Known for more than 800 to 2000 various species, Ficus Bonsai Trees are undoubtedly the most popular ones among bonsai. They are mainly tropical plants that are frequent throughout south-eastern Asia. Commonly found bonsai ficus types are Retusa with its types, Religiosa, Carica, Benjamina, and Ginseng.
Ficus bonsai is a widespread house plant that can appear as woody trees, small shrubs, or climbing plants. It produces waxy leaves that are long-lasting. Ficus bonsai is mainly in the informal upright style, but we can find them also in the formal upright, slanting, semi-cascade, twin-trunk, triple-truck, and clasped-to-rock styles.
Besides its beauty, another benefit of Ficus bonsai is its leaves. It has unique pointed points that let it drain off precipitation, and its sizes can vary. Most fig plants also have strong aerial roots and smooth gray bark.
While most Ficus species have hidden flowers in tiny receptacles from which their fruits emerge, some of them are capable of producing lovely flowers. Those hidden blossoms can only be pollinated by specialized fig wasps.
Nevertheless, how to care for Bonsai ficus trees? The care and cultivation of these miniature trees encapsulate a blend of tradition, patience, and skill, making the journey of mastering Ficus bonsai care not only a testament to your gardening process but also a deeply rewarding personal achievement.
❗️Warning: ficus plants produce a toxic milky latex sap from their trunk.
In this article, I’ll talk about essential tips and tricks for selecting the right ficus tree, preparing it for styling, and implementing effective pruning and shaping techniques. Additionally, I’ll focus on best practices for repotting and root care, alongside ongoing maintenance strategies to ensure your ficus bonsai thrives. Whether a seasoned gardener or a beginner eager to embark on this fascinating horticultural venture, this guide will equip you with enough knowledge to cultivate the ficus bonsai with confidence.
If you need more help in caring for a large variety bonsai or simply want identify a tree to buy, take a look our website ooobonsai.com. Here you can find valuable information as well as many types of miniature beauties.
❗️Note: Getting in contact with it can cause skin irritation and allergic reactions in humans. Pets, specifically cats and dogs, can also suffer dermal and gastrointestinal irritation once they chew the plant’s leaves. Thus, make sure to keep pets safe.
Name | Ficus bonsai |
Botanical name | Moraceae |
Family | mulberry (Moraceae) or rainforest fig family |
Native to | Southwest Asia |
Type | fast-growing |
Care type | indoor |
Disease and pests | Pretty resistable to pests, sometimes scale or spider mites |
Light | Full, direct sunlight |
How to Care for Ficus Bonsai?
When choosing a plant, one should always pay attention to their lifestyle and the care level of that plant. Some might need a little more care than others. But they all have a chance to grow and thrive in your home. Apparently, the health and beauty of the plant strongly depend on the care provided. Thus, to know how to care for bonsai ficus tree and more, just read to the end. Were there any questions, leave a comment or use a live chat on ooobonsai.com.
Similar to other bonsai types, Ficus bonsai tree care involves the right location, light, watering, pruning, soil, temperature, feeding, repotting, and propagation.
Below I will discuss all factors one to one to enrich in all and every step of bonsai journey.
Light and placement
Let’s start with light. Here I need to confess that Ficus bonsai trees are quite tolerant of low levels of light. Still, they should still be placed in a bright location. However, It doesn’t necessarily mean to keep in the sunlight shines through a window for long, as it can hit the leaves of the tree. At the same time, rays of sunshine of the season can boost real energy. Remember, ficus bonsai is frost tender, so be very careful to leave it outdoors at nighttime even in the summer.
❗️Note: Ginseng ficus requires a good amount of light, plant lights can be a good aid as well. They don’t tolerate shade at all.
On the other hand, hot-friendly bonsai ficus can’t endure cold winters. So be sure not to keep them outside when it’s not hot summer, more sunlight, not shady areas. Though it can tolerate low humidity, it’s not preferable,
When it comes to placement year-round, only in tropical regions ficus bonsai can be both indoors and outdoors year-round. Even inside, it’s always preferable to put the plant in an area full of sunlight.
❗️Note: The temperature should be kept relatively constant.
Soil
When it comes to the requirement of soil type, then ficus bonsai needs a type with proper water retention, drainage and aeration. In the frame of this, there are several types of soil that are perfect to use:
- Akadama
- Pumice
- Lava rock,
- Pine bark,Perlite
Water and humidity
Here, in watering stage, I highly recommend being out of any dogmas or habits. Ficus bonsai should be watered on observation, it prefers moist soil. If the soil gets slightly dry, it speaks of watering need. Though it tolerates occasional overwatering or underwatering, do your best to avoid it. Mist spraying with water is beneficial to guarantee a humid atmosphere, yet, be careful not to provoke fungal problems.
The warmer the placement of the fig during winter, the more water it needs. If it’s kept in a cooler place it only needs to be kept slightly moist.
❗️Note: The Bonsai Ficus prefers room temperature soft water
To cut it short, too much water will damage the roots, and the leaves will yellow and fall off, whereas too little water will result in the leaves becoming dry and brittle. Thus, the balance is the key here as well.
Based on the season, watering process should be adjusted to ensure proper nourishment.
⚠️ Warning: Never water on a schedule, as it can cause certain problems, such as root rot.
Temperature
As for temperature, it’s important to remember that ficus bonsai species are tropical, so they can’t bear extreme coldness, frosty conditions, and cold drafts. Winter protection on the tree is highly needed. Thus, if the temperature drops below 60°F (15°C), make sure to do any of the following:
- Moving the tree inside.
- Place the tree in an unheated garage, cold frame, or greenhouse.
❗️Note: With all relocations, still proper care should be provided daily.
Fertilizer
The next important step to know how to care for Bonsai ficus tree is fertilizing. Similar to people, plants also need food to survive. So right fertilizing based on needs and requirements is crucial.
Fertilizing should be scheduled, vary during the seasons, and have various aims. When talking about the type of fertilizer, liquid, as well as organic fertilizer pellets can be used, though pellet fertilizers are recommended for the majority of bonsai species to prevent root burn.
Depending on the type of fertilizer, the plant might need to be fertilized more frequently than every two weeks, throughout the growing season.
Nonetheless, early spring through October is the ideal season to fertilize the tree. It actively aids in the tree’s growth and new shoot development.
To put it briefly, if the plant continues to grow, fertilizer should be applied every two weeks during the summer and every four weeks during the winter. Throughout the growing season, which runs from spring to October, feed once every two weeks.
Now let’s discuss the needs that determine the fertilization schedule. A tree may require more or less fertilization depending on its growth stage and overall health. To improve health, for example, sick or young plants should receive more nutrition support by having pellet fertilizers applied every few weeks during the growing season.
Pruning and wiring
The other important factors to focus on are pruning and wiring of the plant. The first is required to retain the tree’s shape, while the second – to correct and style or enhance the the plant growth in desired directions. So, leaf pruning or defoliation is for reducing leaf size, as some Ficus Bonsai species have enormous leaves.
The Ficus stays unaffected by the subsequent severe cuts required and leaks milky sap. After cutting, new growth emerges from the old wood. New leaves are light green, maturing to dark green, before yellowing and falling off.
This is a gradual process and is to be expected. The aim is to make sure that new growth is gotten and replaced the old leaves before they fall. Branches can be wired with ease.
❗️Note: Though the Ficus is an evergreen bonsai tree, it doesn’t mean that each leaf will last forever
Now, let me speak about wiring tips and techniques. Ficus specimens are usually very vlexible, that’s why it can be shaped in many forms. However, while shaping ficus bosnia, aluminum wires are teh best choice. Wiring and bending thin to medium Ficus branches is easy, but the wires should be checked regularly as they can cut into the bark very quickly. When there are strong branches, they’d better be shaped with guy-wires because they can be left on the tree for a much longer period. Based on tree style wiring is also different.
The best season of wiring is in springtime, right after pruning to ensure easier access. But it doesn’t mean wiring year-round restricted.
Note: Check the wires regularly and remove them once it starts to bite into the bark to avoid scarring.
Repotting
The good news is that ficus tolerates root pruning quite well; the bad news is that ficus needs to be replanted in the spring every other year. Certain varieties may be repotted in the spring every two or three years. As was previously said, ficus bonsai require a soil composition with adequate drainage and water retention. Along with repotting, trim any robust, thick roots to manage the tree’s growth. To reduce the likelihood of overwatering or waterlogging, coarse soil is the ideal option for clearing anything obstructing the pot’s drainage hole and allowing extra water to escape the container.
❗️Note: Transfer your tree to a slightly wider pot, if you wish to encourage larger growth.
Propagation
Springtime is commonly accepted as the best time for planting Ficus seeds, though cuttings can be planted year-round, they have better succes in mid-summer growth. When it comes to air-layering, it works during spring perfectly well.
Approach-grafting is a technique to use while fusing ficus trees, it helps make the structure more appealing.
Applying some pressure while placine branches, roots and trunks together is a great way of fuse.
Many young plants can be tied together to fuse them and build a single strong trunk. Fig tree branches and roots can also be grafted quite easily. Even it is possible take aerial roots from one part of the tree and graft them into a different position, if there is ideal growing conditions. On the other hand, grafting can be used across the wounds for faster healing, or closing of large wounds, young plants, shoots, or aerial roots. Thus, everything based on the experience, if one is well-experienced, they can work on fig trees with a nearly unlimited range of creative freedom and bring more appealing stuff to Ficus Bonsai plant.
Pests and diseases
Compared to Juniper bonsai, Fig species are quite resistant against pests. If interested in Juniper bonsai care read our article “How to care for juniper bonsai”.
However, it doesn’t mean that Ficus is a hundred percent protected from any pests or diseases.
Depending on the location, time of year, especially in the winter the plants are still susceptible to several issues: dry air and a lack of light often result in leaf drop.
In poor conditions like these or sometimes, they may be infested with scale or spider mites.
Due to well-resistance, it is very easy to get rid of the pests, simply customary insecticide stick or sprays are enough, but what is important, to improve weakened ficus living conditions by providing enough light and mist for the plant. Thus, proper care and nutrition is pretty enough for the plant to grow and thrive.
Conclusion
Ficus is a good beginner-friendly bonsai species. However, in this article I’ve tried to arm you with enough knowledge how to care for bonsai ficus trees. Simply remember, caring for a ficus bonsai tree is a lifelong journey that rewards patience, dedication, and a deep appreciation for the art of bonsai. Care routine as the seasons change is better to be adjuste. In the art of bonsai fear is not acceptable, just experiment to find what works best for a unique bonsai. Therefore, start the ficus bonsai journey and unlock the secrets to a thriving and long-lasting tree that will bring endless delight.
Cultivate a thriving bonsai oasis today!