Monday, May 8, 2017

Ficus Benjamina Adventures

Hello Lovely readers! It's Monday and I'm in a great mood! Those two things don't seem to belong in the same sentence. Lol!
Our family had a great day yesterday. Our friends from back home were on vacation and just over an hour away so we drove up and got to hang out all afternoon. It was very refreshing to be able to hang out again and chat and let the kids play. It was a little hard getting the kids up this morning, they were so played out! But our hearts are full and the sun is shining. 

I've decided to do an experiment and try propagating my Ficus Benjamina. (Better known as a weeping fig.) There were a few branches starting to grow out pretty long on the sides. I do want her to get fuller, but these random branches looked silly on the sides. I am letting the top branches get longer so she can look bigger.

I have never tried propagating anything before so I am half expecting my experiment to fail. But if I never try then I'll never get it right. I wanted to trim the branches anyway, so it's not a real loss if the trimmings don't root.
I cut off 3 branches of new growth approximately 5 inches long. I removed all the leaves except the top 2 and have placed them in cups of water. They will sit on my counter beside my South facing window so they can get bright indirect light. 


I read some instructions that said they should take a few weeks to start growing roots. I will have to change the water every 5 days or so.
I might also experiment further and make a terrarium type of setup to put 1 in to see if it will root faster. The warmth and humidity is supposed to accelerate the process. But I will have to be careful and keep watch that it doesn't get moldy.


I'm excited to see if this works! Wish me luck! 😀

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