fieldsmith Wrote:Hi Stu,
So after months of jealously drooling over your pics of the Ficus pumila var. quercifolia I was finally able to get some myself. In your experience, what are the keys to success with it? Essentially, I am aiming for it to cover 3 sides of my tank which are covered in clay.
Thanks,
Field
Great that you have some,its a fabulous plant,What form is it in a pot? if it is,then either put the whole pot in an empty viv or in a propergator,not too much light but enough to get it growing,keep the humidity up.as the plant grows under these conditions,you'll notice it will tip root,ie little white roots appear place a pot beside the first lay these stems on top,once they have rooted into it,snip them off,just cutting side of a leaf.
you now have a baby plant put this little guy right at the base of your vertcal surface into your substrate,if you plant these little fellas horizontally,they tend to put vertical shoot up but keep the first horizontal with pins so as to get maximum coverage
and you still have your original,plant uncontaminated,and producing many kids for your other projects,oh don't tell anyone this is top secret
.I bought one she's still going and i have got to use a couple (understatement) in the vivs. So back to your viv,your one plant will produce several of these so one can plant many to get the coverage you desire.I just have a hunch that if they can get their roots onto a clay background they might be a superb way of stabilising it as they will knit it together and create a micro climate behind the leaves,which i guess is what you have already thought of.!!!
These are not the quickest growing plants,not like pumilla,but when they are where they like the conditions they are real doers,as you've seen.
I can just pin cuttings,with roots, to the cork and they will take but they must not dry out,
They seem quite tolerant of wet conditions but do best with a free- er draining sub.
Finally look out for the versions from Equador and Columbia,slightly different leaf shape, and very different but very similar in that all the above apply panama,the last doesn't grow "tight" to the background like the others but is still a stunning plant
my arms falling off
Stu