Encouraging root growth on the trunk.

CracketyJones

Hi,

Recently I bought a Ficus microcarpa that I thought would make a good bonsai with some work. It has some nice branches and the topper two thirds of the trunk is quite nice. However, lower on the trunk there's a pronounced and very badly done twist. I was hoping to encourage some root growth to hide the lower part of the trunk. My plan was simply to pack the lower part of the trunk in peat moss wrap it in plastic wrap and just leave it for a year or two. Do you think that this would encourage the root growth that I'm aiming for? Thanks for your thoughts on this.

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BonsaiManNJ

Hi, if you keep the humidity high this will encourage airial root growth in ficuses. Or you could air layer above the nasty curve, this would probably be better. DAVE

Globalist1789

Your plan should work great. And it's better than raising the heat and humidity in your house just to grow some ficus roots.

soonami

Moistened, but not wet spaghnum moss would probably work better though. Also, scoring the bark by cutting slits into the bark and applying rooting hormone can help promote more uniform rootage. Or, you can bury the part of the trunk that you want roots to grow from and slowly remove the soil as roots grow in