Ficus Trees in Containers
tapla
11 years ago
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andersons21
10 years agolast modified: 7 years agotapla
10 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRelated Discussions
Update on Fainting Ficus Tree
Comments (1)Bare-root them and send them to me - I'll build a bonsai tree out of them. ;o) The windowless garage is a probable death sentence. When you posted before, I suggested the probability of a soggy soil, but you were pretty adamant that the problems didn't originate there. I only mentioned that because a repot back then would likely have cured the problem. It still might, but the recovery for the plant at this time of year is fraught with quite a bit more uncertainty than it would have been then. I'm not sure how often (if at all) freezing temps come calling in your neighborhood, but the top of the tree (above the roots) won't tolerate freezing temperatures, so let that be your guide as to whether you should go through the effort of placing the trees in the landscape. You could always cut the trees back hard to a single branch & wait for them to back-bud. Later, you can prune as required to complete the makeover. This is only a viable option if the trees were growing with good vitality. This would make them considerably less unwieldy, and perhaps allow you to over-winter indoors? If your very interested in saving them, you could also just go for the root and top reduction, which would allow you to put them in a much smaller container. Recovery would be slow, but you would end up with trees that have character and that you've nursed through hard times, a thought many would take satisfaction from. Good luck, no matter what you decide. ;o) Al...See MoreFicus Trees in Containers IV
Comments (324)Not sure what you mean; but, the tallest branch closest to vertical should be the leader. The very long branch near the top (if it's a single branch with no branching) should be cut back to 2 leaves. Other branches might need pruning too, but I can't tell from the 2D images what is needed. Maybe some additional images after you prune the long branch and the leader. For this type of pruning, timing is important, and where you live dictates appropriate timing, but we don't know where you live. You'll get the most enthusiastic response from pruning if you cut your tree back when it has plenty of reserve energy and just before it's ability to make food (carry on photosynthesis) is about to peak, which occurs around Father's Day or the Summer Solstice. Watering from the top so at least 20% of the volume of water it took to wet the soil exits the drain hole is about right. Water slowly so you are sure you're wetting the entire soil column. Using a wooden "tell" made from a dowel rod gives you a precise idea of what moisture levels are deep in the pot where it counts most. Withhold water until the tell comes out nearly dry. See more about using a "tell" below. Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 is a superb fertilizer for houseplants. The nutrient ratio is great, it gives you complete control over what your plant gets, in terms of nutrients, and when it gets it, and it's a complete nutrient supplementation plan from a single package/ source. If you're flushing the soil as you water, you should be fertilizing at production rates about everything 3rd or 4th time you water. It makes MUCH better sense to tie your fertilizing intervals to the number of times the planting has been watered as opposed to the calendar. To keep track of who needs fertilizer, drop a marble or button into the pot when you water, and water when you're about to toss in the 4th marble. In winter, you might want to go to every 5th watering and in summer every third. 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 leads 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. It 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'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends 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 comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al...See MoreNeed help reviving Fiddle Leaf!
Comments (0)Hi, I am a first time houseplant owner and recently picked up a fiddle leaf tree a few days ago. It is looking pretty run down and I thought I would be able to revive it, which I’m starting to think is going to be a large undertaking. After reading some different posts I have to basic info of suggested watering, light, and kind of soil but still have questions. As you can see from the attached pictures the tree is multi stem, leaning to the side, with a lot of crispy brown patches on the leaves. I have read that this could be to root rot/ over watering or too much salt intake? I have read : http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1493078/ficus-trees-in-containers So I wanted to make sure that I’m caring for this correctly. I am thinking of flushing it out and potting up with a 3-9-6 fertilizer, since it is March I will wait till June-July to fully repot and cut the roots. I live in CA, so I mainly have had my tree inside for now (it’s only been 2 Days since purchase), but it should warm up in a few days so I can put it outside for some fresh air. 1. Should I water with tap or is it better to use filtered? 2. As far as flushing: Do I just take it outside, take it out of the pot and rinse the soil then let it dry out for a while? 3. For potting up: I have read that some people put a thin layer of pebbles at the bottom of the pot, (Or like listed- crushed up granite) or is it recommended to mix it with the fertilizer? From the pictures attached, do you think that the roots are “root bound” (which I think means coming out the top of the soil)? Does this mean it needs a bigger pot? What does root rot look like, and how would I know if it was rotted? Because of the brown crispy leaves, would it be okay to cut off a few inches of the bottom roots just as a precaution? 4. Should I cut off the browned, dead leafs? Or can I just cut off the portion that is dead on the leaf, or will that kill the whole leaf? I’ve also read about scraping the dried crispy stuff off the stems, is this bad? 5. There is 5 stems (or Trunks) that are being supported and tied together - How can I make them strong so they don’t have to be? Or will they always stay this way? Sorry for all the questions, I tried to read a bunch of posts so I wasn’t asking the same things, but just need to clarify some things and really appreciate anyones input! Since I’m new to this, I’m not clear on some gardening terms so please simplify any answers for me : ) THANK YOU! I made a link for my pictures - let me know if there is a problem seeing them. http://dyingfiddleleafplant...See MoreAmateur hour: ficus edition
Comments (15)Nice tree - my wife likes the braided ones, I tend to go for sort of "informal upright" trees. I can't claim to know the first thing about bonsai, but influenced by bonsai trees, I try to keep the trunks relatively larger than the upper portion of the trees. It looks like you have a schefflera brassaia next to your ficus? I have a schefflera arboricola on the opposite side of my ficus retusa, and you can see a small ficus benjamina on the other side of the retusa (it is 3 cuttings inosculated together). I believe the ficus retusa is 20-some years old, but I haven't been caring for it nearly that long! You can see how it lost it's leaves after a shocking move/transition. You can really see what I mean by needing to trim the branches after the leaves were lost: they only regrew at the ends of branches (apical dominance). Now these are "sacrifice branches": serving only the purpose of thickening the branches until I prune them way back very close to the primary (trunk) so new branches can re-grow. I didn't have the guts to trim as much as I should have, but now I'm mentally preparing myself to chop off all the branches. Also, the fig (ficus carica) on the far left of the top pic lost all its leaves when it got smashed, then frozen. The last picture shows how it recovered (with a vengeance). That pic is from a week ago, it has a lot more leaves and branches now! I definitely agree about soil that is too retentive - I never use MG. I love this gritty mix - very well draining!...See Moreandersons21
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