Growing of a Ficus through a Tile

[bonsan]

A few weeks ago I bought in my local supermarket a ficus natasja to experiment with. I let it acclimatize for a couple of weeks and since it wasnt dropping any leaves and putting out new growth, I decided to start with the first project.


This is the patient, as referred to me


I bought a plastic sheet and cut it out to fit a container which I had previously bought for no specific purposes. I then decided on the definite trunk width and made some holes with a knife.


I then separated the fully fused root ball of the patient and placed one seedling through each hole. The remaining holes will be used later to fill up the cavity below the plastic sheet with soil as well as for drainage. I decided to keep the holes for the seedlings symmetrical. Some of the seedlings will not make it, which will add the required irregularity to the final design.


I tied the plastic plate down with a string running through the drainage hole. My knot game is not strong, hence the slack in the string.


The end product.

Your comments and suggestions are highly appreciated!
-Bonsan

 

[Ironbeaver]

How hard is the Plastic? I want to do this, but am trying to figure out the ideal material. I have plastic, heavy guage aluminum and some sheet brass. With plastic, I'd be worried about it deflecting too much.

 

[bonsan]

Hi Ironbeaver,

the plastic is 3 mm / 0.1 inch thick, I would be quite surprised if the plants would be able to enlarge the holes.

-Bonsan

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Your problem will be dieback. There's far too many leaves up there and they'll compete for light, ultimately killing some off. There's really not much you can do because even if you defoliated you'd still have the problem when the trees came back into leaf.

 

[bonsan]

Hi Ryan,

just the kind of advice I was looking for. How would you proceed?

-Bonsan

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Hi Ryan,

just the kind of advice I was looking for. How would you proceed?

-Bonsan

Like I said, you really can't do anything for them. You will lose some, but you won't lose them all. Just give them as much of the brightest light as you can and hope for the best, really.

 

[bonsan]

Like I said, you really can't do anything for them. You will lose some, but you won't lose them all. Just give them as much of the brightest light as you can and hope for the best, really.

Thanks, for the reply!

But considering, that I just did this one or two hours ago, what could I have done differently?

-Bonsan

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Thanks, for the reply!

But considering, that I just did this one or two hours ago, what could I have done differently?

-Bonsan

I suppose you could have wired the trees into a sort of umbrella shape so that the center of the clump was open and allowed more light in.

I personally wouldn't have planted on that plate either. While it's normally a good idea to do that with single trees, I'm not sure it'll work super well with multiple trees.

 

[bonsan]

I suppose you could have wired the trees into a sort of umbrella shape so that the center of the clump was open and allowed more light in.

I personally wouldn't have planted on that plate either. While it's normally a good idea to do that with single trees, I'm not sure it'll work super well with multiple trees.

I have read the entire Ebihara Maple Thread, I thought that planting several small plants through holes of a plate was a whole different technique all together. Am I mistaking?

-Bonsan

 

[Hank Miller]

Most of my Ficus Natalensis are fused trunk trees. To get good results the trunks should be wrapped (I use Chinese string but raffia is fine) and then allowed to grow. I simply bind together rooted cuttings and have never used a plate. To get a nice buttress and good nebari the cuttings can be splayed out by either inserting stones or pieces of wooden dowels or chopsticks. What is important is to let the tree grow and not to trim back the foliage while the fusion process takes place. Regards Hank

 

[sorce]

I've been watching my elm braid fusion for 3 years.

Lil trimmy here and there...
Still waiting for that year of excellent growth to start defining a safe cut point where it will heal well.

Tuff....but just keep watching!

Twiggy trim iffin they die...but that's it!

You'll end up with something nice out of this!
Just keep waiting!

Sorce

 

[bonsan]

Most of my Ficus Natalensis are fused trunk trees. To get good results the trunks should be wrapped (I use Chinese string but raffia is fine) and then allowed to grow. I simply bind together rooted cuttings and have never used a plate. To get a nice buttress and good nebari the cuttings can be splayed out by either inserting stones or pieces of wooden dowels or chopsticks. What is important is to let the tree grow and not to trim back the foliage while the fusion process takes place. Regards Hank

Thanks for the advice, I went out and bought some string to wrap it with. The biggest problem is that there is no taper in the trunk. I was also thinking about taking two or three seedlings out of the trunk to use as first, second and back branhces. But I have a spare seedling I could use to graft some brances, if it does not back bud.

Its been a fun project. It will be interesting to see how the base and trunk develops and how many seedlings will make it.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Thanks for the advice, I went out and bought some string to wrap it with. The biggest problem is that there is no taper in the trunk. I was also thinking about taking two or three seedlings out of the trunk to use as first, second and back branhces. But I have a spare seedling I could use to graft some brances, if it does not back bud.

Its been a fun project. It will be interesting to see how the base and trunk develops and how many seedlings will make it.

View attachment 163255

If that truly is string you may want to undo it. String is not good for fusing, as it will cut into the trees big time. Get something that expands as the trees grow, like electrical tape (non-sticky side), or grafters tape.

 

[Anthony]

Balance and harmony.
Try to keep all growing at the same rate.
Take out leaves if need be.

Natasja is a vigorous grower, perhaps next time just a larger, but more
shallow pot for a single plant.
See how it does.

How about a few local trees and shrubs as well ?
Good Day
Anthony

 

[bonsan]

If that truly is string you may want to undo it. String is not good for fusing, as it will cut into the trees big time. Get something that expands as the trees grow, like electrical tape (non-sticky side), or grafters tape.

Its raffia as Hank suggested, the strands are about one eighth of an inch wide. I bought it at the local florist's.

 

[bonsan]

Balance and harmony.
Try to keep all growing at the same rate.
Take out leaves if need be.

Natasja is a vigorous grower, perhaps next time just a larger, but more
shallow pot for a single plant.
See how it does.

How about a few local trees and shrubs as well ?
Good Day
Anthony

Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely be adding something local that next spring when it is more readily available.

 

[Anthony]

Raffia / organic material, is used, because it decays before cutting into bark or root.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Raffia / organic material, is used, because it decays before cutting into bark or root.

Right, bonsan just made it seem like he used normal string. Wanted to clarify.