Well.. A big ficus in my office needed a serious trim . One of the pieces that came off, was in my opinion great for a Ikadabuki. I have cleaned the piece, and put it on a bonsai dish. Covered with plastic foil in the hope it roots before it dries out...





Any thoughts? More trimming needed?

Nope, looks good. You need to keep a small amount of foliage. Make sure the container is covered nicely so that it doesnt dry out. Also remember to keep it out of strong sunlight until it roots nicely

Hmm, I've never successfully rooted anything that I didn't place directly in water first, but I hope this works out for you! I think raft styles are really interesting, especially since I've seen one in the wild. Behind the administration building for my school there's a creek, and a tree fell over across it. Well, since part of the root system was still underground, the tree kept on growing! You can walk across the creek on a completely alive bridge, as long as you can avoid the branches sticking out.
Good luck!

BassandBonsai wrote: Hmm, I've never successfully rooted anything that I didn't place directly in water first, but I hope this works out for you!

Ficus is really tough. The original plat was rooted by just placing a branch I found on the street in Rome directly in potting soil, covered the base with some foil, and put it in a warm (20+ C) room, light, but no direct sun or wind. Within 4 weeks the first groth showed. That was after I have carried it in a daypack all day in 30+ C in Rome, and left it sitting in my hotel for a week afterwards. So.. I *think* it will survive. Just a little worried about the bark that came off when I had to rip the branch to get a mor natural-looking end on it.

Hi J,

Wow...this is very cool!

I know little about creating this style however, you mentioned you are concerned about the bark that came off when ripping the branch. Is that the bare strip I see on top of the "log" in the first photo? I'm assuming you want that to sprout new branches (trees), is that correct? Would it help to cover that area with dampened spahgnum moss...or is that considered cheating? You may end up with a big bunch of roots instead. :S

I'm looking forward to seeing it's progression.

Dang, that is tough! So cool that you got to go to Rome, and came back with such an awesome souvenir!

Hm.. I hear everyone always going about using spaghnum. I am not sure where to get it here. And I am not sure about the real benefits . I have been growing plants without it for all my life, and not really face any problems with drying out. Also, covering the area where the bark has ripped might result in fungus growth on the bar I think. So.. THat's why I put the plastic on; It will reduce evaporation, I hope.

Well.. Going to Rome sounds exotic if you are in the States. In Europe it is just one of the places to go for a nice long weekend in Spring. Just like Barcelona or Ibiza

Spahgnum moss is "the" most recommended material to use when air-layering because of it's amazing ability to hold moisture yet it is very "breath-able". When using it for air-layering it is also wrapped with plastic to keep it from drying out. I have done this technique in the past on a Rubber tree with very successful results and without any fungus. Using spahgnum seems to encourage sprouting much more quickly than not using it. It might be worth a try!

Hmmm...I wonder if Europeans think of our Western continent as being "exotic".

lol; FOr air-layering I have used just normal commercial potting turf. Works fine too The layer is sealed with plastic anyway, which should keep things moist; My last layering took 5 weeks (On this eactual ficus! I grew 4 new plnats for my colleagues, where the plants just sit and make one leaf a month, the brown-fingered buggers ;d)

LOL! Oh no...just one leaf a month? :ohmy: And this is now that your colleagues own them? Now that's a plant with major "attitude" !!! Sounds just like my cat. :lol: