名媛直播

Hi forum! This is my first time here, so apologies if I'm going over old ground but I have a bit of an emergency. Does anyone know what could be causing this weakness in the root of my ficus ginseng? And are those white root like structures normal? The root seems healthy around the hole, but that hole is soft and almost decaying?

Any advice or help is very gratefully received

Thanks in advance, Ben

MonkeyBen wrote: Does anyone know what could be causing this weakness in the root of my ficus ginseng?

Welcome to the Empire, Ben.
It's rotting, this much we already know.
Could be fungus, could be excess moisture, could be an insect infestation.
Ficus can take a lot of abuse, so if you have to chop this root to save it, it will probably survive the trauma.
The Helpful Gardener says:
"Ginseng Ficus varieties; they are prone to a certain kind of root rot, that I call Ginseng rot. What happens is, for unknown reasons (although I believe it is related to letting the soil dry out), a fungus (that is, from my experience, harmful only to ginseng varieties, probably because almost all the plant consists of 'root') will invade the roots of the tree. It then decays all the vascular tissues on the inside of the root. The infection stops at the trunk or branches, but the plant is no longer able to obtain water, because the roots have been killed. The plant then, for lack of water, loses its leaves, and dies. Once it strikes a root, it is best to amputate it. One can tell if a root is infected due to a shriveled, wrinkled appearance, and a rather soft feel to it rather than a smooth, succulent look and normal firmness. However, if the fungus infects all the roots, it is usually too late. This fungi is, from my experience, little known because I have never seen it mentioned anywhere. Also, be sure to check out this site for some more information on growing ficuses indoors:

Thank you Clicio!

It is as I feared then, although I think I may be able to catch it in time. Can you recommend the best way to chop the root? Or point to a good website? I've tried googling but am coming up blank.

Thanks again,

Ben

How did you end up cutting this root? I had the same issue

dlamb88 wrote: How did you end up cutting this root? I had the same issue

I am afraid MonkeyBen made two posts on the forum, nearly 3 years ago. Not t be heard from since.
IF you have a picture, I would say: Create a thread for your tree and lets have a look!

Hi! I got worried about the root and decided amputation was actually the best way forwards, so I ended up sawing the root off. At first I was horrified at having had to do it, but it ended up growing some pretty neat little threadlike roots from it, and the tree has been fine ever since! I'm looking to re-pot it this weekend, so I'll post a picture once that's done.

Good luck with yours though, and my advice is don't be afraid of doing what's necessary. It'll all work out for the best in the end, and the trees are hardy little blighters at the best of time!

I actually have a question about substrate, but I'm not sure if this is the right part of the forum for it. Can one of the mods point me in the right direction, please?

Just post it anywhere
Substrate questions draw in reactions like turds do flies!

Haha! Fair enough then

So my question is this; a lot of the forums and tip websites I've looked on say that the Ficus Ginseng will grow well in standard 名媛直播 soil, only I can't seem to find a definition of that!

I have Westland 名媛直播 potting compost which seems to be pretty generic, and some Akadama. I've just ordered some lava rock and some pumice, mainly to have in case I get any more 名媛直播 in future. What would be the recommended soil/medium in which to repot the Ficus? And would I use pumice, lava rock, or Akadama as the substrate? Or do I even need one?

Also, a second question just so I know; what's the difference between lava rock and Kyodama? I searched and searched but couldn't find a reasonable answer!

Thank you in advance!