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| Hello,
I have a Ficus benjamina bonsai start that I purchased in October. It dropped a lot of leaves when I first brought it home, then it stabilized and has produced a lot of new buds (perhaps three times as many, compared to the number of open leaves) none of which, to my knowledge have opened. It hasn't dropped a single leaf in some time. I have some poor quality webcam pictures that I'm having difficulty attaching, but will continue to try. Maybe someone is familiar with this kind of thing and can suggest a solution from the following description. Some other facts that may be relevant in helping you folks diagnose my problem: - I water just about weekly, lifting the stone on top of the bonsai soil and watering if the underside is dry. - The plant lives near a south window @ about 65-68 deg/F, humidity is ~40%, sometimes more [humidity tray]. - I fertilized with Miracle Grow Houseplant feed, half the recommended dosage not too long ago, and I have watered with a very diluted amount of Superthrive recently. - It was sustained with flur. lights over the winter, and repotted into a commerical bonsai soil (New England bonsai tropical/sub-tropical mix of pine bark mulch, turface, coarse river sand..) That's about it, I guess. I spoil this thing, or at least try to. Thanks very much for all your help. DP |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Get the stone off the top of the soil and don't replace it. It's in the way of various things, plus your method of judging dryness is not ideal. You need to water til it comes out the drain holes, but then wait til the majority of the soil is dry again before repeating. The tree needs more light and warmth than it's getting. Forget the Superthrive, but do give it more fertilizer than you've been doing. Don't spoil it, just make sure it does have what it needs. Good luck. |
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- Posted by omniphasic 9 Ca (omniphasic@yahoo.com) on Mon, Mar 17, 08 at 22:51
| I've found by spraying the leaves with a heavily diluted miracle grow fertilizer helps Ficus b. remain healthy and lush.....do it outdoors in the shade in warmer months only,and occasionally in cooler months. |
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- Posted by dpscholastic1 Zone 3 (VT) (My Page) on Wed, Mar 19, 08 at 19:23
| Thanks for the tips folks! Ok, so it's too cold, and it's not getting enough light. I suppose I could supplement the southerly light with a flurescent, at least until spring is REALLY here... What temp would be ideal? Will these buds open in time, or will they be lost? Also, an ornamental rock is really in the way of things? Could you explain? It just sits on top of the soil and takes up less than 5% of the soil surface area....I see what you're saying about the method of judging dryness, but must I remove it altogether? Thanks again, dp |
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| Anything up to 85 or so F. wouldn't be too hot, especially if it also has good humidity around. Impossible to say about the buds. I thought you were talking about a wall to wall layer of glued on pebbles that comes with a lot of 'bonsai' (cuttings stuck in small pots and called bonsai), so that 90% coverage would be bad, but an individual rock is fine (if maybe inappropriate for ficus). |
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