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cyndi_fl

Wanting to do some bonsai cuttings....

cyndi_fl
16 years ago

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on doing bonsai propogation from cuttings. I have a small bonsai (not sure what type- it was a gift years ago) and I'd like to take some cuttings and grow several more. However, I haven't had much luck lately with cuttings actually producing roots for me, so was wondering if anyone could help me out on what method is best to take cuttings and what gel/powder is best as well. Thanks!

Comments (9)

  • lucy
    16 years ago

    If you don't even know what plant you've been growing for years, it's hard to advise you on propagation. Post a picture of your tree and we can go from there.

  • cyndi_fl
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I can do that... if someone can tell me how to post the pic of the tree :) Sorry- I'm very new to the forums and don't know how to put a picture in.

  • adoptedbygreyhounds
    16 years ago

    Hi, Cindi_fl, see below for a link to how to add images to your post. It was started in Garden Web by IKEA kitchen cabinet fans, but it works in general. After you download your photos from your camera to your computer, you have to download (upload?) to an image-hosting site on the web, such as Photobucket.com.

    I really like Photobucket because it is very user-friendly, but Shutterfly and Webshots are two others.
    Photobucket already has the URL tag prepared for you; all you have to do is copy and paste into the text of your post.

    Also, there is a place to practice this called the Test Forum. There is a link near the bottom of the main page of the bonsai forum.

    Here is a link that might be useful: How to add images

  • cyndi_fl
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Ok here are the pictures. Thanks for the help page on putting them in! :)

    {{gwi:14074}}

    {{gwi:14075}}

  • lucy
    16 years ago

    Hi, it's a ficus and will root in a glass of water (or pot of perlite, or grit of any kind).

  • cyndi_fl
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    'Scuse the ignorance here- like I said, I'm totally new to this... but isn't the ficus a fig type tree? Does that mean this isn't a bonsai at all? (Only reason I said it is a bonsai is the tag in the container says "bonsai tree".) Thanks for identifying it for me in either case.

  • lucy
    16 years ago

    There are hundreds of Ficus varieties, some of which grow figs (Ficus carica is the major one and has large leaves), all of which bleed latex when cut (Ficus elastica is the 'rubber' tree plant (big very dark burgundy leaves), etc. Most can be bonsai'd, some are inappropriate though have been tried, but the majority of any you'd be likely to see in the U.S. are bonsai'd all the time - maybe the most popular bonsai out there along with Juniperus procumbens.

  • cyndi_fl
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks for all the help with this! I took one cutting and am currently trying the water rooting idea on it along with some gardenia cuttings. I'll give it a while and see how it goes. :)

  • lucy
    16 years ago

    Hi - you said "Does that mean this isn't a bonsai at all?" A bonsai isn't either one type of tree (anything but!) or something necessarily already a 'bonsai'. It's a regular tree of 1,000 kinds that is trained over time to grow in a pot - tropical ones can be grown indoors if you have enough (or supplemental) light, humidity and knowledge, and anything that would normally grow outdoors in your climate IF you were in the north (I see you're not) would have to be grown outdoors in pots protected from weather to some extent in winter, but still allowed to have the cold dormancy they need. I guess it could be confusing in Florida as what's 'tropical' and indoors for winter to us up north, is normal and outdoor for you there, but you will discover that many trees that grow in the north can't always be grown there as it won't get cold enough for long enough, but we all have similar problems.

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