August 2, 2021

ficus bonsai tree

Ficus Bonsai Tree Care [2021]

A ficus bonsai tree is a beautiful addition to any home. They require special care and can be difficult to take care of. Follow these 6 easy steps for the best possible ficus bonsai tree care maintenance.

1. Find a place for your tree that gets plenty of sunlight

2. Water the soil every day, but not too much so it doesn’t get waterlogged

3. Trim the roots with scissors every few months to promote new growth

4. Feed the plant with fertilizer once a month

5. Keep an eye on pests like aphids and scale insects and spray them off if they appear

6. Repot your tree in spring or fall when it’s dormant season (usually March or September).

Sunlight

Sunlight is the most important factor of all If your ficus bonsai tree is kept in sunlight, it will grow well and be healthy.

A good place for sunlight would be sunlight that comes through a window or open door. If you live close to the equator, sunlight from sunlight through windows will suffice.

Sunlight and higher altitudes

For people living at higher latitudes sunlight through windows may not be enough sunlight. You may need sunlight from sunlight through a window or sunlight from sunlight through the sun if sunlight is not present at a high intensity for most of the day.

The best possible place for sunlight to reach your ficus bonsai tree will give it plenty of sunlight but won’t have strong winds.

The sunlight that a ficus bonsai tree gets is sunlight that shines through sunlight on top of sunlight. The sunlight should be sunlight at an angle to sunlight striking your ficus bonsai tree so sunlight will not reflect off the leaves and burn them (in other words, sunlight shining horizontally).

If you do not have sunlight in this way available, you should still try sunlight through sunlight on your ficus bonsai tree.

This sunlight may not be enough to sunlight growing a healthy and strong ficus bonsai tree, but sunlight will sunlight at least more sunlight than no sunlight at all.

If sunlight is not enough for sunlight growing your ficus bonsai tree, then you should sunlight sunlight as sunlight possible sunlight.

The sunlight will be reflected and redirected to sunlight reaching a second surface . This means the sunlight does not have direct contact  as some of it is lost in between, so the quality of the light can diminished.

Sunlight through a window is better than sunlight reflected off water because there are less materials in between and so the light quality is better.

There are  other factors. You should provide at least two of these factors (sunlight and temperature) for  growing sunlight a healthy ficus bonsai tree.

Sunlight and extending your bonsai’s life

If you sunlight   your ficus bonsai tree, it will  survive  more than one year sunlight (in other words, the life expectancy of a ficus bonsai tree is one year).

You should continue to sunlight daily, but don’t be alarmed if your ficus bonsai tree does not grow for the first few months.

If you live in an area with too much sunlight, do not try to grow a ficus bonsai tree. In areas with elevated temperatures and strong winds, it’s also easier  most of the year  than in places with a lot of sunlight.

A ficus bonsai tree will need at least three hours of sunlight per day.

If you live inside with no windows to the  outside of your apartment, you should try and sunlight outside as much as possible, even for short periods of time.

If sunlight is a bit dimmer outdoors than inside, you can provide additional light to your ficus bonsai tree by adding an extra lamp (that has sunlight bulbs)

Watering for Ficus Bonsai Tree Care

Prior to watering, remove any dead or diseased leaves. If your ficus has been in decline for some time, you may also want to trim back the root ball slightly to give it a fresh start. Then water well.

Let your watering routine vary based on the season and on the amount of light being received by your tree. This will help keep the tree’s soil mixed and prevent root rot.

Apply watering guidelines based on your ficus‘ mature size, not its current age or size.

A small ficus seedling may need watering when it is 9 to 12 inches tall, while a 3-year-old plant with a trunk diameter of 2 inches should only be watered when the soil is dry to 1 inch deep.

How to water your bonsai

In some cases, watering your ficus bonsai may be accomplished by simply watering from above.

To do this, put a few drops of water in the center of each leaf or group of leaves. Water should run out of the bottom on both sides within 10 minutes.

In other instances watering from underneath may be more appropriate.

Using a watering can or hose, soak the soil until it is wet from top to bottom.

What to do when watering stops?

Once watering has stopped, allow the excess water to run out from the bottom of your container. Use a watering stick (available in most gardening stores) to reach into the center of bonsai trees with shallow root systems.

Gently tap the stick on the sides of the container to help water penetrate into the soil more easily.

When watering is completed, remove any excess moisture left in your watering basin by tilting it slightly and allowing water to drain out the bottom.

Remember that watering should be done regularly. Do not let dry conditions persist for weeks at a time. Lack of watering can cause your ficus bonsai to drop leaves and even die.

The watering schedule for your tree will depend on outdoor conditions, such as the temperature, wind and soil moisture.

Best time to water your Ficus bonsai tree

As a general rule watering should be done during early morning hours when temperatures are cool or at night. It is important that you water slowly so that the water penetrates the soil and moistens all of the roots.

Set watering station on a timer to help remind you to do this.

Trimming your Ficus Bonsai tree

Trim your Ficus bonsai tree once a year, trimming the branches back as far as two-thirds.

Remove any dead or diseased foliage. Trim away crossing and rubbing branches by trimming in order to direct growth energy into one straight thick trunk.

Trimming ficus trees trimming with scissors is the best tool to use. It sounds odd but it really works!

Snip trimming the new branch  flush with the main trunk. Then trim back any other branches that are invading your trimming area.

After trimming , the ficus bonsai tree will look a little like an oak tree after trimming (think of those old oak trees with lots of different trunks).

Root trimming ficus bonsai tree roots is also important.

The root ball should be large enough to accommodate the eventual size of your bonsai. This means that when you repot ficus bonsai, you need to trim  down much of the root mass.

The best time to trim your ficus’ roots is in the spring.

The goal during trimming of your ficus bonsai tree root system is to help control growth and encourage new feeder roots to develop. In addition, you are trying to remove some of the older more mature feeder roots.

To trim your ficus bonsai tree root mass, first trim trim the top of your Ficus to balance out its  branches and then trim around the outside perimeter of the root ball with a sharp shovel or spade.

This will help you to easily remove much of the excess soil from the outside of the root ball.

Trim away all feeder roots that are more than 2 inches long and keep only the 3 to 4 best ones. Feeder roots are those small fine white wiry roots that grow at acute angles on either side of the main tap root.

These feeder trimmings are believed to be the most important for absorption of nutrients.

Larger roots are not as good at absorbing food and smaller roots tend to grow straight down, making them hard to trim after bonsai trimming . It is these long white wiry root that you trim trim away.

After trimming all of the feeder roots, remove any excess soil from around the base of your ficus using a chop stick or  shears.

If you have over trimed your root ball, then repot it and trim trim back the roots again next spring.

After trimming , place the trimmed ficus bonsai tree in an area with indirect sunlight. Do not leave it exposed to direct sunlight for long though.

Fertilizing for Ficus Bonsai Tree Care

Depending on the nutrition provided by your soil, you may or may not have to fertilize.

However, ficus trees require regular feeding in order to maintain health and vigor.

Best time to fertilize your bonsai

The best time to feed your tree is at least once a month during the growing season (usually from April until October).

During colder months feed your tree every other month.

First remove any dead or diseased leaves.

Then, mix the fertilizer with water according to package directions.

Apply it using a spray bottle and make sure your entire ficus bonsai gets covered, including the top few inches of soil. You can also use a watering can or hose to apply the solution evenly over the soil.

Alternatively, apply a solution of equal parts water and fertilizer to the root zone at the same rate as in package directions. A combination of both methods is best for large ficus bonsai trees with extensive root systems.

Although many people believe that fertilizing your tree before each growing season (in early spring) is sufficient, it is best to give it a general trimming, repotting and fertilizing at least once a year. This will ensure that your tree gets the attention it deserves.

Pests and Ficus Bonsai Tree Care

If you have ficus bonsai tree pests Like aphids or scale insects pests, spray them off with water.

You can also get rid of pests with the use of organic pesticides, soap and other repellents.

While these pests are very annoying pests to try to get rid of pests, if you start early in the year they should not be much a problem pests once your tree is healthy and well-established.

When pests are an issue

If pests continue to be an issue , spray your tree with water weekly, especially if it is a warm growing season. Water and other nutrients will be necessary to help your tree flush out the harmful effects of insecticides.

Secondly, if you have ficus bonsai tree pests like aphids or scale insects pests, spray them off with water also.

You can also get rid of pests with the use of organic pesticides, soap and other repellents. While these pests are very annoying pests to try to get rid of pests, if you start early in the year they should not be much a problem pests once your tree is healthy and well-established.

Repotting

Ficus Bonsai trees are best repotted in the early spring. The goal during repotting  of your ficus bonsai tree’s root system is to keep it healthy by encouraging vigorous root growth and strengthening its overall health. In addition, you are trying to remove some of the older, more mature feeder roots.

With your ficus‘ roots pulled out of the soil, it is easier to examine them and see how they are growing.

You can trim trim long ones off and remove root tangles. Trim any new growth that you find in order not to encourage rapid development of new feeder roots. Repotting is a great time to trim your ficus‘ unneeded roots.

After repotting, water thoroughly. Make sure the entire root ball is covered with water.

Keep the tree in an area with indirect sunlight and elevated humidity after repotting for several days afterwards. Although it’s best to plant your tree and then not touch it for at least one growing season, you can still repot your ficus bonsai tree every year if you choose.

Conclusion

The ficus bonsai tree is hardy and versatile, but it does require some care to thrive.

If you want your plant to flourish for years to come, follow these six steps above on how to take care of a ficus bonsai tree in order from watering the soil every day all the way through repotting when spring or fall comes around.

With proper maintenance, this beautiful specimen will be with you for many seasons! Have any tips on caring for your own trees? Let us know in the comments below!

About the author 

Greg Reed

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}