad in scope and many of them work quite well. Things like willow water, aspirin, hydrogen peroxide, b- vitamins ... and the list goes on. None of these are really important with willow ficus because they are so easy, but it is fun to experiment.
Wish you the best, but whatever method you use you are quite likely to have some success.
 

Alfalex

Seedling
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Have trouble here up north to root them in soil!!!

I live in Quebec!!!
 

amatbrewer

Shohin
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I tried 3 different methods this summer. All were softwood cuttings with the lower leaves removed and powdered rooting hormone applied. All took.
  • One indoors in water
  • One indoors in a mix of organic and inorganic soil (in a south facing window and watered daily)
  • Two outdoors in a mix of organic and inorganic soil (morning and evening sun only, watered daily)
 
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