Ficus Microcarpa Retusa advice, please! :)

[bonsaibabe]

Hello everyone

I am a new bonsai owner courtesy as a gift and was wandering if I could please get some advice on maintenance. I am reading conflicting reports as to exactly how to care for my plant!

I presume this is an indoor plant?

Should I water every day? Mist everyday? or Give the soil a good soak everyday? I have been misting every day and soaking every second day.

Is window light enough? Will outdoor light spoil the leaves?

I placed my pot outside for a few hours once when it was around 30 degrees after 3pm receiving the afternoon sun and noticed some brown leaves which saddened me.

What should I do with brown leaves? I removed them as I had read that you should.

I appreciate and value all opinions and advice provided. Ta. Kisses x.

[Isitangus]

Welcome to the forum.
No bonsai is really in an indoor plant, sorry. Outdoors is best, full sun or part shade-whatever you have available.
With the weather we are currently experiencing in Sydney I would be looking to give it a good soak at least every second day. I'm guessing it's in a bonsai pot-so maybe in very hot weather it will need a good soak every day.
If you post a pic of the plant it's better for advice.

[Rory]

The itallic is a cut & paste from a previous post for people that have the same enquiry about watering, which is pretty much THE most important factor for a bonsai.

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The science of watering container potted plants, whether they are bonsai or not is essentially not something you can learn on a forum. Go to a nursery, and ask them to show you when is a good example of a potted tree that needs watering. This is the best advice you can give anyone, as you will see first hand what is required.

Step 1. Water bonsai thoroughly, and allow all the excess water to run free.
Step 2. Do not re water the bonsai until the soil is just about dry. (This can vary for your different types of trees, as some will use the water faster than others, so you cannot have a system of watering that is the same for all your bonsai. Hence, the horrible downside of owning bonsai. But apply Step 2 for all your bonsai. Otherwise, if you are just rewatering all of them when you think the majority of them need more water, then chances are that you have too many bonsai to look after.

Repeat steps 1 & 2 until you are due to enter a nursing home. In which case, step 3 is required, which you wont remember anyway, because you'll be old and senile.

Side note: If the bonsai or container potted plant is pot bound, then all bets are off. A pot bound / root bound tree (having grown to fill all the available root space and therefore lacking room for continued growth) is in real danger of dying. The only way to ensure all the roots are watered is to place the pot into a tray of water, so that the water level is high enough to soak in and up the soil (basically just dunk the pot up to halfway up the pot and the water will soak in through the drainage hole). This is the only safe method for watering pot bound plants. You would need to repot as soon as possible, as it is vital for the health of the plant because you can't leave the plant in water all the time or the roots will rot. You will inevitably forget to do this every time the plant needs water, and thus parts of the root system die off from lack of water which cannot penetrate the extremely compact root ball. Therefore only a partial section of the roots gets the water, and each time reduces the health of the plant further and further. If the tree is pot bound, it needs to be repotted and the roots untangled immediately. The chances of success from doing a repot regardless of the time of year, is usually more important than waiting for the optimal time of year to repot.
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This advice is from the following thread:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=18012

[bonsaibabe]

20141103_123910_resized.jpg

As you can see there is a leaf bottom left that has a tinge of brown to it.

The others that have had this I have removed!

Is this a healthy plant?

[bonsaibabe]

I still intend to spray water mist on my bonsai every day. I do not ever believe a few squirts can do any damage but only good from it.

With the soil, yes I appreciate the need to only water when almost dry.

[Ray M]

20141103_123910_resized.jpg

As you can see there is a leaf bottom left that has a tinge of brown to it.

The others that have had this I have removed!

Is this a healthy plant?

Hi bonsaibabe,
Welcome to AusBonsai. Your tree looks reasonable. There are actually a number of leaves with marks. Because we water bonsai so often the nutrients get washed out of the soil, it is therefore necessary to feed the tree. If you get some Seamungus and put some on the soil. This will help to keep good health in the tree. There are a lot of leaves in close to the trunk. If you remove some these it will allow more sun to get into the tree.
Have you thought of joining a club? I'm not sure where you live in Sydney but the School Of Bonsai has classes for beginners through to experienced people. The school has classes available both night and day.

Regards Ray

[bonsaibabe]

20141103_123910_resized.jpg

As you can see there is a leaf bottom left that has a tinge of brown to it.

The others that have had this I have removed!

Is this a healthy plant?

Hi bonsaibabe,
Welcome to AusBonsai. Your tree looks reasonable. There are actually a number of leaves with marks. Because we water bonsai so often the nutrients get washed out of the soil, it is therefore necessary to feed the tree. If you get some Seamungus and put some on the soil. This will help to keep good health in the tree. There are a lot of leaves in close to the trunk. If you remove some these it will allow more sun to get into the tree.
Have you thought of joining a club? I'm not sure where you live in Sydney but the School Of Bonsai has classes for beginners through to experienced people. The school has classes available both night and day.

Regards Ray

Thanks Ray very nice of you to help me out. The losing of nutrients makes sense, I never thought of that and yes you are right.

I do add fertilizer to it. Its just normal plant fertilizer that i brought from the supermarket. Which I intend to give every month or so. Its called Amgrow all purpose fertilizer.