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Tue, Sep 9, 08 at 17:34
| I got this plant a couple months ago, and amazingly it's still alive. It's lasted longer than any other bonsai I've owned. I have it in a place where it gets a mix of shade and direct sun outdoors here in Southern California. The climate is mild but on the dry side, near the ocean.
It only gets water 2-3 times a week but never appears to be dehydrated. I've given it a couple of doses of weak fertilizer. Mainly I'm wondering if the plant needs pruning yet. Do these look better if allowed to get bushy or should I perhaps eliminate all but one or two of the branches and allow them to grow out and thicken? Also I don't know how long it has been in this pot, so no telling if it needs a root pruning. |
Here is a link that might be useful: My ficus
Follow-Up Postings:
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| The pot is about 3 inches tall, in case you can't tell. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Side view
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| Hi, looks quite promising and I like the pot, however I would take a breadknife and slide it down all the sides, stick a finger in the drain hole and get the whole thing out to check the roots. Even if they're not yet too large for the pot, I might want to get it into a wider pot, possibly a bit shorter - unless you are happy with the pot, and the roots don't need help (yet). When you repot, gently (it's hard!) try to spread the rootball outward from the bottom - not radically, and try not to tear a lot of roots, but it'll be a start at shortening it up somewhat and encouraging lateral growth. Also, if you are comfortable, see if the soil needs more grit (probably does) and add a bunch, possibly also some bark (it's chunky but soft, so break up some pieces) from a bag of Orchid Mix (Schultz is good). If you need help find a local club and bring your tree, some aquarium gravel (for now), the bark and a new pot along so you can see how it's done. |
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| Like Lucy's sentiment,if you want a larger plant you will need a larger pot. If you like it very dwarf then it needs to be cut way back,as the branches are stretching out. Ficus retusa is difficult to prune into layers. When i have seen it done the trees had very short,thick stumpy branches.Almost topiary. Even the masters sometimes give up on keeping them the traditional way..they grow too fast for wireing and will scar very easily.So,what I have seen alot of is a wide fat trunk with great almost perfectly evenly space roots circuling the trunk and a round crown. AND for only $2,000! |
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| Thanks for the insights, guys. |
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