creating aerial roots on a ficus

[thailand-steve]

i want to create some aerial roots on my ficus retuse and benjamina. (note that i plan on separating the branch below the girdle and using the branch as a peg graft)

i have started air layering where i want the aerial roots but i'm wondering what to do when they sprout? should i keep them in soil or moss and let them grow? should i leave them in air and let them find their own way to the ground?

is there any fundamental difference between an aerial root and a ground root other than the fact there will be no feeder root on an aerial root until it hits soil?

thx steve

 

[AlBooBoo]

great question.. i have been wondering on some of the same things..

do you have any pictures of the plant and how you encouraged the aerial roots?

and does someone have any answers ?

 

[thailand-steve]

great question.. i have been wondering on some of the same things..

do you have any pictures of the plant and how you encouraged the aerial roots?

and does someone have any answers ?

i'm still working on it but basically i'm doing and air layer then let the roots grow out of the moss not covered with anything but keep them damp and shaded from direct sun

but when you do the air layer you have to cut deep because ficus will just heal up without producing roots if you don't cut deep it seems

many people keep them in soil until they reach the ground then strip away the soil but the problem i have with that is they look like normal hairy roots, not single fat aerial roots. i think leaving them in air makes them grow the right way

here's one on a benjamina

this is about 4 weeks old i think, maybe less

 

[AlBooBoo]

Will try out this technique later

Dont wanna stress my plants further at this moment but i have been trying to wrap plastic around the trunk on one of my trees.. not too tight so i can mist into it with spraybottle and so far i have gotten new roots coming out from that stretches towards the soil inside the plastic.

I can take a picture soon so you can see the effect (have had it on for about 2 weeks now)
but do you think i would get more roots and faster if i had made some cuts before wrapping with plastic?

 

[AlBooBoo]

Here are some photos.

Before i wrapped it together again i also added 2 very small cuts in the trunk with a razorblade. vertically from down and upwards.. (a bit afraid to damage it)


The roots so far(about 2 weeks in plastic wrap)


And this is how the wrapping looks.. i mist it 1-2 times down into the plastic

What do you think?

 

[ABCarve]

great question.. i have been wondering on some of the same things..

do you have any pictures of the plant and how you encouraged the aerial roots?

and does someone have any answers ?

I have a old scheffelera and it puts them out naturally all summer (warm and humid). My problem is that the winter is spent in a cool greenhouse. The new roots just dry up and die all winter. I think this year I may try bringing it into the warm house and tent it with a humidity tray under it. Not sure that helps you with a ficus question.

 

[AlBooBoo]

Doesnt actually help with my ficus question no hehe

But i do think it will help for your plant
maybe you should try to use some wrapping yourself.. will definetly not dry out so fast then

 

[thailand-steve]

Here are some photos.

Before i wrapped it together again i also added 2 very small cuts in the trunk with a razorblade. vertically from down and upwards.. (a bit afraid to damage it)

View attachment 39552
The roots so far(about 2 weeks in plastic wrap)

View attachment 39553
And this is how the wrapping looks.. i mist it 1-2 times down into the plastic

What do you think?

interesting. i'm trying to get aerial roots so i can take cuttings and use the cuttings as a peg grafts so i don't care so much what it looks like at the air layer because i want it to grow over anyhow, but your method looks cleaner and i think will look a lot nicer if you are not cutting but simply trying to get aerial roots

i personally wouldn't worry about stressing a ficus out, at least over here you couldn't kill one if you tried

i'm going to try your method next

 

[xtolord]

Hi Steve,
From your location I'm assuming that you are in a tropical climate: warm temperature, moderate weekly rainfall and high air humidity.

I am in a similar climatic context, my ficus benjamina drops aerial roots in humid and warm conditions.
I've not yet seen any aerial on my ficus retusa [ both kept in the same area outside and under identical weather conditions ]
They also drop the roots more readily when healthy [ no recent pest issue, or recent defoliation on my part ]


If you want to force the tree to drop an aerial root, you could use sphagnum moss wrapped in the areas you wish it to drop the aerial roots. You can hold the moss in place with aluminium foil or some plastic.

If the pot is small enough, you could also bury the pot and ficus tree into a larger pot containing perlite or a similar high water retaining medium. That should provide an adequate environment for aerial root growth.