Help needed for Ficus Rubiginosa (Port Jackson)

[kaoswolf]

Hi Guys,

I have a Port Jackson Ficus which was healthy when i bought it last year in Oct 2018. However recently it looks like it's going to die and I'm not sure what caused it.

I purchased osmocote pellet fertiliser and i dug 1cm and put a few pellet in, I water it everyday and give good sun light. However i believe one time i forgot to water it for few days. Then I continued to water it as per normal.

Recently I dug it up to see if everything was okay and I'm not sure if the rots were rotting.

Please see the attached picture. Currently i bought seasol tonic and applied it once every 2 weeks and this is the 2nd week and it doesn't seem like it's going to survive.

I know it's not in good shape and i really feel bad about it. Will i need to repot with bonsai soil that i can get from bunnings?

Regards,
Kaoswolf

[anthonyW]

Sorry to say but you have over loved your fig as over watered your fig...droopy leaves are very much the indication there, stiff more up right crispy leaves are mostly lack of water....figs are tough and can go for days with out water and mine do, you must water to needs not routine my friend.

If it was mine pull it out of the pot and place it in slighly larger pot with dry medium, do not water, let the trunk dry out for week or at least until the water saturation on trunk has gone and then use a spray bottle and gently moisten the soil at top not overly doing it, then capillary action will take place to the rest of medium, when it dries out and not before, repeat...;you have to be very careful now, sadly your fig is very much below par for health i m afraid to say, do not fert in anyway or seasol...good luck

[shibui]

A few days without water will not usually hurt a PJ fig but it may already have been a bit dry which could cause this problem. Normally when you water again PJ will start to grow but that can take a few weeks. 2 weeks is not very long so maybe you just need to wait a bit longer.
Overwatering can also cause similar symptoms. The soil should get just a little dry before you water again so if it is always wet please cut back on watering. PJ is very tough and can even recover from that but, again, it will take a couple of months before you see improvement.
In all cases, watch the tips of the shoots. That's where the new leaves will unfold so that will give you the first clues to life or death.
The current potting mix looks OK so please leave it alone for a while to recover from this problem before giving further stress.
At the moment just water will be best until it starts to grow again. If the roots or leaves are damaged it cannot take up fertiliser so fert or seasol can cause extra problems.

Good luck with the recovery and, if this one doesn't make it remember that we have all managed to kill a few trees while learning about bonsai.

[kaoswolf]

Thank you all for the advice.

I will try to not over water it for the next few days and hopefully it recovers. Since it's summer should i live it outside for the whole day like 9am to 5pm? Currently I leave it out in the afternoon.

Initially this bonsai looked like this and honestly I'm kinda upset that it's dying.

[kaoswolf]

I was advised that Seasol Tonic will increase the growth of the roots, is this true?

[Bougy Fan]

So does it stay outside all the time ? Reading what you have said I am under the impression you keep it inside. It is a tree and you have to keep it outside except the occasional spell inside as a display. If you keep it in sun near a window it will suffer from too much reflected heat.

[Rory]

Port Jackson figs are one of the hardiest trees to grow as bonsai. The only one tougher in my opinion is the Moreton Bay Fig.

They need to be kept outside, unless you get sub-zero temperatures during winter.
But Sydney should usually be fine to keep outside all year long.
All my figs are permanently outside, (except for a few days at time for displaying to guests).

If you have kept this inside a lot that will explain the rot, as an indoor fig is going to need very little watering.
Only water the mix when its dry. This means it may not need to be watered for up to a week if its still damp, but just don't rewater it if the mix is still damp.
Figs are extremely resilient and can easily tolerate 24 hours of being bone dry.

If it has got rot from being overwatered, (if it was mine and only in my opinion) it wouldn't hurt to repot it now and get rid of any rotting roots and start with a fresh mix. If you intend to keep it inside for extended periods, I would add about 50% washed river sand to the mix so it doesn't stay damp too long. But I'd recommend keeping it outside permanently.

[shibui]

Ficus are one of the few trees that can tolerate being inside for extended periods. It is even possible to keep them inside permanently but some care needs to be taken to make sure conditions are adequate. They are, however, trees and trees do far better outside where they get fresh air, sun and better humidity so I agree with the others that you would probably do better keeping this one outside in Sydney unless you get winter frost.

I think Rory has given the best advice, assuming you can identify rotted roots. Even if you cannot work out which roots are healthy, removing more than half of the roots will not hurt a fig so you can do little harm by trying.

I understand you feel upset about your tree being like this but try to accept that not all bonsai live long lives and you have hopefully learned some things from this journey to make the next try more successful.