Plastic Wrap on Fused Ficus
11 years ago
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- 11 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
- 11 years ago
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can you fuse bouganvillia
Comments (4)Hi, the problem with bougies is that the flowers are large, so in a clump, fused or not, it could get a bit crowded in there and not look so good, but if you want to try it, feel free. As far as fusing goes, I suppose it's more likely to work if the stems are not yet woody, and bougies get woody and brittle fast, but then I don't know that they wouldn't take, either. Don't prune what you don't have to (within reason) to get it into an appropriate sized pot, but don't sweat it because that's the first I've heard of a problem (which may or may not be valid). Obviously prune no more than necessary, as rarely as will still keep it healthy. Not a lot of help here, I guess, but there's lots of info. on them out there (hopefully more positive than what you read)....See MoreFused Ficus benjamina
Comments (2)Hi castorcrap, Yes, I did scrape the bark off both trunks where I wanted them to fuse, but I'm not sure that it is necessary. Jerry Meislik writes in his book "Ficus the Exotic Bonsai" only that the trunks have to be bound together tightly. No sealant. I wrapped them together tightly with raffia to protect the bark, then I cinched them very tightly in several places with plastic ties over the raffia. To be safe and not allow the ties to dig into the bark I removed them after 3 months and placed new ones in different places. CAUTION: it is most important to first place the new ties in the gaps and only then to remove the old ones. Otherwise, the trunks could easily split apart. Krys...See MoreFicus benjamina (& most other commonly grown tropical Ficus)
Comments (64)@JMJ 4Life Really sorry to learn about your tree. I assume some part of the root mass is fused, so the soil/root mass remains intact like so: If the answer is yes, unpot the plant and set the root/soil mass on a stack of newspapers, rags, old towels, dry sponges - something that will PULL excess water from the soil. Allow it to rest on the wicking material for an hour or two before returning it to the pot it fits. Use a wooden "tell" to "tell" you when it's time to water, because with no water loss from foliage, the plant will require very little water. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips in order to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions - which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma and creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell' (more reliable than a 'moisture meter'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) works better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half or in several pieces, depending on how deep your pots are. Sharpen both ends of each tell in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell's tip comes out nearly dry. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al...See MoreFusing Jade
Comments (1)Steeze, See the post about grafting jade (Crassula ovata) - that's what I'd do, but your idea sounds reasonable, too. And what's the harm? I almost remember something about grafting Crassulaceae but the CRS is too strong tonight....See More- 11 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)