Ficus Fusion Bonsai - Update & Trim

[@WesLoneWolf]

Wow! that is going to be an incredible ficus; looks good now! Can't wait for the trim. Great idea on the rubber bands/plumber's tape, they won't leave marks! On some of my outside plants, I use flagging. Ties them up but allows for growth.

[@BonsaiBoise]

I've been experimenting with different things on this one for a few years now. Plumber's tape seems to be working the best so far

[@Nuggettfaz]

When I do a fusion, I use plastic grafting tape. It's cheap, non-stick and stretches with the trees growth (within reason). I just split the beginning and end of the tape and tie it on. Really easy and effective. cheers from Oz.

[@BonsaiBoise]

I think I tried some of that at one point and it sort of disintegrated into the bark. If I'm thinking of the same stuff. And I may have just bought a cheapo one and that's why too. So far, the plumber's tape has been working pretty good!

[@Nuggettfaz]

@@BonsaiBoise the grafting tape I use never deteriorates. They use it in orchards etc.

[@Nuggettfaz]

Grafting tape is specifically made for fusion/grafting. When you splice two or more grafts together the tape binds them and also has stretch to allow the graft grow and fuse together without choking it. So......yeah.

[@johnepley7583]

Put the airiel roots close to the trunk and let them grow to thicken up the trunk and fill in the open spaces

[@casvanmarcel]

great idea

[@BonsaiBoise]

Thought about that but I wanted to keep this particular project with the trunks only.

[@nikxohs3925]

as the tree is now , dont need rubbers or band. by growing trunks will connect any way. i just use 3 small trunks, wave them and they fuse in 3 years without ant fasting

[@mattbrennan647]

Nice work Mike. That’s a slew of aerial roots. Just let it grow out to fill those gaps or plant cuttings in there. Thanks, keep growing

[@BonsaiBoise]

Thanks! And yep, that's the plan. Just going to let it grow wild for awhile now.

[@koenvanmeerbeeck8724]

amazing video mike...will try that myself :). just starting experimenting with bonsai and have like 20 ficus cuttings in my grow tent for 3 months now and they are going strong. Can you already start pruning the cuttings for later shapes? or leave them just grow for another year or so?

[@BonsaiBoise]

Thanks I'm glad you liked the video! I've had better luck when I wait a little while before making any cuts. Once they've got a good strong root system, they respond a lot better. But could you get away with it? Yeah probably.

[@koenvanmeerbeeck8724]

@@BonsaiBoise :) super thanks for the response Mike. I'll wait another year and repot them in some good ficus soil around march time frame...do you have experience with grow tents btw? do the ficusses need some dorment state during winter? meaning should I drastically reduce the hours of light they get in december-january?

[@BonsaiBoise]

@@koenvanmeerbeeck8724 last year I had a small indoor greenhouse which worked out pretty nice. This year I got a much bigger grow tent with reflective lining and all that. Mine are still growing like crazy! I don't know if they do or don't need a dormant period in the winter but I don't think so.

[@Ollieslife101]

How long did those ariel roots in the canopy take to form? Man I wish my ficus fusion project (inspired by you i will say) would start to get airel roots but after 1 year my fusion is coming along good so far

[@BonsaiBoise]

Well thank you! And funny story about the Arial roots. I tried a handful of methods and nothing worked at all. Then I discovered the plastic bag trick. The most low budget, rediculously easy method of all time. I just used a clear plastic gift bag from the dollar store. Water the tree real good, put a bag over its head, maybe spray some mist into the bag once it's on, then wait. After about a month I had roots growing out of everywhere! I did the same thing to a bunch of others and got the same results. Just watch out for mold. You have to air it out every now and then.

[@jameswalker3416]

Why don't you add more cuttings to the base were there are gaps?

[@BonsaiBoise]

Thought about it and I am doing that with a few other trees. This one I'm sti king with trunks only.

[@mattbrennan647]

Ficus FOIST