Ariel roots do enter the soil and act like regular roots. Getting a tree to clasp a rock is not always easy. Some trees are more prone to do it than others. Easy ones are trident maples and slightly more difficult Japanese mples. Ficus are pretty cooperative also. Junipers and pines are considerably more difficult but can be done. The other thing is to find a suitable rock, tuffa and feather rock are commonly used. Sometimes grooves are carved into the rock for the roots to lie in. The tree is lashed to the rock with the roots running down in the grooves mentioned. This is accomplished with wads of sphagnum moss covering the roots. The whole thing is wrapped in grafting tape to hold it together. Then the tree and rock are planted in a deep pot so that 75-80% of the rock is under the soil. After a year some of the soil can be removed to expose the roots a bit more and each year thereafter more can be removed a bit at a time until the proper degree of exposure is achieved.

wow,thanks.I dident know it was that time consuming.i gues its so the roots get time to harden off before exposed to air.