in propogating what is the best method TO use for the benjamina ficus?

Question

wood cuttings or air cuttings?
and what is the difference between the two methods?

Answer 1

They are one of the easiest of the soft wood trees to prpogate.
Trimming newly grown branches, and putting them in water, or dipping them in root-tone and then in a growing medium is how I have always done it.
These are both successful about 90% of the time.

Answer 2

You can come over to my house and take my 2 3stories tall ones. They are about to undermine my foundation. Or you can pick up some wood cuttings when the Arborist cuts them down in a couple of weeks.

Just kidding about coming over. Thanks for letting me vent. I'm just sick about killing them but they just got too BIG. About 35 feet tall and still growing. And with big surface roots too. The landscape architect that lived here and planted them behind the structural arch in the 1980s must have thought they were cute when they were little.

I haven't tried propagating them, but from what I learned in college, they would be good for both. The smaller trees tend to send down rootlets from lower branches which would be a great location for air layering.

Answer 3

Fertilize the plant with general purpose fertilizer once or twice a month during the growing season. Propagation can be done by AIR LAYERING, which improves the rootage of the tree. Also important is not to let the roots soak in water, the soil should be just "Moist."
HOW TO DO:
http://forum.bonsaitalk.com/archive/index.php/t-1141.html