Ficus Fusion Bonsai - How I do it

[@stefan00123]

If you want to make your wire straight search for some rounded surface where you can slide the wire on the rounded surface . Do this a few times and you have a perfectly new straight wire i do this now for the last 1,5 years and has saved me a lot of money 😁😁 The fusion is looking great! Always enjoying your video's have a great weekend with love from the Netherlands 🇳🇱

[@BonsaiBoise]

Sweet! I'll try that idea, thanks!

[@maryperrysmith5815]

Really enjoyed watching listening to you explain why and how you did this. Enjoy your weekend as it’s Friday 10-11-24.

[@BonsaiBoise]

Thank you!

[@DavidSmith-yk6li]

I’ve used that ultra thin plastic wrap for food to secure a half broken or twisted branch or so on ficus and Brazilian rain trees and it works really well. It’s very stretchy so you can really pull it tight and a big pro is you can almost see right through it to monitor the progress of the fusion. On the con side it’s very adherent to itself so it gets annoying and it’s not cut in a strip to perfectly wrap around but I fold it over on itself sometimes to make it a little thicker and tie it off to itself. It held up in the FL sun for months and was as good as new when I removed it.

[@BonsaiBoise]

I actually love this idea! I searched on Amazon for some narrow rolls but the smallest I could find was 3". I think I can make that work. I'll try it out and post it on the next update for these. Thanks for the idea!

[@DavidSmith-yk6li]

@@BonsaiBoise I just did it this week. I have a branch on a Benjamina that’s ’leggy’ in the middle but it has a secondary branch closer to the trunk where the main branch originates so I wrapped the secondary branch to the main branch all the way up to the middle of the leggy part of the main and left some of the secondary loose so it could ‘branch off’ that leggy middle area. Will use this as a time stamp to see how long it takes even though growing season is beginning to shut down but Ficus are relentless. This particular tree I started from a cutting literally this time last year.

[@BonsaiBoise]

So I just got some from Amazon and it does work a lot better! The width was like 5 inches so I literally sawed it in half so it would be workable. But way better and way easier to use than plumbers tape. Thanks for the tip!

[@danmaster18]

I would recommend to use grafting tape to fuse them. That’s what I use. It’s usually clear and is somewhat thicker than kitchen cling film. I use one that’s about an inch wide and once you get the first couple of wraps on, you pull it as tight as you can without ripping it then wrap it around the stems to be fused. A few layers of this is usually enough to get a good hold and it usually sticks to itself so you don’t need to tie knots.

[@BonsaiBoise]

Yeah, someone else mentioned that too and I might try it again. I used it on my first fusion 2 or 3 years ago and it ended up fusing into the bark. You can still see it in a few spots even now. But, I can't remember where I got it from so it might've been old tape, or just a bad batch or something

[@danmaster18]

@@BonsaiBoise I think that was floral tape. Budding/grafting tape should only stick to itself as it is to some degree meant to stretch as the branch or trunk grows.

[@BonsaiBoise]

@@danmaster18 ah ok. Well in that case I'll give it another look and see how it works

[@NoDecaf7]

I don't think I'll try to do another fusion project any time soon. It was a cool experiment, I learned what I needed to from it, I don't enjoy the way the trees look but I do find pleasure in seeing nature do what it does. I'll root cuttings of house plants and pot them just to do it, just to give them away or ultimately compost them. It is the joy of the experience. That is what a hobby should be, after all.

[@BonsaiBoise]

I do the same with plants and cuttings! I end up giving a bunch away to people all the time

[@jscott7151]

I use a green stretchy tape likely for grafting and kitchen twine which decomposes in an attempt to fuse my trunks together.

[@BonsaiBoise]

I tried that on my first fusion a few years ago and it ended up fusing to the bark in a few spots. To this day it's still on there. But I might've just gotten a bad batch of tape. I've been little hesitant to use it again after that.

[@RebelCatLady]

I wonder if you lightly scratched the area to be fused together at the very start if it would fuse faster. Sort of like grafting. I think scratching the starter pieces with a brass brush would be the best way to do this. Maybe you can try it and see how it works.

[@BonsaiBoise]

I tried this wayyyy back on the first one I ever did and I think I over did it because they died. But in theory, I've heard that can work

[@Tybold63]

I seen you fused before and what is your experience about the survival of the "inner layer" do they die eventually? What I refer to is if the trunks that are totally closed up inside the bundle can die off due to "strangulation" and nowhere to grow out. Cheers from Sweden enjoying KZbin trying to recover from minor operation and added cold.

[@BonsaiBoise]

Great question! I almost mentioned something to that effect in this video but then didn't. I usually try to keep the inner trunks taller than the rest, (whenever possible), for that reason. I haven't had a middle trunk die yet, at least that I know of, but I'm sure it'll happen sooner or later. Good luck on the recovery!

[@deepanjanbanerjee3491]

Wire does accelerate the fusion but difficult to prevent the bite. I have had fair success with grafting tape around the trunks with natural coir/jute rope tied tightly over the tape.

[@BonsaiBoise]

Someone told me about these thick strips of rubber that seem to work well too. Only trick is you have to tie them or pin them somehow.

[@paulking8491]

Will the fusion work if you use cuttings that already have roots forming?

[@BonsaiBoise]

Yep, probably happen a little quicker too

[@ShayanGivehchian]

Does it help if you bury it deeper than intended and have more root spread for a better final result?

[@BonsaiBoise]

Possibly! I can't say I've tried that intentionally but I might now

[@ShayanGivehchian]

How long do you think each takes ? I started a set of 3 already rooted and established plants and did braid them but there's still a gap in between them I'm not sure how long to keep the wire on.

[@BonsaiBoise]

@@ShayanGivehchian seems to be different per tree for me. The first one I did, (see my playlist for Ficus Fusion), I did the same thing you did. Braided them together, but it took a lot longer than doing it this way because of all the gaps that braiding leaves.

[@Yurup]

I'm wondering why you don't just cut up the cuttings, put them in water and see if they root before you bunch them up? Because now you seem to have dead twigs in your bundles.

[@BonsaiBoise]

I've done that too. Nothing wrong with that method at all!

[@davidmorrill2943]

Has any one taken some of the bark off to allow two trees to touch at the wounds, and thereby possibly fuse faster?

[@BonsaiBoise]

I've heard of that working. I tried it once but I think I over did it because they died.