Thanks!!! Much food for thought. I am not sure what approach I will take. It turned out I don't have enough perlite and I am in the process of sifting some Napa. I have bark too so I could do a mix. But it's been sitting around forever, and no way to sterilize it. Hmm. Should I worry about bark germs?

A bigger problem might be the knife. I only have access to pruners and to kitchen knives. I do have a nice sharp parer though.

Luckily (?), I still have the rooted part in the pot. I'm really hoping that will grow back (too)(too?).

Thanks again!!

Oh also ... did I understand you to say, you can root a ficus from the roots? And with the roots, do you still tent? I guess a root could still dry out. Interesting.

And I hear you on the aphids. They always seem to know when to show up for dinner.

If the bark has not been used before I would not worry about germs. If you want you can soak it in hydrogen peroxide or spray with antifungal.

Leave the root in the soil, it will likely grow again. The picture I posted are root cuttings buried in soil with a little stub sticking out. Leave it in shade if it is warm outside. Otherwise you can put it next to a window.

You can use the pairing knife. Slice the stem as if you are sharpening a pencil. If you see grafting videos you will know what I mean.

Excellent, thanks! I had no idea you could start from scratch with root cuttings.

I was just about to go finally do this ... but are these what I think they are? Could they be the start of water roots?

And if they are, should I proceed differently?

I had almost talked myself out of the whole thing.

Although I suppose, I could still put it in the container of Napa I just dampened, couldn't I? But if these are water roots, would I be better off waiting?

If my experience is anything to go by, they're incredibly tough and persistent. Several years ago I bought one in a pot and left it while deciding what to do with it. Time got away and so did the roots which went down deep into the soil. Later when I decided to plant it out I had to cut off the roots that had anchored the plant to the ground. For a number of years now the severed roots keep sprouting new plants. They're in the lawn so get mowed all the time. Still, they keep coming up. The original plant from the pot is now higher than a two storey house.

I say plant in in soil mix now. Make a hole, plant it deep and tamp the soil around cutting so that it is not sitting too loose in their. Water it well. Keep the mix just damp consistently. If the mix is like gritty I would not hesitate to water it every day or every other day. If you have som sphagnum moss you put a thin layer on top of the soil to prevent the top from drying out too quickly.

Thank you, Tropicbreezent! I needed the pep talk. That is just amazing about those roots!

Tropicofcancer, that sounds like a good plan. I will put it in today, and I guess I won't bother cutting it now (which solves that problem ... ; ) ) It will be in all Napa. I haven't worked with that much so I will probably be putting my finger in it every day or so to see if it is damp, even though you'd think I'd be able to tell just by the color. Well maybe that will work, I will have to see.

I put drainage holes in the container and it's sitting on top of another layer of Napa. (I wonder if it was a mistake to put drainage ... this is the thing, I do cuttings rather seldom and I forget how ... Though frankly, I find that often things start, but I end up killing them later ... ) Anyhow, thanks again. If I get roots I'll put up another pic.