QLD small leaf ficus banyan style progression

[Jamie]

thanks champ

it is starting to get there I still need to work the nebari big time, it is starting to develop some surface roots but needs more time

[corko]

Hi Jamie, would love to see how this fig is getting on when you have the time for a couple of pics for us all.
Great work!!!

[Jamie]

hi guys

well its been a while since I posted a tree and thats due to not being able to really do anything so they are all looking somewhat over grown and scrappy as I havent had time to scratch my bum, I pulled this little fig out yesterday and decided to have a good play with it. some heavy branch bending was done with the two major branches, both had holes drilled through them and moved down, and it has been fully defoliated and wired. the right hand side had a couple of smaller branches die back which is why it doesnt look as ramified. this wont take long to come back im not stressed.

fig 001.JPG

fig wired.jpg

before and after. the nebari is still somewhat buried but is building well, I need to damage the bark some more and get some hormone powder on there to get some more rootspread happening, once that is going I will also be getting some trays of water in under neath to create humidity and airial roots to get that banyan look.

jamie

[Glenda]

hi guys

....... the nebari is still somewhat buried but is building well, I need to damage the bark some more and get some hormone powder on there to get some more rootspread happening, once that is going I will also be getting some trays of water in under neath to create humidity and airial roots to get that banyan look.

jamie

Does the 'toothpick treatment' work with ficus?

Glenda

[Jamie]

gday Glenda

yes the toothpick treatment would definately work. I could use that on this one but being a fig there is a lot of ways to do this without the need of toothpicks, it can be as simple as scoring the bark and burying it, alternatively little flaps could be cut in and a small wedge like a pebble could be used to hold it open somewhat, cover it in hormone and then use a plastic pot that has the bottom cut off, put around the trunk and filled with sand, the sand needs to be a type that doesnt compact, the new roots need to be able to get through.

alternatively the use of airial roots is a very easy way to accomplish new nebari by getting lots of them to grow (with the use of trays of water) and any that come out near the trunk are pulled down the lower trunk and held in place with a bit of graft tape or similar. these will fuse together to the trunk and will give quite a impressive base to work with. this method is used a lot overseas. some of the figs in Leongs ficus book have been created this way.
you can even just place a good amount of sphagnum moss around the tree on the pot (dont put it to close to the trunk as it can start to cause rot) give the sphagnum a clearance around the trunk about 3-4cm. this creates a lot of humidity around the tree and allows for airials to develop.

there is also another way to get the airials to develop and that is the use of plastic straws, get a few from the local macca's and split them length ways, the cut them to length slightly longer than the height is from the soil to the branch where you want the airial to grow. sitting this straw in the location you want the airial to be and having it go all the way to the soil will create humidity in the spot you want the airial root to grow and it will guide it to the soil, after a while when the airial has thickened you can remove the straw easily as it has a slit from top to bottom.

I will get some pics when I do the process to make it easier to see, this will happen once it has started leafing out.

cheers