Ficus cut in water ("white sludge")

[darzuo]

I wouldn't worry. I've seen this when rooting ficuses in water before and they grew roots just fine. I'd expect the little white bumps to start extending into roots soon enough.

And not to derail the conversation, but AI is not the most well-regarded in this forum (and I'm sure in many others). Aside from the energy use / environmental concerns, the web-scrapers being used to generate AI content have been a topic of discussion fairly recently on this site. Not only does it take information that doesn't really belong to them, it frequently gives answers that lack nuance at best and are outright wrong at worst. Anyways, this along with other issues is part of why sites like this are having a hard time staying free and accessible for beginners like yourself.

Sorry to harp on something you didn't ask for, but if it seems that people are hostile towards AI usage here or on other public forums, that's why.

 

[jszg]

The actual energy use of a single query compared to the total use, and energy use in total, is not significant. It's like saving CO2 emissions by not using a gasoline powered lawnmower. Or saving the turtles with reusable bags.
The problem is that AI can just be stoichastic garbage. You aren't "chatting" with anything, just probing the output of a model that predicts what a hypothetical chatbot would say based on the probability of finding one word next to another. You have to fact check everything it generates.


With respect to the cutting, if it really is brown, you can cut off the dead tissue back to where it's green/white and put into fresh water. Anecdotally, aspirin helps but Ficus will happily root in soil. Take a plastic bag with some damp sand or perlite, put in the cutting, close it, and put it somewhere warm and sunny.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I was able to relatively easy scratch the bottom of the branch, so I'm not sure it's a good sign, and it's brown.
Also one of the white large spot seems to be having a leaf developing out of it, so I'm not even sure if it's developing roots or what.
View attachment 619587
View attachment 619588
And the branch kind of splitting like on second image, I'm not sure it was there before.

Yeah, cut sites tend to die like that sometimes, but the outer layer seems alive; it's forming roots and shoots, which means there's activity and a process going on.
I'd stop wounding it. Use 3% peroxide (teaspoon per cup) to down the bacteria a little.
Move it to soil when there's roots poking out from those white spots. Or, instead, keep it in a tiny layer of water and let the humidity do the rest. If the top is growing, it's going to have to produce roots to keep up.

As for the charcoal from chatgpt: Charcoal is used to combat chemicals that the plant releases if it's wounded, those chemicals can sometimes inhibit root formation and further development. Charcoal temporarily absorbs those and that in turn would lead to a bit better rooting. It is however, a perfect food source for bacteria once it takes something up, and it's whole intention is to take stuff up from the environment.
Hydrogen peroxide releases oxygen, which stops bacterial growth to some extent. It's also activated in germination and rooting pathways naturally occurring in plants.

 

[astronoob]

Man, this one hit close to home. Reminds me that I need a haircut.

I’m sorry if you are rotting inside, maybe try some 3% peroxide.

 

[astronoob]

The actual energy use of a single query compared to the total use, and energy use in total, is not significant. It's like saving CO2 emissions by not using a gasoline powered lawnmower. Or saving the turtles with reusable bags.
The problem is that AI can just be stoichastic garbage. You aren't "chatting" with anything, just probing the output of a model that predicts what a hypothetical chatbot would say based on the probability of finding one word next to another. You have to fact check everything it generates.

That’s why I like using Perplexity mostly, you can always click on sources and it will show you the links etc.

But yes, it does web scrap this forum and a whole internet.
But that’s the future sadly.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

I apologize but you asking gpt and whatever a question isnt going to get you a response which should be as follows:

1. How long has this cutting been in the water?
2. What was the condition of the branch when the cutting was taken?
3. How did you treat the cutting?
4. Can you share a full photo of the cutting?

Ficus cuttings root pretty much 100% of the time. Need more info.

 

[Wulfskaar]

The higher echelon of experts here sometimes appear to get a little frustrated when helping newbs. Don't take it personally. I often parrot what they have told me to others so they don't have to say the same thing for the 10,000th time.

AI knowledge of bonsai, in my experience, isn't great, so maybe that's why the facepalming is going on.

I'd like to encourage anyone with any real questions to freely ask them.

I'd also like to encourage people who have been here a long time to remember when they were 1 week into "plants". When I read my early posts, I realize just how far I've come, and also how much I still don't know. Let's not scare people away from the hobby.

 

[astronoob]

I apologize but you asking gpt and whatever a question isnt going to get you a response which should be as follows:

No problem, but why do people keep saying like if all I use is GPT?

As I have said, I use mostly Perplexity, YT, browsing forums and FB groups.
GPT mentioned charcoal, that's the only reason I mentioned it.

And I know GPT likes to hallucinate, same as Google's AI.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

No problem, but why do people keep saying like if all I use is GPT?

As I have said, I use mostly Perplexity, YT, browsing forums and FB groups.
GPT mentioned charcoal, that's the only reason I mentioned it.

And I know GPT likes to hallucinate, same as Google's AI.

None of those sources are going to interract and ask the questions needed to specifically address your situation. I used gpt as a catch all symbol for sources which will not ask qualifying questions like we will.

You didnt answer my questions, so I could give you some of my insight.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

No problem, but why do people keep saying like if all I use is GPT?

As I have said, I use mostly Perplexity, YT, browsing forums and FB groups.

There's your answer. It's not so much that you get outright bad answers from "scrubbers," it's that they are incomplete, inconsistent, out of context, and/or they lack wisdom and experience.
Your zeal has already been applauded, and I concur; but as you are poring through all this new information and trying new things, make sure you don't burn yourself out. I've only been here about a year and a half, and I've seen a couple dozen or so people come in, thirsty for the hobby, only to lose a tree or two and we never hear from them again.

Personally, I would question any AI answer before almost anything I get from anyone here who's been doing this, hands-on for more than five years. Ask Perplexity for pics of some trees that it's built. The discussion we're all engaged in here is far more productive and fruitful than any AI can provide.
If I might ask, is this your only tree? One of my early mistakes (I'll still be making plenty, I guarantee it) was putting all my eggs in one tree, before I discovered this forum. I literally loved it to death. When I started gradually acquiring different species, I had several trees to divide my energy on, and have since been able to cultivate some trees (mostly seedlings, tbh) with some potential.

 

[astronoob]

There's your answer. It's not so much that you get outright bad answers from "scrubbers," it's that they are incomplete, inconsistent, out of context, and/or they lack wisdom and experience.
Your zeal has already been applauded, and I concur; but as you are poring through all this new information and trying new things, make sure you don't burn yourself out. I've only been here about a year and a half, and I've seen a couple dozen or so people come in, thirsty for the hobby, only to lose a tree or two and we never hear from them again.

Personally, I would question any AI answer before almost anything I get from anyone here who's been doing this, hands-on for more than five years. Ask Perplexity for pics of some trees that it's built. The discussion we're all engaged in here is far more productive and fruitful than any AI can provide.
If I might ask, is this your only tree? One of my early mistakes (I'll still be making plenty, I guarantee it) was putting all my eggs in one tree, before I discovered this forum. I literally loved it to death. When I started gradually acquiring different species, I had several trees to divide my energy on, and have since been able to cultivate some trees (mostly seedlings, tbh) with some potential.

So I have a Ficus microcarpa (ginseng), a few cuttings of it.

Waiting for a delivery of Cork Jade and 2x sarcocaulis.

Will get more trees in near future. But I don’t like the idea of buying fully grown bonsai trees.

 

[astronoob]

You didnt answer my questions, so I could give you some of my insight.

Sorry, I didn’t because I cut off a large part of it and ended up putting it in mostly inorganic mix.

I doubt it will survive but if it will I will post it here for more advice. I did a large cut because as mentioned before the part with roots developing felt mushy and like falling apart.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Ok.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

But I don’t like the idea of buying fully grown bonsai trees.

Good strategy. You'll learn far more just figuring out how to keep them alive and thriving. Then, when you're far more advanced than I am now, maybe you could consider more developed works.

 

[leatherback]

I'd also like to encourage people who have been here a long time to remember when they were 1 week into "plants".

if you are also including me in this.. My response is mostly on the senselessness of asking question, getting advice, then going online in a chatbox, getting a different advice, and then doing the unmentioned option number three, and not even stopping one second to ask questions or converse with people on the why and whether the ideas make sense. Has nothing to do with remembering when I was 1 week into plants. And considering I have been growing plants as long as I have been able to walk-n-talk, I do not remember anything. But patience and asking questions is just a matter of attitude, not of knowledge.

 

[Wulfskaar]

if you are also including me in this.. My response is mostly on the senselessness of asking question, getting advice, then going online in a chatbox, getting a different advice, and then doing the unmentioned option number three, and not even stopping one second to ask questions or converse with people on the why and whether the ideas make sense. Has nothing to do with remembering when I was 1 week into plants. And considering I have been growing plants as long as I have been able to walk-n-talk, I do not remember anything. But patience and asking questions is just a matter of attitude, not of knowledge.

Yeah, just a case of OP getting anxious I think. I've been there.

 

[astronoob]

if you are also including me in this.. My response is mostly on the senselessness of asking question, getting advice, then going online in a chatbox, getting a different advice, and then doing the unmentioned option number three, and not even stopping one second to ask questions or converse with people on the why and whether the ideas make sense. Has nothing to do with remembering when I was 1 week into plants. And considering I have been growing plants as long as I have been able to walk-n-talk, I do not remember anything. But patience and asking questions is just a matter of attitude, not of knowledge.

The only advice before your post was this:

It's bacterial biofilm.
Sometimes it's bad bacteria, sometimes it's good bacteria.
Difficult to say if its something to worry about but if the cutting isn't succumbing, I'd say don't worry.

Pay attention to the words difficult to say.
And I didn’t follow GPTs advice,I don’t know where did you get this idea from?

My Ficus Ginseng had rotten roots, like 80-90% of them. And the thick rotten roots felt like the bottom of that cut, so I was like YOLO and made a cut.

Not a big deal, it’s just one cutting.

Also keep in mind that the first advice Wasn’t from a person that could have a good look at the cutting or touch it. I have posted one image.

Not saying he was right or wrong.

Anyway can we move on?