Ficus microcarpa cuttings

[Zelrod]

The twins look great! Do you keep them in full sun?

 

[SWfloirda]

The twins look great! Do you keep them in full sun?

Yes. I keep my repots on my lanai for shade, everything else is in full sun.
I took a picture of the rest of the cuttings today. I think there's five left in there. Spring growth looks great.

 

[Zelrod]

They do look happy! Nice work with the cuttings.

 

[luvinthemountains]

I wonder if you could try another take on the fusion method, grafting the branches of the cuttings planted together to each other's trunks for an "easy" shortcut to banyan style? The trunks can simulate columnar roots.

 

[SWfloirda]

I wonder if you could try another take on the fusion method, grafting the branches of the cuttings planted together to each other's trunks for an "easy" shortcut to banyan style? The trunks can simulate columnar roots.

When I first got the cuttings to take I thought about leaving them all together and making a forest out of it. I never thought about fusing the branches and going for that kind of look. Interesting thought for sure. But in just the few years I've been in the hobby I've felt myself getting much older, especially my back. So I've been trying to stick with smaller trees. I do have fun with these smaller ones.

 

[JackHammer]

I wonder if you could try another take on the fusion method, grafting the branches of the cuttings planted together to each other's trunks for an "easy" shortcut to banyan style? The trunks can simulate columnar roots.

I think i did what you are talking about and it does seem to make a pretty good clump. Mine are still just rooted cuttings but this summer they should start putting on weight.

 

[luvinthemountains]

I've felt myself getting much older, especially my back

I feel you there! My biggest tree is a monster corkbark elm and this came to my mind when moving it out of the shed this morning. Oof!

 

[SWfloirda]

Update on the twins. I keep all of my trees in full sun. This April-May-June we had almost no rain or even clouds. I noticed some of the smaller microcarpas started to look a little sickly and I moved them into shade for a month or so, most of the recovered right away, like the one with the split at the top.

 

[SWfloirda]

The one with the split at the bottom didn't fare as well. I had to keep this one in the shade nearly all summer. I was even ready to throw it away but it finally started getting some buds on the trunk. I repotted it yesterday and cut back all the branches that died off. I repotted it because it lost so much soil after the hurricane and it was so low in the pot. It seems to be much better now.

 

[SWfloirda]

Different set of cuttings but I'll put these in this thread.

 

[SWfloirda]

This one too.

 

[SWfloirda]

February of 2020. I repotted and rotated the tree 90 degrees since.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

Love it. Very inspiring.

 

[SWfloirda]

After hard pruning I have found repotting ficus when the buds are swelling is best, just like deciduous.

 

[SWfloirda]

Playing around with my new camera