Ficus Aerial Roots Problems

Hi,

I purchased a Ficus (Microcapa?) a couple of days ago from a nursery which had a great front except that it had an aerial root that wrapped around the tree and has grown into parts of the trunk. The root texture is quite different from the trunk texture which is a eye sore from the front. For now, I have removed all parts of the aerial root that is not stuck to the trunk. The one part I did carve out (and after healed with cut paste) was at the back of the tree and the depth of the cut is around 0.75cm.

My questions are

1) Do I leave the root on the front in the trunk and hope it heals over or is it best to cut out the root totally and carve the area down to allow it to heal.

2) Will bits of aerial roots stuck in the trunk rot since it is no longer connected to the tree at the terminals.

Thanks

Kevin

Hi
a picture of the tree would help. Do try and post one.....

Ravi

Hi Ravi,

Here are some pictures

Front view of Tree


Where aerial root has cut into tree


Another view

Hello...
I won't worry much it'll soon fuse together and will have the same texture eventually,if the bulge doesn't destroy the aesthetic carve it later,if not it will help in the character of the trunk,ficus are very versatile so do your carving later,hope it will help
Regards,
Alex

Hi again ,
Just saw your post,take it offit will pull off easily and put sealer,it will heal,ficus are surviver,i do it all the time,sometimes because of negligence,happy growing
Regards,
Alex

ogie wrote:Hi again ,
Just saw your post,take it offit will pull off easily and put sealer,it will heal,ficus are surviver,i do it all the time,sometimes because of negligence,happy growing
Regards,
Alex

Thanks a bunch for the advise Alex. How long shall we leave the sealer in? And base on your experience, how long will scars like that heal?

Thanks a bunch for the advise Alex. How long shall we leave the sealer in? And base on your experience, how long will scars like that heal?

[/quote]

No problem,just leave the sealer eventually it will heal and be push out or consumated,healig will depend largely from the trees growth,let it be before you know it,it's gone(the scar)

Alex

Hi Alex,
I think you mean consumed ... vs. consumated.
Todd

Thanks for all the help guys.

I have pruned the tree down and am planning to bare-root it before repotting.

Well, part of why the plant was dropping roots like crazy was because it is totally root bound. I have repotted a couple of trees but never one that is so root bound. I don't even know where to start teasing out the roots. It seems like the entire root ball is a solid mass!

For now, I plan to let it sit in water for a couple of hours to expand the roots to make up job easier. Do you guys know of a better way to get this done? Any advise will be appreciated.