Where do I even begin?

[CheesedCream]

Hey everyone, I literally just became a member of these forums less than half an hour ago and I am not in any way, shape or form experienced in the art of Bonsai, so I give my sincerest apologies if this has been posted in the wrong place or if I sound like a complete noob - the reality is, I am one!

Anyways, it has been around about a year since I received my first Bonsai tree as a present from my mum for getting good grades on my report, or something along those lines - I can't remember the exact date or reason I received this gift, but it was a unique one nonetheless. The tree came in a small black pot filled with dirt and a fairly thick layer of small red stones on the surface. The hard-plastic label read 'Grafted Banyan Fig - ficus microcarpa retusa' in a larger font whilst a smaller paragraph stated 'this grafted form maintain a tight compact growth habit, great for indoors, cover when frost predicted'. This was all that came with the Bonsai, and all the information I have had since.

Unfortunately, some/most/all of you will be unhappy to hear this, but I never really took my Bonsai tree seriously. The only care tips that came with it were a word-of-mouth recommendation from my mum that I was apparently meant to water it once a week by letting the entire pot sit in water just a few centimetres under the brim for 5 minutes whilst the soil absorbed the water from the holes in the bottom of the pot. That was all the care I ended up doing, and not very well either. Some weeks I'd forget to water it, other weeks I'd forget about it and leave it in the sink for half an hour. I'd be a terrible parent.

Recently I have been looking for hobbies and things to keep myself occupied whilst I waste away my days as a 17-year old just trying to get through high school, and it suddenly occurred to me that I have a whole world of possibility sitting in a small black pot on my bookshelf by the window! Last week I purchased two new plants - not Bonsai's - to sit either side of the tree and 'keep it company'. I have been taking a lot more care with my Bonsai ever since, simply by actually watering it properly for once, but I've decided that if I'm going to do something I should at least do it right. After all, I am a bit of a perfectionist.

So, that brings me here. After a couple of hours of research on a few Bonsai hobby websites, I've found myself completely baffled by the world of these beautiful little plants. To be completely honest, I have absolutely no idea where to start. I've linked the 3 websites I have been doing my research on below, but they don't seem to add up when I cross reference then. I don't know whether my Bonsai is categorised as tropical or evergreen; I don't know whether to prune it or not, if I should fertilise it or repot it; heck, I don't even know if I'm watering it properly! So I've come to you lot, the experts in this field. I just need to find somewhere to begin to understand these magnificent plants and how to treat them right. I need to know the precise details of how to care for my Bonsai and keep it healthy. I would also be handy to know what type of species it is!

I've attached another link to an imgur album containing a dozen photos of my tree that I took tonight and the current state that its in. Please, just someone give me some guidance.

Thanks in advance, Dallas.

Link to my imgur album: http://imgur.com/a/Ld7yF

Links to the websites I've used for research:

Bonsai Empire, http://www.bonsaiempire.com/tree-species/ficus .
Collectors Corner, http://www.collectorscorner.com.au/Bons ... Retusa.htm
Bonsai Outlet, http://www.bonsaioutlet.com/ficus-fig-and-banyan-care/

[Jimbomelville]

Dear CheesedCream
My first and only guidance at this point would be to join a local Bonsai Club.
They are most receptive to new members and you then have the collective knowledge that you seek to get started.
Welcome and good luck.

[Lane]

It's refreshing to see a teenager can construct proper sentences on the internet, welcome!

Keep reading, it's all here.

[Boics]

Good news is your tree is still alive!!
Well done badic horticulture amd ability to keep a tree/plant alive us imperative to any success in this hobby!

I suggest reading up in the wiki in particular items on watering and feeding.

Your tree looks like a banyan/ginseng fig.
It is an evergreen tropical species which thankfully will tollerate being indoors.
However the more light the better as lack of light will encourage undesirable growth and ill health.
I can see signs of the latter on your tree but all is not lost.

Im sure others will chime in.

Welcome.

[Matt S]

Hi Dallas,

Well done on keeping a tree alive for a year, that's a great start on what could be a long and fulfilling journey.

I'll agree with Jimbomelville that a local Bonsai club is the best way to start. You'll see plenty of examples from newbies and old hands alike to inspire you and heaps of helpful people who'll gladly offer any advice you need. Plus heaps of book you can borrow.

Full disclosure - I'm the Vice President of the South Australian Bonsai Society so I'm a bit biased, but honestly I encourage you to come along to a meeting (or to one of the other clubs around Adelaide).

We meet the first and third Tuesday of every month so send me a Private Message if you want more details, including the clubs that might be closer to you.

<end of recruiting drive>

Matt.

[Beaumatsu2]

Hey Dallas,

Awesome to see another young person passionate about bonsai. I started bonsai when I was 11 and I turn 21 this year. Bonsai kept me grounded during high school and was a way for me to chill out/procrastinate/take my mind off school work. I think you'll find it rewarding.

I would agree with Jimbomelville and Matt. You will get a lot of knowledge from going to club meetings and you can ask as many questions as you want and nobody will judge you. Clubs are there to help beginners. I may be a bit bias too because I was the president of the Gold Coast-Tweed club for a few years but it's definitely a place where you can pick up more knowledge and Ideas. The Adelaide club is also a reputable club in the bonsai community so I would think you'd be getting some great advice there.

You've done well keeping your tree alive. Keep up the good work and I hope bonsai sits well with you and you continue with it.

Beau Pett


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kcpoole]

It's refreshing to see a teenager can construct proper sentences on the internet, welcome!

Keep reading, it's all here.

Hi there and whole heartedly agree with the above

2 places to start I can think of, a local club, ( hands on experience is invaluable) but event before then start with the Wiki right here, and more specifically this page https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index.php?title=Newbie
so much info for a newbie there and that will lead on to so much more.

Then Ask away
enjoy the hobby, I wish I started out when I was 17 !

Ken

[shibui]

I agree that you will get best value out of hands on help. When you can see it its a lot easier to understand than interpreting written sentences but to try to answer some of your questions now:
Someone else has already pointed out your tree is both a tropical and an evergreen. These figs are very hardy and that has, no doubt, contributed to its survival so far. They don't seem to mind getting a bit dry sometimes and can go without food for quite a long time however, like most living things it will do far better when you give it optimum conditions.

Figs are on of the few trees that can survive inside. Your 2 new trees may not like to be inside for very long.

Watering by soaking the pot is ok (esp inside) but watering by the calendar is not the best approach. You need to get to know the potting mix and tree and water when it needs it. That's usually more often in summer and less in winter. You can use your finger to feel if the mix is still damp but that's hard with a layer of stones on the soil. Maybe a wooden skewer or something that you can push into the pot and pull out to see if there's any damp in the soil. Most of us water our bonsai with a hose or watering can. my trees are all outside an I water twice each day during summer but less often in winter.

Your bonsai needs to be pruned when it grows. You decide what shape and size you want and when shoots grow outside your desired shape you cut them back. If your tree has not been really happy it may not have grown much so won't need pruning.

Feeding: When you water a small pot lots the available fertiliser gets washed out of the pot so the tree soon has no food and cannot grow or stay healthy. Trees outside are watered more often so we try to feed every 2-3 weeks with any plant fertiliser. Indoor bonsai probably need less feeding but probably should get fed every 4-6 weeks.

After a time the potting mix starts to break down an the growing roots fill all the spaces in the potting mix. Eventually there is no room for air and water in the pot. Before that the tree needs to be repotted - take it out of the pot, cut off 1/2 - 3/4 of the roots, comb out old potting mix and repot with fresh mix. Trees tend to grow much better after repotting. Figs and other tropical are repotted during warmer months - November - Feb. Most bonsai get repotted evry 2-4 years.

That's probably the baiscs - you'll find all that and more in the Ausbonsai wiki.

[CheesedCream]

Wow, I seriously cannot believe how friendly and helpful the community has been to me on my first visit. Thank you to every single one of you who posted a reply and gave me your advice - I've written all the information down in a little note book that of mine is now dedicated to Bonsai! Sorry it took me a few days to reply due to school and other distractions in my life, but I already feel 10x more confident in keeping my Bonsai alive than I did before. I have had a brief look at the wiki and I'm already working on improving my watering habits and putting my Bonsai outside for a few hours a day to get some more sunshine and fresh air. I still have a few questions though:

With pruning, I haven't pruned my Bonsai since I got it, which is around about a year now. It has actually grow quite a lot. Unfortunately it isn't noticeable in the photos of course since I didn't post any of the plant when I originally got it, but all of those bigger leaves you see on either side of the trunk weren't there when I first had it. I haven't had a great look into pruning yet, but I'm not sure if it's ready. Just need a bit of advice with this.

Would taking the red stones out of the Bonsai pot be better for the plant? I would have easier access to the dirt - making it much easier to water, feed and repot once I have to - but on the other side they look quite nice and fit the colour scheme of my room. I could just take a small pile out every time I need to water it so I can check the soil better, but I'm curious whether the stones are necessary.

That's about all the major questions I have just off of the top of my head, but I'm sure many more will come. Fortunately one of my friends saw me browsing the AusBonsai website at school and turns out I know someone who is actually interested in Bonsai too! We are hopefully going to join a club together soon so I won't be the only noob on the block!

Thanks again everyone, I would tag you all in this post if I knew how but I'm still new to the forums as well

- Dallas

[shibui]

Most bonsai have some sort of soil covering. 1. It looks good, 2. It helps stop the potting mix washing away when you water. People use different soil coverings depending what effect they want and what they have available. 1. Moss - looks good, like grass under the tree but can be hard to keep it alive. 2 gravel - If you can't grow moss then some sort of gravel or sand is the next choice. Select a colour and texture that gives the look you want for your bonsai composition.
Stone is cheap and quick so most of the commercial suppliers use it. To stop it falling off the pot while they are being shipped they now use some sort of glue to hold the stones in place. most of us advise removing the glued stones so you can water better. Put them back lose if you like.

I can see the long shoots that have grown on your fig. The natural growth habit of figs is to grow long thin shoots with very few side branches. If you leave them they'll just grow longer and longer.
At the base of every leaf there is a bud just waiting to grow but while the end bud is growing they don't get a chance to sprout. When you trim the end off a shoot the dormant buds can start to grow and your tree will get bushier.
The other growth habit of figs is that the first leaves that grow are smaller. Each subsequent leaf is a little larger as you can see on your tree. Cutting the shoots back will remove some of the larger leaves and the new shoots that grow will start off with smaller leaves. Repeated grow and prune produces a bushier tree with lots of shoots and smaller leaves.

There's no real right time of year to trim long shoots. We cut them whenever they grow too long. Figs are subtropical so they don't grow too well in cool weather and most pruning and repotting is done in warmer weather. Yours is inside so it won't get too cold so you can prune whenever you want.
You need to have some image of what you want the tree to look like in your mind so you can let some areas grow longer and keep others a bit shorter and cut of some altogether so that your tree ends up looking like you want it. If in doubt just let shoots grow until they have around 6 leaves then cut it back to leave 2 or 3 leaves and wait for the new shoots to start growing. It is hard to hurt a tree just by cutting the shoots so don't worry, just trim those longer ones.

[dansai]

A great book to learn about how plants grow is Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon. It will give a good introduction to plant parts, growth cycles and a lot more. If you can, get hold of a copy.