Ficus and broad beans

Here we have some Broad Bean shoots coming through (not a vey good pic, shouldve taken a side angled shot). I think I planted these well over a month ago. They were all nicely spaced out in rows etc. Since then theyve been dug up a couple times by the dog and some got broken by her and some by me as I was trying to everything back in nicely. Also that container used to be below the kitchen window and I think the dog jumped on it a couple times trying to look through the window lol (yeah i lol now but at the time i was fuming).
So anyways I had em under cover of some plastic trays which I lifted today to find these shoots



Heres me Ficus cuttings at the front which I potted up today. Really I shouldve taken a pic before potting so you guys could see the rootlings, but i've still got some Ficus cuttings in water and I'll do it next time.

The one on the left I'm pretty sure is Ficus Benjamina. The one on the right, I'm pretty sure its a Ficus but not sure if its Benjamina. The leaves are little darker colored on that one, also the tree trunks are slightly darker and growth is alot more bushy.

Can someone tell me whether I could sow some Sweet Peas now? or should i just wait til spring? I've read at some places about people doing fall/winter sowings etc. Also on the packet it says can sow January-july and its almost January now so was thinking about chucking the seeds in me little mini propagator.

 

Likewise as Itchy fingers here too RB.

 

They both look like F Benjamina to me, there are many varieties with many shades of green.
I personally would not have put rooted cuttings in such large pots particularly at this time of year but if it works for you all well and good.

 

I agree with Strongy. They are both Ficus Benjamina, the smaller, younger leaves tend to be a lighter green.

 

I got 2 ficus trees in the lounge. One has darker leaves, darker trunk and grows slightly differently so i thought was maybe not benjamina since theres so many plant species and genus' about lol

anyways thanks for putting me straight on that one.

Theyre they smallest pots i've got i'm afraid. only about 3" wide

 

Any chance of pics of the two Ficus please RB?

 

them the trees i took the cuttings from. The one on the right is 7yr old, cant remember the other one.

 

I've not seen one as dark leaved as that RB, I still suspect it's Benjamina though. Do you keep them pruned? They have a weeping habit and mine is now 6ft tall. The cuttings I've taken have finally decided to show roots, they've taken about 2 1/2 months and I was beginning to think they'd failed. When they're potted and have reached about 2ft one will take the place of my original, it's getting too tall and scruffy now.

 

Haven't really done much pruning to em. Think I will do a little bit to em after I see how I get on with the cuttings I have at the moment. Get a few more cuttings off while i'm at it. Gotta be careful with em though because moms will kill me if I mess em up lol.
I've been looking at Bonsai trees and Ficus make pretty good ones as they have the trunks for it and also the roots. Maybe you could cut your 6ft tree down to a Bonsai? With defoliation you can reduce the leaf size too so they make pretty good ones. Would like to try this myself at some point but really do have to be patient as need an old tree to use.

Before I took the cuttings though I came across pics of braided Ficus trees like these:




and I was like I got to grow me one of those lol. Will probs take about 10 years to achieve though lol.

btw Happy New Year!

 

I think I may have put these pics on before RB. I need my large Ficus to fill a corner of a room, but it's taking over now, so as soon as the others grow I'll replace it. It's to thick stemmed to Bonsai. The little one was a young plant I gave my mum years ago and she knocked it off the shelf and broke the stem, since then it has Bonsai'd itself.

 

Just prune the big one. Sometimes pruning adds some character to trees. get a few more cuttings that way lol (and give em to ya mates if ya dont want em).

That little one looks pretty groovy

 

Because of soil problems I repotted it twice just weeks apart and quite a bit has died off sadly, so I've made up my mind to oust it, it's looking so scruffy now. The picture above was taken some while ago before the problems set in.

 

Had a look at my Ficus cuttings earlier...heres a quick snap of the 7 I have in soil


Pulled two gently out of the soil and they had roots So I assume the others do aswell. I've got another 5 cuttings I took around the same time that I put in water which havent grown any roots yet

 

They're looking good RB. The few that I had in water suddenly started sprouting roots and they are now in soil. They took nearly three months in water, so perhaps yours need longer.

 

I read somewhere they can survive for about 6months in water lol. I had one that was in water which showed roots pretty quick, after about 3 weeks or so. Some of my cuttings I think were a bit woody maybe. Still not too sure about cuttings, I should be looking for fresher soft green specimens to use as cuttings right?