Free Ficus Nerifolia. Aka willow leaf ficus

[Polcyn]

I was at a local nursery and they had moved all of their "bonsai" trees to a back table and it appeared like they were about to be thrown away. So I asked someone about it and it turns out I was right! I inquired if I could look through the disgarded little trees and found a decent little ficus. So I took it.

I don't think this guy is going to win any shows, but I am going to have some fun with it anyways.

It's roots were literally growing up and out of the tiny pot it was in so I took it out to repot it and the root bundle is crazy. See pictures. I would like to grow it in a bigger pot for a few years but I think I need to trim back some of these roots. I don't want to kill it, so any advice on trimming these roots would be appreciated. I repotted it temporarily so as to not stress the tree too much. See pic

Also, with these long roots would it be crazy to try a root over rock style right out of the gate? Sorry if that is a rookie question!!

 

[sorce]

Nice!

Good place to have it for now.

My phone actually switched that "for" to "die"...

Omen!

The soil is a little ....soily....

But it could be ok.

Maybe layer it right above the dirt for new roots anyway!

Good species!

Sorce

 

[amcoffeegirl]

Hello and welcome.
First of all lucky you- nice find!
My best advice is to locate some bonsai soil.
There are many places that sell a premade mix.
Not all mixes are created equal.
Wigerts bonsai does do shipping nationwide.
Their mix consists of expanded clay, lava rock and pine bark. After you see their mix you may want to try to mix some yourself.
Then just let it grow a bit.
These are great trees. They are the only ficus I grow right now.
While your tree is growing
A few sites you can review are
Bonsaihunk.us and Adamaskwhy.com
Look up clip and grow technique for ficus- this will get you familiar with the growth pattern of your tree.
Any questions just ask.
Do some searching for care conditions to make sure you have enough light.

 

[Polcyn]

View attachment 143379 Hello and welcome.
First of all lucky you- nice find!
My best advice is to locate some bonsai soil.
There are many places that sell a premade mix.
Not all mixes are created equal.
Wigerts bonsai does do shipping nationwide.
Their mix consists of expanded clay, lava rock and pine bark. After you see their mix you may want to try to mix some yourself.
Then just let it grow a bit.
These are great trees. They are the only ficus I grow right now.
While your tree is growing
A few sites you can review are
Bonsaihunk.us and Adamaskwhy.com
Look up clip and grow technique for ficus- this will get you familiar with the growth pattern of your tree.
Any questions just ask.
Do some searching for care conditions to make sure you have enough light.

Would you suggest bonsai potting it right away or can I let it grow in regular soil to let its trunk grow for a year or two?

This is my first ficus, sorry if the question is an obvious one!

 

[amcoffeegirl]

The only fear I would have is the soil may stay too wet. You will have to watch it very closely.
In a fast draining mix there is less fear of over watering and it encourages the growth of fine feeder roots instead of a tap (like) root.

 

[Paradox]

Cute little tree
It would be really hard to get those thick roots to conform to a rock.

I agree with coffeegirl, the soil will stay too wet.

 

[petegreg]

Good you saved it. They are not so easy to find here in Europe.

 

[aphid]

View attachment 143379

amcoffeegirl, cute set up! It looks permanent. Do you keep yours inside all year round? How do you keep spider mites at bay? I bring mine inside for the winter. The willow leaf ficuses lose all the leaves after a couple of months and don't have leaves again until I bring them back outside in spring.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

amcoffeegirl, cute set up! It looks permanent. Do you keep yours inside all year round? How do you keep spider mites at bay? I bring mine inside for the winter. The willow leaf ficuses lose all the leaves after a couple of months and don't have leaves again until I bring them back outside in spring.

I do keep them inside all year at this time.
Sometimes they will defoliate themselves if I forget to water or sometimes for no reason at all. The only time I've had pests is when I bring a new tree home. To regrow leaves quickly I given lots of light and warm temps. It always makes me nervous when this happens.

 

[Polcyn]

Ok, so I did a 2.5 hour one on one at a local Bonsai place. Really had a great time, the guy seemed to know his shit. One of the things we did was root prune and pot this little ficus.

Now it is losing all of its leaves. I think this is probably just shock from going from the nursery to my house and then root pruned and repotted all in the same week.

Also, I have noticed that it has alway had a white "dandruff" on all of it's leaves that literally can be blown and wiped off. I thought this was possibly hard water residue from the nursery... see pictures.

If I am wrong with one or both of these assumptions any advice would be great. Thanks

 

[Anthony]

Should have also thinned out the branches, way too many.
Sure this guy knew what he was doing?

Might not have enough root to support the top.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Polcyn]

I was just about to begin trimming branches when the leaves started jumping ship! Figured I would wait to trim so as not to stress it further. Idk, maybe I should trim now.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

Since it's defoliating you may trim.
I just cut the growing tips off.
You can leave all the branches and decide later which ones to keep.
Water it good then test and see if it needs another drink every 2-3 days.
I check on mine every day. At this time you don't want to let it dry out too long but don't overwater either. If you trim back the growing ends of every branch then new growth will form. look up directional pruning. If you cut the branch before the leaf then it will grow the same direction as that leaf.
Also the white spots are just water spots.
You may lose all your leaves- don't panic.
Remain calm. Bright lights and warm temps will grow them back.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

When you start to see buds like this then you will know new leaves are forming. Be patient.
This is what I mean by just cut off the growing tips. Inside each leaf a new branch or leaf may form. You may get one or two branches to form. Let it recover before you remove any branches.
On the 2nd pic I just root pruned this one so my leaves look bad- yellowish.
I may lose some of those but it will recover.


If you want to thin some branches you can- there's a lot. Lol cut even with the trunk.
Do you have any bonsai tools?

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I use fiskars micro tip for most of my pruning.
I also have a wire cutter and concave cutter
You will want these eventually.
They are sharp so be careful.
Leave on most of the lower branches
This will help it thicken up.
-Cut anything growing vertical in the mid section.
-Any crossing branches eliminate one.
-And any branches that are right across from each other- bar branches.
Leave a lot of branches still on it. Maybe remove 1/3 if you want to. They are easier to remove them than to grow them back.

And now you see there is no such thing as a free ficus

 

[Polcyn]

Appreciate all the help! I will keep you updated on its progress. I have some tools, but DAMN can they be expensive!!

 

[Polcyn]

Well, I started thinning my leaf poor ficus.... I think I am going to shoot for a slanted style.... if it survives.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

It's been through a lot .
It should be fine though.
Have you spotted any others you want to try?
Any other ficus or another willow leaf?

 

[Polcyn]

I have a trident, brt, ginkgo and a dwarf cherry. Just getting started really. I am really amazed how much I enjoy the art. You get it though!

 

[amcoffeegirl]

The maple goes outside right?
Can I see the ginkgo too?
You have your hands full then for now.
They will grow well this time of year. Fatten them up.