---
title: "Hi, my ficus bonsai has started to shrivel and I’m very worried about…"
description: "Hi, my ficus bonsai has started to shrivel and I’m very worried about it. I’m quite new to plant care and any advice would be greatly appreciated. I’ve been…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/hB0M8pmURCqUK7zhKpIOTw/NMUjVJqtXq9AXOluh4DJ5m"
community: "Bonsai Matters"
author: "harvjdm"
published: "2025-10-22T12:39:35.796895Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/AyqOJBe-xCGvWBDNNhenYK1BiywuDxokrRtOt9hnVeA/-2ofDWzRQ1iQlwV47Eo1_g.webp?size=large"
---

[Community](https://getplanta.com/community.md) / [Bonsai Matters](https://getplanta.com/community/hB0M8pmURCqUK7zhKpIOTw.md)

# Hi, my ficus bonsai has started to shrivel and I’m very worried about…

_Posted by harvjdm on 2025-10-22_

Hi, my ficus bonsai has started to shrivel and I’m very worried about it. I’m quite new to plant care and any advice would be greatly appreciated. I’ve been following the care advice from the app including watering at the given schedule.

Not sure what’s wrong with the lil guy

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/AyqOJBe-xCGvWBDNNhenYK1BiywuDxokrRtOt9hnVeA/-2ofDWzRQ1iQlwV47Eo1_g.webp?size=large)

## 5 comments

### El Oso Polar commented on 2025-10-22

I’ve noticed this app isn’t the best to use for bonsai watering. You may want to do some research on your ficus and altering your watering schedule to suit that plant/pot/soil type. I tend to water my Umbrella tree way more frequently than the app suggests.

#### harvjdm replied on 2025-10-22

Okay thank you, do you think it’s under-watered then? The soil still seems a little moist since I last watered it a couple days ago

#### El Oso Polar replied on 2025-10-22

I’m not super familiar with Ficus bonsai, but I believe they prefer fairly damp soil and like to be watered once the top layer of soil starts to dry out. You also want to make sure it’s getting about 6 hours of direct sunlight.

### Alex :) commented on 2025-10-22

Only water your bonsai once the soil is dry. I know this app schedules watering, but the best route is to water only whenever it needs. I find it easy to use a chopstick to check my plants soil since I don’t want to disturb the soil too much by poking a hole with my finger.

### Just a guy commented on 2025-10-24

Water, water, water, it needs it. (But not much)

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