I Cut My Bonsai Tree In Half

In this Bonsai video, I cut my Ficus Ginseng Bonsai in Half. At first, this may seem like a radical operation if you are new to the art of bonsai and horticulture, but in fact, this is quite a common practice. The procedure carried out in this video is a simple air layer separation, and even beginners to Bonsai can do this at home!

When it comes to the humble Ficus Ginseng - often seen in most garden sections of shops sold as a Bonsai - the top part of the Ficus is grafted onto another tree that has a thicker base. This gives it that distinct look of being older and more exotic with big knobbly roots tapering up. However, upon further inspection, these tree grafts are rarely done cleanly as they are mass produced. Even over time, it can be quite difficult to get them to look nice. For this reason, I have air layered this one off so that the top part, once cut off, can grow into a new tree on its own roots. Of course, if you like the look of the Ginseng and its graft, this is totally fine too!

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00:00 - Intro.
00:23 - What Is An Air Layering?
01:04 - The Bonsai Tools Used.
01:42 - Inspecting The Roots.
02:40 - Removing The Sphagnum Moss.
04:28 - Cutting The Bonsai In Half.
05:25 - Cutting Under The Root Base.
06:58 - Repotting The Ficus Air Layer.
10:18 - Pruning The Foliage (Improved Ramification).
11:47 - Watering / Beauty Shots.
12:25 - Outro.

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[davidparry]

That’s got some lovely glossy leaves. How about a ‘day to day care’ video, watering, feeding etc ?

[TheBonsaiGarden]

Great little tutorial and I love that pot. 😍

[mikec]

my first tree was a ginseng ficus. i tried to ground layer the top off the big funky roots. it failed tho. so i just replanted the top as a large cutting. its been in training for 9/10 years now. just starting to become a good looking tree. nice work adam!

[constantinepenguamo]

I think you may be the very first person to air layer a ginseng ficus, wonderful idea!

[forgetfulLlama]

Brilliant, that was fascinating. Always wanted to try air layering but it's a little daunting until you see it actually work.

[dahlmasen]

I would love to see some vlog style videos when you do the little things on your trees like watering, fertilizing, light pruning, go shopping for supplies or pots etc.😁🪴

[Kristinytree]

Wow, that looks great! And how quickly those roots grew! I keep putting off operating on my Ficus, this video is motivating! as usual...

[nerinat]

Looks super cute, love the pot as well

[andrijagrgic]

Never knew you can do that with the air layering. Thanks for that

[arekushisuruizu]

I'd keep that as a mame, great work adam

[watsup]

Great job on this one!
I have kept the bottom part on mine but 1 year later I agree with you that it's not worth keeping. The foliage is very coarse and the trunk will always look like a potato.

[XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Am I cheating by being first FOIST during the premiere :)
Great tree and lovely pot.

[pisty]

I love your videos! they are very relaxing :)

[Kaendio]

That tree really wanted to be a "Roots over Tree" experiment :D

[jamesbutcher]

Hi Adam interesting video as always - how did you remove the drip tray from the pot? I have a couple of them so it would be helpful to know thanks

[kuriseon]

I haven't air layered my ficus, but I did cut mine in half, on the diagonal.
Mine came as 2 leaders with the center lopped off horizontally. Ugly AF.
So after its adjustment to its pot I lopped off one of the 2 main branches, along with that horizontally cut, now dead center. Now the tree has a single leader, naturally leaning over to (possibly) become a cascading tree later in its life and I love looking at it every day 😁

[MasterFalconer-pvzb]

On your far left, when you unroll your tools, is that a samurai sword in a wooden sheath? 😊

[brianhernandez]

Wanted to see a video if u had any jade bonsai but don't see one, is it not your preference or is it the condition of weather? Just a randome question. With the question out of the way, I've been trying to get the courage to do an airlayering a olive oak tree just to start with a think truck but i get discouraged lol

[JasonLorette]

That was interesting…just had one of my Juniper’s die…sad day.

[neynahnehnah]

I have never been so jealouse of someone's....tape!!!!😮
7:43
What genius inveted that! I have to leave and google it...