Ficus questions

Brizznarth

Hello, new on this forum and I have a few questions

!) I have ficus plants growing indoors and I sealed some wounds several months back with Japanese cut paste and I was wondering, when do I remove this stuff from the tree? Do I wait for it to fall off? Will the plant grow through it?

2) A loud crack... followed by an immediate restyling opportunity." --John Dixon

So true a Ficus is now a semi cascade from an upright. Question here are do the rules about pruning the leaves below a branch apply to a cascade?

3) What gauge wire would you guys use for a ficus, my last 2 attempts have been to disasterous results to the health of the trees. Either it rips the bark off the tree at removal or the branches break off when wiring.

4) I have read many methods of increasing trunk tapers but how do I get the trunk and main branches to thicken on the Ficus? Everything I do from pruning it back to the main branches to letting it grow out only grows new small branches and doesnt improve the core shape at all.

5) How many Lumens should a Ficus have? I am getting grow lights for my Ficus, after reading up here the 15 watts seem to work well, but how far above the lights be above the plants?

thank you in advance for all your help

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randyburtis

i can only reply to question 1, the answer is both... i have had the paste fall off and it has been fine, i have peeled some of it off after a couple months, and that was okay, i still have some paste still on there after 3 months, and everything appears okay there too....

md4958

1. just let the cut paste fall off on its own. the tree will push it off as the wound closes.

2. Yes, same rules apply. The foliage should grow "up" from the branch, and be kept in neat foliage pads.

3. good rule of thumb is to use a wire that has the same flexability as the branch you are wiring. thicker branches will require thicker wire and thiner brances will, obviously, require thinner wire. If you try to wire a thin branch with thick wire your just going to end up disappointed.

By the way, try to always CUT your wire off with BONSAI wire cutters. They will save you many branches as they cut the wire close to the branch with thier snub noses. Unwiring a tree is rather tricky and not many people would recommend it to you.

4. Your trunk size or taper will never really develop in a bonsai pot. They need a lot of room to grow, which a bonsai pot doesnt really provide. If you want it to thicken plant it in a growing box. (See this board for information on how to build one, seach "growing boxes") Or see Brents article on trunk thickening on the Evergreen Gardenworks website http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/trunks.htm

5. Not really sure about how many lumens are required, but you dont want to scorch your plants. I would say if the leaves are getting hot, then its a safe bet that the light is too close.

good luck,
Moe

Headers

thanks for the growing in a box thing will that aply to all trees

pootsie

Yes, it does.

pootsie

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