Air roots on willow leaf ficus.

[tanlu]

Hi,

Does anyone know how to stimulate air roots on a Willow Leaf Ficus? Recently purchased a Willow Leaf Ficus (will post photos tomorrow), but it has an ugly root base and poor branch structure. So why did I buy it? Because it was cheap and I've always wanted one! It has lots of new growth and more and more buds popping all over the trunk and branches, but no air roots, which is what I want and need!

Theo

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Lots and lots of humidity. If the base is messed up you may want to consider cutting it up and applying rooting hormone.

 

[Sapman]

Allow the tree to become root bound. The tree will naturally respond by dropping airial roots. In my experience Willow Leaf Ficus prefer tight feet. Also, an added benefit is the base of the tree will increase much faster when root bound.

 

[tanlu]

Ryan, What do you mean by "messed up" base? Do you mean the root base that is ugly?

Sapman, That's very interesting that the base will swell when rootbound. Do you think that'll work with other species like pines? My Willow Leaf Ficus was repotted recently, but it a very small pot. I cut about 50% of the original root mass since it was mostly thick fleshy roots that served no purpose in its future development.

 

[edprocoat]

Tanlu, most Ficus love to be rootbound as a matter of fact every variety I have ever tried, and those thick fleshy roots are ripe for the development of aerial roots. I have found that another way of stimulating the growth of aerial roots is by keeping the trunk of the whole tree in an enclosed moist (humidity) environment. I use large clear plastic boxes, like tupperware storage boxes. I water the plant and then seal it in and place it in the sun, they make their own oxygen and the box heats up evaporating the water which forms on the roof of the box and then rains back down onto the plant. This encourages tons of aerial roots to develop. I have seen others who cover the trunk up to the canopy with a clear plastic bag and have equally good luck. I just repotted my old Taiwan Ficus which I had in a blue lotus shaped pot for 8 years as a storm blew it over and broke the pot. The roots were almost solid in the shape of the pot and it thrived with twice yearly defoliating and lots of growth. The nice thing about a ficus is it will grow year round as long as it has warmth and light.

ed

 

[tanlu]

Tanlu, most Ficus love to be rootbound as a matter of fact every variety I have ever tried, and those thick fleshy roots are ripe for the development of aerial roots. I have found that another way of stimulating the growth of aerial roots is by keeping the trunk of the whole tree in an enclosed moist (humidity) environment. I use large clear plastic boxes, like tupperware storage boxes. I water the plant and then seal it in and place it in the sun, they make their own oxygen and the box heats up evaporating the water which forms on the roof of the box and then rains back down onto the plant. This encourages tons of aerial roots to develop. I have seen others who cover the trunk up to the canopy with a clear plastic bag and have equally good luck. I just repotted my old Taiwan Ficus which I had in a blue lotus shaped pot for 8 years as a storm blew it over and broke the pot. The roots were almost solid in the shape of the pot and it thrived with twice yearly defoliating and lots of growth. The nice thing about a ficus is it will grow year round as long as it has warmth and light.

ed

Ed,

Your post was extremely informative! I'm going to try to place the whole tree in a large ziplock bag in the sun after watering it. How long should I wait until roots start to form? Don't you think that lack of air movement will cause fungus problems?

 

[FrankP999]

I would be very careful with a ziplock bag in full sun. The heat will build up and may get too hot and kill the plant.

 

[edprocoat]

Tanlu, I have never had a problem with fungus on mine. I do not wory about the sun affecting the tree either, they love the sun and the heat and being enclosed like that the water is drawn in by the plant and expired through the leaves as oxygen and then collects as humidity on the roof of the box and rains back down, like being in a tropical rainforest. I usually open my box lid every couple of days or so and look at the plant as it gets all foggy and hard to see, maybe that helps with the fungus, when I open the box its the cleanest smelling air I have ever inhaled.

ed

 

[bonsaiman]

Try enclosing the trunk area with burlap, and keep it moist always, I did mine this way and it responded with alot of aerial roots and I redirected those baby air roots with flexible straws so you can direct them where you want them and leave them there until they reach the soil.
Bonsaiman

 

[Skoshi]

Depending on the size of the plant i usually put some of my Ficus in a sealed 120 gal fish tank near the window. You can get some cheap CFL bulbs of the proper spectrum (2700k) and a reflector to increase the growth rate in keep inter nodes close. Mist the plants often and burp your enclosure every other day for a half hour or so. Use sand or better yet orchid bark as a substrate to keep the humidity up. I try to keep the temp inside the enclosure between 75-80 f seems like i get more mold and fungi if i go higher. The trick here is to just let the air roots grow. Avoid putting the air roots in straws in this scenario. Some of the air roots will grow directly into your pots, and some will grow down past the pots and into the orchid bark at the bottom (keep it moist). The roots that grow past the pot will thicken quicker than the others and can be cut hit with some rooting hormone and placed in the soil at a later date with a great success rate.
All this may seem like a pain in the rump but the results are incredible.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Depending on the size of the plant i usually put some of my Ficus in a sealed 120 gal fish tank near the window. You can get some cheap CFL bulbs of the proper spectrum (2700k) and a reflector to increase the growth rate in keep inter nodes close. Mist the plants often and burp your enclosure every other day for a half hour or so. Use sand or better yet orchid bark as a substrate to keep the humidity up. I try to keep the temp inside the enclosure between 75-80 f seems like i get more mold and fungi if i go higher. The trick here is to just let the air roots grow. Avoid putting the air roots in straws in this scenario. Some of the air roots will grow directly into your pots, and some will grow down past the pots and into the orchid bark at the bottom (keep it moist). The roots that grow past the pot will thicken quicker than the others and can be cut hit with some rooting hormone and placed in the soil at a later date with a great success rate.
All this may seem like a pain in the rump but the results are incredible.

Yep, I've got rubiginosa seedlings growing aerial roots that are rooting straight into the gravel below.