Hello All, My name is Oscar 36 and I live in Denver Colorado. I have been into bonsai for three year now. I found bonsai while looking for method to relax. My collection has grow so fast over the years and half about 100 trees. Half are tropical trees and the other are outdoor trees. (Conifer/deciduous) I as well have a lot of ficus cuttings, and have been using them for project ( root over rock, aerial roots, crazy bends). Most of my trees are smaller and still in development, but I do have a few I picked up that are more in a refining stage. Glad this form was started and I will be here a lot.

Hello Duncan, I just recently took an air layering off a silver maple using sphagnum moss and in two months the plastic ball was full of roots. As for an alternative, the first thing that came to my mind was peat moss, I was also thinking maybe coco coir as it's a blank slate and is similar.