[Tutorial] How to Develop Dynamic Figs Quickly

[Rockybonsai]

Yeah the thinner of the two has started to bud but the other one hasn't. Might be another death in my bonsai family it's not a rare occurence.

But on a lighter note i have finally got a monkey pod tree to grow from seed .It's a first for me, i tried some cedar of lebanon and some elm seeds but haven't had any success with them even after leaving the bloody things in my fridge for 3 months.

[Stewart_Toowoomba]

It's all new for me - monkey pod trees..

post a pic of the cuttings if you get a chance. Why do you think the larger of the two has not taken? Too large...

Cheers

stew

[Rockybonsai]

The botanical name for the monkey pod tree is Samanea saman and it is a native of the Brazilian forest. I hope that is all correct .

Not too sure what is going on with the larger of the two cuttings Stew maybe i mucked around with it for too long . I had to cut the bottoms of the cuttings with a cane knife cause i don't have a trunk splitter but you gotta work with the tools in the shed. I will get some pics of them both and post them asap.

Cheers Nick

[Rockybonsai]

Here are the pictures of the figs and the new shoots

DSC_0191 (685x1024) (Medium).jpg

DSC_0188 (1024x685) (Medium).jpg

As you can see in the first pic it has started to develope new shoots but nothing in the second one

[The Ficus Guy]

I did this technique to another one of my cuttings today. I also scraped the bark off from where I was doing the technique to allow the cuttings to take up water more easily.

[The Ficus Guy]

I also just did this technique to some Schefflera cuttings, but stuck them in water instead of soil.

[Hornet]

i tried this with a few cuttings a month or 2 back, unfortunately the trunks split a little too much while wedging them open, may have to tape them next time to stop them splitting further then i want. A couple died off early on but have about 4 or 5 that are now throwing new growth, both above and below ground.

[The Ficus Guy]

I took that same cutting that I posted here a few days ago and split it up to get more flare.

[Hornet]

how do you get them to split without them splitting too far up the trunk?

[The Ficus Guy]

how do you get them to split without them splitting too far up the trunk?

I didn't use the tool that the instructions mentioned, I used a sharp kitchen knife instead. What I found easy was just to soak the cutting in water for an hour or so, then slowly cut the base of the cutting, it goes right through, like butter. That way the trunk is wet and doesn't split all the way up. I took the cutting from my last post and cut it back since there was so much foliage and so little roots.

[Andrew Legg]

A bit of insulation tape wrapped around the trunk should stop running of the splits. At least I think it would.

[BonsaiPanda]

Hi everyone,
Just put a heavy cable tie on the trunk where u want it to stop and cut right up to it.

Cheers Panda

[The Ficus Guy]

Has anyone else removed the bark down to the cambium as I did in my pictures? My thoughts were that it would help the cutting absorb water more easily and lessen the chance of the cutting rotting. However I now fear that roots will sprout above where I want them to. I think if that happens though I can just cut the roots from where I don't want them and leave the cuttings until roots appear where I do want them. Thoughts?

[The Ficus Guy]

Well, my fears were correct. Roots grew where the cambium ended. However I was able to pluck them off and keep the lower roots. I washed the roots then repotted the tree into turface.

[The Ficus Guy]

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