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A friend gifted me this Ginseng Ficus. She said it is a bonsai. I… | Bonsai Matters | Planta-fællesskab

Dax

A friend gifted me this Ginseng Ficus. She said it is a bonsai. I believe it’s a little above my plant parent skill level but it’s gorgeous and I’d really like to keep it alive. Looked up some basic care info: bright, indirect light, water when too soil is dry. It’s under a good grow light for 12 hours a day while it’s on plant quarantine 🤣 Eventually I was thinking of moving her into an east facing window which gets several hours of great sun (direct but not harsh) each morning. Would that work? As for the soil, doesn’t look great right now but it’s from a reputable garden so probably fine. I ordered a new soil mix with akadema, lava, pumice and pine bark but will wait a few weeks to repot/make changes. I think she’s a little stressed from her move to my home - dropped a few leaves last night. I would greatly appreciate any guidance, tips, best practices from everyone. Thanks!

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5 kommentarer

  1. Dax

    *top soil not too soil. Editing the post isn’t working doh

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  2. Waspinator

    Good news for you: ficuses are great for bonsai rookies. Ficuses can handle a wide range of lighting conditions, so it'll be happy pretty much anywhere except deep shade (they can roast in direct light, but that's a temperature issue). Ficuses rotate their leaves out as they age, so they drop leaves pretty consistently throughout the year. It's only a concern if it drops a lot/all of its leaves in rapid succession. These enjoy regular pruning, and that's how you train it to keep its bonsai shape. You can pinch off new buds at tips of branches as you please. When trimming further down a branch, the last leaf you keep points in the direction the new growth will come in. I'm more accustomed to ficus benjamina, but yours looks a little tight in his pot and can probably go up one size

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    • Waspinator

      Also if you ever want to propagate, these are incredibly easy; just snip off a little branch piece and stick it directly in dirt; they don't even need rooting hormone. You could get one accidentally if your pruning scrap pile happened to have enough dirt. They're wonderful

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    • Dax

      Wow thank you for all the great info! Very reassuring to hear about its forgiveness. Any tips on watering? I lean towards being an overwater so I fight that instinct and often end up under watering 🤭

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    • Waspinator

      You can do several things to fix that. Put a little bit of a high drainage soil (perlite, orchid bark, cactus mix, whatever is on hand) at the bottom of the pot. That helps a lot with drainage and preventing root rot wven if you need to water frequently. Use a pot that's a good fit (in general 1-2 inches of diameter larger than the root mass) since excess soil can hold too much water at the sides. Stick your finger in the soil. If it's dry on top but moist an inch down, you can wait. If it's dry an inch down, water.

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