Thinking of buying a ficus

dtreesj said:
Oh, cool then. Could I get away with a mini humidifier?
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The size of your humidifier will depend on room size, amount of potted plants, and level of containment and airflow...

I’d recommend getting a temp/RH monitor...

Some days, I don’t NEED the humidifier..... (I have a relatively small one, as well.. coolmist... the heating elements on the “hotfog” kinds poses problems and actuallyL effects RH(relative humidity) negatively.. TOO much humidity can be equally devastating, as well.
 
dtreesj said:
Hmm, I might need to rethink a bit. I also have cacti and I don't want the humidity to interfere with them.
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When I say humidifier...I'm not talking high humidity. Typically come winter a home is well below a healthy humidity even for humans. (Pulmonary specialist told me that.) 30-50 percent for humidity is my ballpark. I don't stress it. My trees are happy even with a long cold winter of hitting 30 percent for humidity for long durations. That is with a humidifier.
 
F. Microcarpa is a vigorous and tough plant. It can also take surprisingly cold temperatures. I got my 2 from a local nursery that has since closed (Hollow Creek Bonsai), Fred used to let them get down to near freezing. I don't do that with mine, but I do leave them out pretty late in the fall, until temps are dropping into the 30s. I will bring them in at about 38 F and then put them back out in the sun. During the winter I don't bother with supplemental lighting and trying to keep them growing, I just put them in an unheated mudroom where temps generally run in the 40s. There are windows so some light, but we get almost no sun during the winter. They lose a few leaves but not many. Just need to keep them watered, it's easy to forget when they're out of the way like that.

Willow leaf ficus are nice plants but I think they might be a bit less cold tolerant. I don't let those get down below 40 in the fall and I keep them in the house in a window during the winter. They don't grow during that time but they hold their leaves pretty well. In late winter though the leaves do start to get ratty and I usually defoliate completely when I put them outside for the summer. I've tried keeping them under grow lights (metal halide or LED) during winter but haven't had much success with that.
 
HorseloverFat said:
The size of your humidifier will depend on room size, amount of potted plants, and level of containment and airflow...

I’d recommend getting a temp/RH monitor...

Some days, I don’t NEED the humidifier..... (I have a relatively small one, as well.. coolmist... the heating elements on the “hotfog” kinds poses problems and actuallyL effects RH(relative humidity) negatively.. TOO much humidity can be equally devastating, as well.
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Yeah, I don't really have any rooms as such in the ground floor of my house.
 
dtreesj said:
Are ficus as easy as they say? I recently had a juniper die (probably, at least part of it is dead) but I want to buy something else now. Not sure how I killed the juniper exactly, but I have 12 other trees that I've kept alive for over a year, so I think it was just a fluke. At the same time I don't want to waste more money if I'll end up murdering another tree.
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There is no thinking, only doing :)

But seriously, it depends on the user. I’ve kept mine happy and healthy while the person I gifted a similar one to at the same time I bought mine, killed it within 3 months. If you give it love and proper attention, it’s pretty easy. 👍🏼
 
dtreesj said:
Oh, cool then. Could I get away with a mini humidifier?
Click to expand...

I don't use a humidifier for my tropicals in the winter. I have the pots in trays with the pots on tiles to allow drainage. They get enough humidity from excess water that goes through the pot when I water.
 
dtreesj said:
Yeah, I don't really have any rooms as such in the ground floor of my house.
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My room is wide open with a cathedral ceiling. I think not over thinking is the best route. Lights,timer,humidifier and as one mentioned a sensor to know what is going on. We see arctic winters here. During those times I use a secondary heater. My trees aren't crowded either. it honestly not overly challenging.

The one on the left is an actual grow cart. The one on the right I used a garden bench and tossed a deep boot tray to catch run off. And a hydrofarm grow light. My trees are up on shallow pots or even those plastic deli tubs. Just so I can water well and not worry about it.
FB_IMG_1621284060382.jpg
 
Cadillactaste said:
My room is wide open with a cathedral ceiling. I think not over thinking is the best route. Lights,timer,humidifier and as one mentioned a sensor to know what is going on. We see arctic winters here. During those times I use a secondary heater. My trees aren't crowded either. it honestly not overly challenging.

The one on the left is an actual grow cart. The one on the right I used a garden bench and tossed a deep boot tray to catch run off. And a hydrofarm grow light. My trees are up on shallow pots or even those plastic deli tubs. Just so I can water well and not worry about it.
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You're right, I have dieffenbachia that are perfectly happy now that I think of it. I don't actually even know what the humidity is in my house, it could already be right for all I know. I should check it first before worrying.
 
dtreesj said:
You're right, I have dieffenbachia that are perfectly happy now that I think of it. I don't actually even know what the humidity is in my house, it could already be right for all I know. I should check it first before worrying.
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Winter heat tends to dry things out. So what you see now...will most likely change. And you may not need one. Mine isn't huge but for a larger size room. ..and it is a cool mist.
 
So I ended up buying two online. They were cheap so I'm not worried too much about the risk. I got a too-little and a tiger bark, they are just normal plants and not bonsai. I really don't want the pot and the S shape that the "bonsai" ones come in.
 
dtreesj said:
So I ended up buying two online. They were cheap so I'm not worried too much about the risk. I got a too-little and a tiger bark, they are just normal plants and not bonsai. I really don't want the pot and the S shape that the "bonsai" ones come in.
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Where did you buy? My guess with online material I’ve bought, is that you’ll probably eventually want to get it into a better soil and pot more than likely. Post some pics dude and keep us updated! Good luck!
 
rollwithak said:
Where did you buy? My guess with online material I’ve bought, is that you’ll probably eventually want to get it into a better soil and pot more than likely. Post some pics dude and keep us updated! Good luck!
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Got them from Hirts, I imagine they're safe enough even if they aren't super great.
 
dtreesj said:
I got two for the price of one of theirs including shipping. The ones I got are probably smaller though, which I kind of want anyway.
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Good for you, just throwing that out there in case you were interested.
 
I think you should address the double trunks now rather than later.
 
dtreesj said:
Hmm, I might need to rethink a bit. I also have cacti and I don't want the humidity to interfere with them.
Click to expand...

I have tigerbark, willow leaf and "too little" that sit all winter with my succulents and cacti. They don't seem to mind the low humidity...but they do stop growing for the winter. Some of my willow leafs lose leaves, some don't. My other ficus all just hang out. Kinda like taking a picture in 3D...they don't change much all winter.

Good air flow is very helpful...if the humidity is low spider mites will be high :(

Humidity isn't usually a problem with cacti...at least, I've never had it be. Wet feet in the off season is bad :( I've got a 4' saguaro that gets zero water from when I bring it in in the fall until it gets set back outside in the spring. My barrel cacti are smaller...they like a sip every month or two ;)
 
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