Ficus, can I cut it?

[jasonjuiceon]

Got this ginseng as a gift. My first ficus. How do I get rid of the leggy parts? Can I just cut them off and plant it ?

Currently inside south facing window now that's it's cold outside here in Vancouver Canada.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

It’s cold now- light trimming only.
No root work right now.

 

[Shibui]

How do I get rid of the leggy parts? Can I just cut them off and plant it ?

Just cut off anything that grows past your desired outline. As already mentioned, far better to do pruning and any repotting on ficus when it is warmer but as long as the tree is growing a bit it should respond to pruning.
Ficus cuttings are generally quite easy to strike. Just remove excess leaves, dip the cut end into rooting compound and pop them into propagating mix. A clear cover to maintain humidity will help cuttings to root. Ficus cuttings will also root far quicker and more reliably when it is warm. Maybe defer trimming and cuttings until spring?

 

[Silentrunning]

Why not embrace the “leggy parts”? You have the makings of a most unusual tree here. This could be a tree that people notice and remember for its uniqueness. If it was my tree I would work on extending the legs.

 

[Carol 83]

My brother gave me a similar one he inherited from a woman at work, that didn't want it anymore. I sawed of the tubes and re-planted it. It did fine, but I did this in the summer.

 

[jasonjuiceon]

Thanks for all the replies!
I will wait in the spring/summer to work on it.

Off topic, the soil mix is lava,pumice and fir bark. How do i tell it's time to water? My wife has a moisture meter for her plants, does not seem to work with the gravel type soil.

 

[jasonjuiceon]

Why not embrace the “leggy parts”? You have the makings of a most unusual tree here. This could be a tree that people notice and remember for its uniqueness. If it was my tree I would work on extending the legs.

I was thinking maybe putting bigger rocks under those legs? "Instant root over rock"

I have till spring/summer to decide.

 

[sorce]

Nothing is instant!

Welcome to Crazy!

I would also look into appropriate branching beside just cutting back to your silhouette.

Then again....
This isn't exactly that type of material.

Sorce

 

[canoeguide]

Off topic, the soil mix is lava,pumice and fir bark. How do i tell it's time to water? My wife has a moisture meter for her plants, does not seem to work with the gravel type soil.

I'm pretty new, but I use a very similar mix for ficus (25% lava, 25% DE, 50% fir bark). Your mix is going to be hard to overwater since it drains fast and the main component that is going to hold much water is the fir bark. You can water by how heavy the pot feels, to some extent by sight, and/or dig around in the soil with a finger to check moisture until you get an idea of how often you need to water and what to look for. If it's damp-ish, it's okay. If it feels mostly dry, water it. After a bit, you won't need to manually check the soil moisture by feel and will sort of just know what it needs based on the other cues, conditions, etc. in my experience. These kinds of ficus don't get angry with a bit too little water or a bit too much, but I'd err on the side of too much with your soil mix.

 

[Shibui]

The good news on watering is that ficus are almost succulents. They can manage for quite a long time with low moisture levels so you have a lot more latitude than those who have chosen to start with something like a Japanese maple. Pumice/fir bark mix is hard to over water so as long as it is not actually sitting in a pool of water this one should cope.

 

[sparklemotion]

Adam Lavigne does a lot of good work on ginseng ficus. Example: https://adamaskwhy.com/2013/04/07/what-shall-you-do-with-a-ginseng-ficus/

When you repot next summer, you can definitely cut the roots off flat at a level that you like.

For watering, stick a chopstick or bamboo skewer into the soil. Before you water, pull it out to check it. If it is moist/cool, don't water.

 

[jasonjuiceon]

Here's an update. Not a lot of roots left after cutting the leggy stuff off. I took it in today as it's going to be 8C overnight for the next couple of days.

I like this as the front but you can see where the graft is. And the picture below is the other side. Should I leave it alone to grow couple years before making anymore major changes? Any advice on how to move forward with this one?
Thanks!!

 

[amcoffeegirl]

This one is looking good.
The best examples I have seen of these are with added aerial roots.
You may have to build a plastic tent to get that to happen in Canada.

What shall you do with a ginseng ficus?

Look at them. They’re tempting, aren’t they? This is the tree that seems to be supplanting the juniper as the official “mallsai” We call it the “ginseng” ficus, …

adamaskwhy.com

Adam just shared this one recently. I enjoy his blog for all things ficus. He is in Florida though so you will need lots of sun and warm temps to achieve this.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

One question for you did you use any kind of rooting hormone when you chopped those roots?
Couple other questions- did you wire the tree into the pot to keep the base stable?
Will you be able to provide warm temps and bright light to encourage its recovery?

In Iowa I’m in zone 5b we usually wait until late May or early June to repot or work a tree.

 

[jasonjuiceon]

I read a bunch of different articles that ficus can stay out overnight from a temperature range of 5c(41f) to 15c(59f) It has been 10c overnight the past week here. When is it really safe to bring them out? Lots of different number being thrown around.

 

[jasonjuiceon]

One question for you did you use any kind of rooting hormone when you chopped those roots?

No rooting hormone, I left some root but not a lot.

Couple other questions- did you wire the tree into the pot to keep the base stable?

Its been tied down to keep it stable.

Will you be able to provide warm temps and bright light to encourage its recovery?

It's been 64-68F during the day and 48-50F over night. Can I safely keep it outside permanently now? It's been growing in my south facing window since the first post.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

Just to be safe I won’t leave mine out until night time temps are 55 degrees or above.
Post an update in a month or so. It does look better this way.

 

[jasonjuiceon]

One month update. Just put it outside 4 days ago under my bench in the shade. It was inside before then south facing window since the last post. It survived! It had 1 little string of aerial root left after cutting all the leggy parts off. Going to let it grow out till next summer and then see what I want to do with it. Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[erich_raudebaugh]

You might want to try a broom style with this one. Give it a year to recover for sure.