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since it was my post that prompted this experiment i suppose i should comment on this...

my experience with wet-feet happy ficus occurred last summer. i was living in upstate NY, and it was a super wet summer. it rained a lot. i had a number of young ficus microcarpa (approx. 1 year old cuttings) on the back patio, some of which were in drip trays. it wasn't uncommon for it to rain quite hard for several days in a row.

i was concerned about the plants, but to my suprise they didn't seem to mind one bit. to the contrary, they seemed quite happy with their situation.

in my concern i would sometimes dump out the tray full of water they were sitting in, but they certainly did go many days in a row on many occassions sitting in their puddles. they weren't consistently sitting in water for months on end as seems will be the case in this experiment. while it was a wet summer, there were of course still many days of sunshine and heat, and the plants were watered regularly, not always in their trays of water.

soooooo, i realize i may seem to be backing off from my statement made in the other thread (the one where the guy i backed up turned out to be a total psycho! whoops!), but i was simply making a brief, broad statement about my experience to prove a point - the point being that plants (or at least, in my experience, ficus microcarpa) can take the wet-foot treatment and love it - at least to the extent that i gave it to them. i should have spoken more narrowly about my experience so as not to give the wrong idea.

my hypothesis for the experiment you ask? i wouldn't really be suprised either way, but it seems that never ever letting the plant get out of the water could maybe be a bad thing (you guys know this). maybe even more important is the youth of the plant used. it doesn't seem like its very well established, and won't be transpiring much. also the temperature there are not quite summer temperatures yet, although they weren't in NY when it rained constantly either, but there were those nice days.

anyway, great idea for the experiment, and i look forward to being at least partially proven one way or the other.

thanks john!

peace,

toby

30-Mar-2005	#3
Tobias bonsaiTALK Expert Join Date: Feb-2004 Location: Vermont Country: USA USDA Zone: 4 AHS Heat Zone: 3 Posts: 195	since it was my post that prompted this experiment i suppose i should comment on this... my experience with wet-feet happy ficus occurred last summer. i was living in upstate NY, and it was a super wet summer. it rained a lot. i had a number of young ficus microcarpa (approx. 1 year old cuttings) on the back patio, some of which were in drip trays. it wasn't uncommon for it to rain quite hard for several days in a row. i was concerned about the plants, but to my suprise they didn't seem to mind one bit. to the contrary, they seemed quite happy with their situation. in my concern i would sometimes dump out the tray full of water they were sitting in, but they certainly did go many days in a row on many occassions sitting in their puddles. they weren't consistently sitting in water for months on end as seems will be the case in this experiment. while it was a wet summer, there were of course still many days of sunshine and heat, and the plants were watered regularly, not always in their trays of water. soooooo, i realize i may seem to be backing off from my statement made in the other thread (the one where the guy i backed up turned out to be a total psycho! whoops!), but i was simply making a brief, broad statement about my experience to prove a point - the point being that plants (or at least, in my experience, ficus microcarpa) can take the wet-foot treatment and love it - at least to the extent that i gave it to them. i should have spoken more narrowly about my experience so as not to give the wrong idea. my hypothesis for the experiment you ask? i wouldn't really be suprised either way, but it seems that never ever letting the plant get out of the water could maybe be a bad thing (you guys know this). maybe even more important is the youth of the plant used. it doesn't seem like its very well established, and won't be transpiring much. also the temperature there are not quite summer temperatures yet, although they weren't in NY when it rained constantly either, but there were those nice days. anyway, great idea for the experiment, and i look forward to being at least partially proven one way or the other. thanks john! peace, toby __________________ ~Self-proclaimed dendrophile!