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manIK
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WaterBorne Cuttings [rooting]

Not exactly a series of Bonsai shots [yet] but I thought I would share some close-up pics of my latest two waterborne cuttings.

I did a major cutback on Grandma and I just could not part with these two branches - and they are branches - all bark. So I figured I'd just do what I do and dump them in some water, let them root and plant them then give them to a friend.

I'll try my best to keep this updated.

Here are the two in the water after about, hmm.. three weeks'ish.. ?

[img]https://img715.imageshack.us/img715/3003/waterborn1.jpg[/img]


I took them out to inspect those little white chunks [whatever they are called] to clean them off around the top [don't want it to root too close to the top] and take some pics just for curiosities sake.

[img]https://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9784/waterborn2.jpg[/img]

..

[img]https://img543.imageshack.us/img543/2130/waterborn3.jpg[/img]

..

[img]https://img84.imageshack.us/img84/4154/waterborn4.jpg[/img]

So - it'll be a little while before the roots are significant for potting.

If you're wondering why I don't just use rotting goop and pot them or whatever, it's because I'm broke and an empty bottle and water is free (:

Plus I've always had great luck with waterborne cuttings - they always root and they always survive through potting and so on [I'm 12 for 13 so far] - so I'm gona stick with it (;
Last edited by manIK on Mon Apr 09, 2012 4:29 am, edited 3 times in total.

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manofthetrees
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howdy manIK,
I would sugjest putting them in soil now seeing the roots have started .I have had bad luck with fully grown waterborn roots, when it is time to plant them ,they are very brittle and not suited for nutrient and water uptake in soil . I expieramented with this and the soil grow roots grew faster and finer.the water only ones were much fatter and were like white worms on the cutting.course sand will work for a soil medium (thats what I used before I had a bonsai mix) set them in a tray and water them from the tray to prevent moving the cutting.I went as far as to wire them into their pots. keep 'em wet and they should be good.best of luck

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manIK
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That's just it though - I've had tremendous luck. I typically wait until the roots get to about 2/3 of the way to the bottom of the bottle before I pot them.

I put them in very loose gravel mix [in fact I use snow melting gravel [no salt kind]] which is both coarse enough to let water flow free and fine enough to compress down and hold the roots in place.

I keep it pretty wet for the next week or two, depending on what time of the year it is, so that the waterborne roots have time to adjust - then let it dry out over the course of about a month [spreading out the waterings to once every two or three days] before moving into the regular watering pattern they need.

They stay in the training pot for about 7-9 months then get moved into an actual mix.

You're right, of course, waterborne roots are very fragile - however as long as you're careful when potting it for the first time, and as long as you don't shock them dry, they should harden up and take hold just fine.

And of course, these Ficus are very hardy - I don't know if it's the species or the strain I have but I haven't killed one yet and I've abused quite a few of them while playing around [wiring/potting/cutting back].

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manofthetrees
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well thats not the first time ive been wrong :wink: .just figured you were new to this . I had a large cutting that if it rooted would have been a great clump style let the roots grow put it in soil and 2 weeks later ...well you know

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manIK
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Naw, you weren't wrong - I just happened to have forced myself to get the cheapest possible method working for me.

I've read others not having the best luck using this method so I'm convinced it's a combination of method, species and strain. I tried with a Fukien Tea cutting, once, and that thing sat in water for almost two months and never threw a root! So, major fail there.

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manIK
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Just a quick update:

+4 weeks
[img]https://img827.imageshack.us/img827/2600/waterborneroots1.jpg[/img]
Last edited by manIK on Mon Apr 09, 2012 4:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

linlaoboo
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w'sup with your pictures, would've love to see them since I employ the same method since winter to now while temperatures aren't warm enough for the roots to be at around 70 deg F. Have had no failures transitioning them to soil on different kinds of ficuses. Maybe other plants aren't as tolerant to this method. I also air layer the thicker branches and so far the success rate has been 90% from May to October.

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manIK
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Sorry about that. I've updated the post.

They are still in water. I've been lazy and I've got too many Ficus now lol. In fact, my last round [before this one] was of 5 cuttings and they are all planted together in a single pot. I'm probably going to do the same with this one.

So, 5 months on now. The roots are at the bottom of the bottle and I've been keeping the waterline down between 2 - 3 inches getting all the roots above to harden.

Here's a cellphone pic.
[img]https://img854.imageshack.us/img854/7920/waterborn5mos.jpg[/img]

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applestar
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Looks good. Do they still slip out of the bottle or do you cut the bottle open? I once tried rooting something -- I've forgotten what now -- in a GLASS bottle and couldn't get it out because I waited too long. That was a messy one :oops:

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manIK
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Ya, definitely cut the bottle. It's never worth trying to slip them through.

I empty the water out then use a pair of wire cutters to carefully bifurcate the top from the edge of the rim, down to about two inches into the softer plastic area.

Split it open like a lobster tail! ;)

linlaoboo
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That's some crazy roots haha. Curious do you place them near a bright window? I also use water bottles like that and I put some dark tape around the bottle to block out light exposure. Not sure if it make that much difference though

Can't help to notice in the picture you have some project going with another ficus. They are very rewarding since they grow fast and year round. They can be grown as ginseng style, exposed roots, root over rock, any style you imagine and aerial roots and branches can be created pretty easily. Strap a few cuttings together and they fuse into a bigger tree. I got so many I need to move to a bigger home to house them =).

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manIK
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Crazy is right ;)

I have the bottle near the window but about a foot away and it's not in *direct* sunlight. On some occasions I'll have algae growing in the water which I think is a result of direct sunlight [but I'm not sure] so I've avoided that. Not that I find it makes much difference though. In fact, I've noticed they root faster and more vigorously when there's some algae in the water. This time though, as you can see, there is none. I'm not entirely sure what causes it to grow or not.

That ficus you see in the lower right with the plastic cup and red tape is one I've been playing around with for about two years now. It's a RoR. Here are two pics I took last summer when I removed it to check the roots [I've since back-filled it again to get some more of that spidery root effect]

[img]https://img829.imageshack.us/img829/1760/ror1.jpg[/img]
...
[img]https://img38.imageshack.us/img38/1107/ror2m.jpg[/img]

They do grow really fast and all year around which is why I primarily only have those. That RoR is my 4th. I have another three in varying states. This one was grown for a friend so I think it's nearly done enough to repot this year and hand it over to them.

I also have my first fuse. Three into one. It's been stagnant these last few months - no new shoots and buds turning brown which I suppose is both a good and bad sign. Good in that it's finally expending it's energy fusing, bad in that I hope it doesn't do that for too much longer since I don't want it to miss out on this growing season.



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