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Fri, Feb 8, 08 at 19:55
| I'm looking to try and take a branch from an indoor ficus and eventually turn it into a bonsai. I'm going to try to use air layering, but I'm not sure where to get the sphagnum moss.( or even if that is the right thing to use.) any advice on the procedures of air layering and where to get the moss would be greatly appreciated.
-Jonathan |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Why not just cut it off and stick it in a glass of water, or dab on some rooting hormone and put it into mostly perlite and a little peat well mixed and wetted, but not 'wet' (lightly squeeze dripping water out). Or if the branch is very woody and thick, then do layer it. I got my sphagnum from an orchid grower nearby (it's New Zealand sphagnum... very good type), so if your local garden centres or others (Wal-Mart?) that carry supplies don't have any - and be very sure they don't give you 'Spanish' moss (very different animal!) - find some orchid growers. |
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| I have found some sphagnum PEAT moss at a Lowes website. Unfortunately it is "enhanced" with miracle grow. Would that be okay to use? - Jonathan |
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| No, it's not the same thing - that's meant to be used as soil (and does make up 90% of most potting soils, together with perlite) and it's really hard to wet it all through the first time you try, and then never dries out when you want it to. I would only ever grow something like African violets or azaleas in it - and that with lots of grit! Certainly not a good thing for Ficus. |
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| Hi Where are you located?? What you want is the long fibered type . Comes in plastic wrap in "bale" like shapes. They often call it "Orchid moss" in the form you want. Ficus are usually very easy to root have you tried the method Lucy described?? These types grow "aerial" roots naturally on their own . Save that N.Zealand moss for those Amherstias lol gary |
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- Posted by bill_ftmyers_fl zone10 SW Florida (My Page) on Sat, Feb 9, 08 at 14:00
| Here is what I have done on a Calamondin orange tree, in which people told me it could not be layered. I found a pencil width branch. Stripped the bark and the bright green layer from a circumficial area as wide as the diameter as the branch. Then I applied dip n grow (get this stuff, its awesome) per instructions. Then I wrapped it in the moss as described above, just make sure the moss is drenched before applying. I wrapped it in plastic wrap and held it on with wire, then wrapped it in aluminum foil to keep the light out. About one month later I cut the branch off and had a new tree. That tree is over a year old now and is planted in the ground at my dads and doing very good. I have a few bonsai books that go over air layering in detail, however they are packed away in storage, so I dont recall the names of them. Check out the link below, this is what I used on my tree. It worked very well. |
Here is a link that might be useful: spanish moss
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| Thank you for the advice. I think that I will go ahead and abandon the air layering method. Will it really grow an adequate root system if I just cut it off and put it into a glass of water? Is root stimulant necessary, or does it just speed things up? Thank you for your help! -Jonathan |
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| Don't use rooting anything if it's in water, but it'll grow stronger roots in soil. Use a 50/50 mix of peat moss and perlite, mixed very well, and then add trickles of water and mix well in between, until you have all of it moistened, but none of dripping at all. Then dip the cutting 1" into hormone powder and flick off excess. Stick it in the mix, put the pot out of direct sun, prop a chopstick inside and a baggie over that long enough to cover the jar's rim, but don't tie it. In the sun, condensation would attract mold, so just keep an eye on things (another reason not to tie on the baggie). Do keep it above 70 F. |
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| OK I already have some mix that I made just recently. I'm not sure if it's any good though. It's about 50/50 pine bark and aquarium gravel ( the not-enamel kind). It drains very quickly, but it just seems too coarse and not enough like soil to me. Is that normal in bonsai soil? I could post some pictures later if that would be helpful. Also, I'm not quite understanding the baggie part. Am I supposed to put it all the way over the plant and to the rim of the pot? Won't that cut off its air circulation? Thank you for your patience. -Jonathan |
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| The mix I mentioned is strictly for rooting or starting seeds, not growing established plants (that would like your mix, though unless I was growing conifers, I'd possibly have a bit less bark and replace it with perlite, as the gravel's heavy and could use some lightening). Coarse is normal for bonsai - makes everything drain quickly and prevents root rot. The stick in the pot is to keep the bag off the foliage, and the bag is plonked on top to help keep in humidity, but not to the extent where you get mold, etc. A lot of people use a drop of No Damp in the mix when trying to grow seeds or root cuttings (it's an appropriate fungicide). This is not an exact science - people do what works for them, for their trees, in their environments, depending on what's available, so read on your own as well, and try various things as you go along. |
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| OK thank you so much!! I'll be sure to use that mix. I just have one more question. Would the peat moss that you mentioned be that same sphagnum peat moss that I had found at Lowes? Thanks again! -Jonathan |
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| If it was a bag of very tiny particled, slightly reddish brown 'soil' that was very light (compared to loam), yes it would. But you don't need the peat... you can use just perlite with a little bit of other soil mixed in - but use very clean and never-used stuff for it, more important than how you'd otherwise use it to e.g. repot something. |
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| All right. Thank you for all of the advice! It was extremely helpful! -Jonathan |
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