Bonsai First Timer

[emmiijay]

Hello Everyone!

I am coming to you with a pretty limited knowledge and looking for some hints and tips for the future in regards to my ficus rubiginosa. It was started last year (July) and has been under the strict care of a friend of mine who works in a nursery up until 2 days ago when it came home. I've got a bit of an idea of the shape i'm going to take it as it seems to be naturally leaning but as far as correct fertilising/watering goes i'm at a little bit of a loss. That and pruning/trimming terrifies me. I know that they are quite the hardy tree but I just fear I will 'screw it up'.
Here are some photos for your viewing, I'm just loving how well the trunk is filling out in such a short amount of time!

Thank is advance,
Emma

[melbrackstone]

Hi there emmiijay, and welcome! Figs are pretty forgiving, so it's going to be tough to mess up....in fact they're a great tree to learn on. Living in Tamworth means you'll have to protect it from the frosts when they come, but otherwise the tree will do better if it's outside in the sunlight, getting lots of food. If you've been keeping it indoors, it will not grow quite so well, and could end up with very long leggy growth and large leaves, because it's crying out for light.

Do some searching for figs here on the forum, and check out the wiki as well, I'm sure you'll find a lot of information to get you feeling more confident.

[Jarad]

PJ Figs are amazing trees. You will struggle to over water and over feed it.

They will thrive on any fertilizer you throw on them, I was mainly using osmocote all purpose:

osmocote-plus-organics-all-purpose.jpg

I've been keeping a pretty good record of what I've been doing to my little one which can be found here: PJ Fig (Little Champ)

It just shows how quick they can grow over 18 months.

[dansai]

Welcome Emma

As as has been said, figs are tough. I wouldn't be too worried about running it just yet. Get it growing well in your care first. Have you had much experience growing potted plants before?

The potting mix looks very dry. How are you watering it?

As suggested above, it will grow best outside. Figs are one tree that will grow ok inside, but will not thrive and be more susceptible to pests and disease. Having said that, you may need to keep it inside over winter.

Good Luck

[BB Brian]

Welcome Emma!

Figs are great for novices like us, to be honest I've only got 1 Port Jackson Fig and he has grown very well over the last 10 months.
If you are keen to explore other species feel free to check out the Chinese Elm and Trident Maple as they are vigorous growers and are quite hardy. They are deciduous trees so when the temperatures drop in your area you will get awesome autumnal colours and trees without leaves throughout the winter.

All the best!
Brian D