what fig is this?

[milly_218]

just new to bonsai. want to no what sort of fig this is i have?
and allso i want to air layer some of it, can i do that now at the start of winter with a fig?

[Bougy Fan]

Hi Milly and welcome. I think it's a ficus microcarpa var hilli - bit hard to tell from the photos. You can air layer figs in winter here in brissy - just takes a bit longer due to the slowing down. Not sure how cold it gets where you are though

Tony

[milly_218]

thanks, it rearly gets under 10'C at night here. is that ok?
and all so can i do more then one air layer at the same time on the tree?

[Ash]

Yes just confirming it is Ficus microcarpa var. hillii. It will propagate much more readily and rapidly when the weather warms up in Spring. You could make several trees out of it but first I would layer the top with all the branches off to make new stock and and then latter when the trunk has produced new foliage I would reassess the bottom half of the tree to see what presents itself. regards Ash

[milly_218]

thanks ash, how long would a fig take roughly to make roots and be ready to cut off?
when i come around to cutting the main trunk off does there need to be leaves below the cut?

[Bougy Fan]

In summer 6 weeks will be long enough before youy can remove the layer. In winter probably 10 - 12 weeks. Just keep an eye on it for roots. I just use spag moss held in place with alfoil - when I see roots growing out the bottom I cut it off. You don't need leaves for the stump to live - it will shoot new leaves soon enough. Figs are very tough.

[milly_218]

ok, that sounds good. so i could do it now and it would be a problem, it will just take longer?

[Bougy Fan]

Sure - I have done some benji's about 3 weeks ago as I didn't want to wait. But it doesn't get as cold here so it won't be too much slower. Have you done air layers before ?

[milly_218]

nope, im new to every thing. was going to do it like this....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CREGA3jxGJE

[Bougy Fan]

There are some good threads on air layering here as well - just use the search function. As I said I use alfoil to hold the spag moss in place - sometimes with a bit of duct tape to keep it in place. Everyone has their own method, I like alfoil as it's easy to use and keeps out the light.

[Bougy Fan]

Here's one I prepared earlier Always wanted to say that

Airlayer.jpg

This was in january when we had all that rain - there was so much humidity in the air. This is a bit unusual to have so many roots out in the air.

[milly_218]

haha, thanks
so do you still strip the bark all the way around the trunk?

[Bougy Fan]

Yep - I just usually get a stanley knife and cut the top and bottom rings at least 2.5 times as wide as the trunk diameter. Then put a slit between them and pop off the bark down to the heartwood. With figs you can literally peel the bark off. You need to make it wide enough so the tree doesn't try to bridge the gap. It's lazy and uses less energy to bridge the gap than to put out roots.

[milly_218]

is there a way of just coping off a branch and sticking it in some spag moss and getting roots? or is air layering the only way to go?

[Bougy Fan]

You can do cuttings - I just cut base at an angle to increase surface area for rooting and slice a bit off 2 sides for good measure. Dip in some rooting hormone and into a free draining mix and keep moist. I also wire the cutting with some wire to the pot to stop it moving. Cuttings will not always strike but air layers on a fig should have a 100% hit rate. Cuttings may not fare so well down you way at the time of year though. I would wait until it gets warmer