IKEA Fiscus Microcarpa Ginsing

[Itsuo]

Greetings all,

I'm new to the bonsai world and purchased my first bonsai from Ikea nearly a month agohttp://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80118468/. I've been left with very little information from Ikea on how to care for it, and everyone I speak to about it gives me contradicting information. All the while my bonsai is not doing very well. It's lost probably over 60% of it's leaves, which the instructions say will happen from the original relocation but it is still giving me a lot of grief.


I also know not to over water it but I still am struggling with understanding if I'm over watering or under watering it. :/ I started with once a week when the soil seemed a little more dry than normal but as the leaves continued to fall off, I've moved to watering every 2-3 days and draining the run off to prevent constant soaking at the bottom. The leaves are still falling off.


I've attached pictures from when I first bought it, its condition a week ago, and today. It lives in a well lit room but there is not a lot of direct sunlight to the plant. I'm not sure if that is an issue as the instructions say it's okay to have it indoor, and it's getting cold here so leaving it outside would surely expose it to sub 50deg weather. I have bought some fertilizer but I haven't used it yet. I would be very willing to buy a light for it that I could put on a timer if that is possible. Does anyone have any information for what kind of light might be purchased for that?


Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Ross]

If you're going to keep it inside, it needs to go as close to a window as possible. It's definitely not getting enough light if it's back in a room somewhere. Don't water it if the topsoil still feels damp, but don't ever let it completely dry out. When you water it, water it fully by taking it over to the sink and really watering it till it drains out the bottom for a bit. If you don't have a little watering can, you can poke a bunch of little holes in the top of a 20oz water bottle and use that to "rain" the water down over the entire surface of the soil. Really though, it will be an uphill battle trying to grow anything indoors as most plants need sunlight, humidity, air circulation etc., and it's nearly impossible to replicate without a serious monetary investment. A little weak fertilizer solution wouldn't hurt, but at this point it's probably not going to help anything much. Light and watering should be your primary concerns. Good luck!

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Welcome!


First off, and it may unintentionally sound harsh, but realize that, to many bonsaiists, this isn't a true bonsai. The big fat tuber roots are considered by many to be ugly. However, these do make excellent trees to train with.

Only water when the soil is dry. Keep a chopstick (or similar) kept in the soil and pull it out to check if the soil is wet or not. Give the tree as much light as you can, the more light the better.

Ficus are practically bulletproof.

 

[mat]

You'll find lots of similarly started threads here if you search.

Are you keeping it outside? Have you heard of the chopstick method as it relates to the timing of watering?

Ficus are tough plants. Leaf-drop isn't always a doomsday signal. Good luck.

Edit:
After re-reading I see that it's indoors. That won't help. Looks like a few of us were typing our replies at once.

 

[Itsuo]

Thank you all for you thoughts. I've made an effort to get it outside and I've started using just a drop of fertilizer per watering and it's made ALL the difference!

My only question now is should I cut the branches that lost all their leaves and appear to be drying up?



Ross,

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I am currently working to have a shelf my plant can sit on and be next to the window for the morning sun, once it finishes its rehabilitation outside (while the weather is still great). I've also employed your water bottle watering technique. It's a little hard to water-and-drain indoors as I have to always tilt it to get the water out, thus meaning I have to take it to the bathroom after every water... Maybe I will try the light frequent watering and see if I can get away with that?

Red-Ryan,

I am sorry about referring to the plant as a bonsai. I will switch to Fiscus, as I've stated before I'm new to this game. I actually bought one of those digital water monitors, I find it fairly useful for determining wether or not the bottom is still completely soggy before watering again.

Mat,

I apologize if it's a common question. I tried to do a similar search but didn't see anything that I thought was dealing with a similar situation. Thank you for the words of encouragement! It looks like sunlight really was the main issue. The weather will get much cooler here pretty soon so I will try to get by with having it in my room next to the window. Fingers crossed!

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Thank you all for you thoughts. I've made an effort to get it outside and I've started using just a drop of fertilizer per watering and it's made ALL the difference!

My only question now is should I cut the branches that lost all their leaves and appear to be drying up?

View attachment 42400



Red-Ryan,

I am sorry about referring to the plant as a bonsai. I will switch to Fiscus, as I've stated before I'm new to this game. I actually bought one of those digital water monitors, I find it fairly useful for determining wether or not the bottom is still completely soggy before watering again.

In D.C., this tree should be indoors this time of year. We're getting down into the cold weather, so this tree won't be a fan of the lower temps.

Your Ficus () is considered by some to be bonsai, but realize that it won't be "show-worthy" as many look down upon this kind of material. If you think it's a bonsai, then that's all that matters. Whatever makes you happy.

IMO, I wouldn't rely on those water monitors to tell you when to water, they can be quite faulty and unreliable.