ficus retusa progression
- Thread starter ericN
- Start date
ghues
Omono
Hi Eric,
Nice progression.
How long did it take for the aerial roots to take (it looks like you used the plastic straw method)?
Cheers Gman
Nice progression.
How long did it take for the aerial roots to take (it looks like you used the plastic straw method)?
Cheers Gman
ghues,
thanks, this tree still have a long way to go but its going somewhere.
the ariel roots usually takes around two weeks (more or less) from a stub to reach the soil level. i took out the straws after 4 months. now im trying to fatten them up with a good fertilizing regime.
eric
pine queen
Seedling
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- 0
Very nice eric!
Pq
Pq
BonsaiMon
Yamadori
Nice work Eric.. for indoor grown you are doing all the right things..
Time to get it into a shallow wider pot and continue with ramification.
Time to get it into a shallow wider pot and continue with ramification.
Nice work Eric.. for indoor grown you are doing all the right things..
Time to get it into a shallow wider pot and continue with ramification.
thanks tom,
my plan on this tree for this year is to get more ariel roots closer to the trunk and it might require wrapping the trunk with sphagnum moss and plastic. i am also trying to thicken some ends of major branches that i started growing last year before going to a shallower pot.
indoor growing is slow but its getting there.
eric
BonsaiMon
Yamadori
thanks tom,
my plan on this tree for this year is to get more ariel roots closer to the trunk and it might require wrapping the trunk with sphagnum moss and plastic. i am also trying to thicken some ends of major branches that i started growing last year before going to a shallower pot.
indoor growing is slow but its getting there.
eric
my thoughts on the wider pot, not necessarily swallower than current, would help create more feeders for growth and greater moisture area(humidity tray effect).
How do you control the humidity levels in your grow area?
noissee
Mame
A more aggressive root pruning might encourage more nutrient flow through the Aerial roots, thickening the roots as well as the branches to which they connect.
hi tom,
thanks for the good suggestion. i will try to find a wider pot before july this year. as for humidity control, i don't really do anything about it, the humidity in my grow area hovers around 30% during winter and soon as i open the windows in spring and summer it goes to around 60%. in my observation, the plants react to the extra humidity by producing areial roots during that time.
hi noisee,
i do aggressively root prune this tree every summer and it always filll the pot with new growth in a short time.
eric
BonsaiMon
Yamadori
Looking good.. nice ramification going on.
Looking good.. nice ramification going on.
Thanks Tom, this is the first defoliation of this tree and still a long way to go.
Dustin Mann
Seedling
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I echo Tom's suggestions about (1) prune surface roots, (2) longer/wider growing area. I have wrapped roots to trunk/plastic bag; that is fine and will get aerials. However if you don't prune surface roots your first 2 primary branches will remain thin(not much thicker than a pencil)The surface roots will wrap around pot and under trunk(fig roots are aggressive/invasive)Have had thick surface roots so strong that I used concave cutter and made a wall nebari. Realize your growing conditions different(humidity). I have opposite- 150 trees in greenhouse that humidity never below 60-70%. Some green islands will grow aerials around branches like someone with hairey arms. Dustin Mann
Just an update. Finally had the chance to re-pot the tree yesterday. I am really happy with the ariel roots that I got this year. Last year, I cut the last of the big roots that i was reducing for the past 4 years. The pot was full of roots and almost all of them are fine fedder roots. The root ball is now as flat as a pancake. Its sat perfectly in the new shallow Sara Ryner 15 x 12.5 x 2 pot that I just got from the Chicago bonsai show. I do hope that this shallow pot will help to produce more surface roots. The tree stands at 12" above the soil line, 24" wide and the trunkline is about 6-1/2".
Its a bit overgrown. Needs a lot of trimming and shaping, but its getting there.
Eric
Its a bit overgrown. Needs a lot of trimming and shaping, but its getting there.
Eric
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BonsaiMon
Yamadori
Looking great Eric... a happy camper for sure... like the pot.
mat
Chumono
Eric, thanks for updating us on this one. Very nice banyan style. Makes me re-think my big retusa a little...
edprocoat
Masterpiece
Very nice work with this Ficus ! I love the pot, all around you have made some great choices with this one. I am a fan of tropicals my myself.
ed
ed
