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Sun, Sep 27, 09 at 18:19
| I apoligize for the vague topic title, but I'm very new to the art of bonsai and I could use all the advice i can get. I purchased a ficus religiosa seedling by mail and a book for beginners, and it would be very appreciated if a vetran to the art could check my progress. I have pruned the main shoot of the seedling, loosley wired the trunk for shape, added wire to the base of the trunk for thickening, and placed the pot in a tray with some water (for humidity). The base of the pot is not in the water, so the roots wont rot. i have directed an incandescent bulb on the seedling, as i live in a dorm room in Massachusetts (hardness zone 5b) and the light isn't the best, and i have a natural sunlight bulb on the way to replace the incandescent one. Would a flourescent full spectrum bulb be more beneficial? I water the plant only when necessary, and i plan to repot the plant when my ceramic pot arrives with my new soil, sometime within the next week. I'm looking to shape my plant into the moyogi style, with exposed roots. My only concern as of right now is a wrinkling of the leaves. I don't believe that this is due to lack of water, and the tray under the pot is supposed to keep the area around the plant humid. Is this enough, or do I need to purchase a humidifier? I frequently spray the leaves with water to simulate the tropical climate ficus religiosa is used to. Also, at this stage in the tree's life, should I be letting it grow freely for a few years? Or should I be pruning it each spring? I am very new at this and I appreciate the advice anyone can give to me. Thank you very much
Joe |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by jack_r 9 (jrbonsai@verizon.net) on Mon, Sep 28, 09 at 1:50
| The tree will be happier outdoors until the night time temps fall below 45F. I think your wrinkled leaves are caused by being too close to the light bulb and it is overcoming your humidity tray. A broad spectrum flourescent would be better. The guy you want to talk to is Jerry Meislik who grows a lot of Ficus under lights in Montana. He has written a book on Ficus bonsai culture and has a website I'm sure. Just Google him and you should get in just fine. |
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- Posted by head_cutter Vietnam (My Page) on Wed, Sep 30, 09 at 21:43
| You will have problems emulating anything close to 'ideal' conditions in a western home. Jerry has an entire room dedicated to tropical conditions. It will grow alright with enough heat light and humidity, a humidity tray will do some good but only some. They thrive, like other tropicals and sub tropicals in water-soaked heat found in the tropics. As far as the 'wrinkled' leaves you didn't say if it went away or what happened. I recently bought a common ficus here to play with, after the first hard cutting there was a big flush of new growth all over. While many of the new leaves opened looking very wrinkled and deformed they quickly took on a normal look and are now growing normally. I figure it's a growth habit of the tree. Bob |
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- Posted by beachplant 9b (beachplant@excite.com) on Mon, Oct 19, 09 at 14:02
| ficus are nice and tough. And a great plant to start with. Don't let anyone, especially on this forum, stop you from trying. Read everything you can and adapt from there. You'll do great, learn a lot and have fun. Isn't that the whole point of bonsai or gardening for that matter? Tally HO! |
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