I need help with a bonsai tree I bought my husband from Home Depot!?

Question

I believe it is a ficus bonsai, the tag on it said costafarms.com and the only instructions were to water 1x a week and keep in sunlight. I don't know how old it is, what to do as far as pruning, shaping, fertilizing, repotting etc. The websites I have found give WAY too much information and I am overwhelmed. I have never had a plant that I didn't kill.

Answer 1

Certainly looks like a ficus and a beautiful one at that. Look at care for indoor plants on this site. The gentleman in the first pic is the owner/artist/grower.

http://www.american-bonsai.com

I used to kill plants until I stopped frying them in sunlight, burning their roots by overfeeding them, and FLOODING them with affection by overwatering them. (Nobody likes to sit in puddles of water.)

You'll be fine and so will the plant. Good Growing.

Edit:

This is one long care page but it's relatively easily digested.

http://www.american-bonsai.com/care.php

Answer 2

First, take a deep breath. ;-)

Bonsai is a very slow art form, so don't worry about having to learn everything at once.

Just keep the plant moist and in a sunny spot. The best way to water a bonsai is to fill up a tub/bucket and submerge the plant.

As for the rest of learning about bonsai, give the plant to your husband along with a gift card to a local bookstore. Then ... let him worry about it.

Hope this helps. Again, remember that it takes years (and years and years) to train a bonsai, so don't rush it.

Ask again if you have a more specific question.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Your tree is definitely a ficus - most likely Ficus retusa to be specific. AKA Chinese Banyan Tree.

Ficus' are easy to take care of , and there's no need to worry about being overwhelmed by the tree. Nothing is going to happen so fast that you can't handle.

The first thing I would suggest is to remove most of the moss covering the soil. It's just there for show and only hides the soil. You'll need to see the soil to know when to water. Moss does not grow well indoors and if a ficus is covered in thriving moss, it's probably way to wet anyway.

Here's some easy to follow tips for keeping it healthy.

LOCATION: Keep you ficus in a bright location indoors, or better yet, outdoors (but not in direct sun) until the temperatures fall below 50 degrees.

WATER: The soil (which now you can hopefully see) should not be kept wet. Ficus' like to dry out a little between waterings, so watch the surface of the soil. When it's starting to look dry, give it some water. Water from the top with a regular watering can or garden hose just like any other plant.

FERTILIZER: Look for a low number balanced fertilizer (5-5-5) for example. A water soluble fertilizer is easy to use because you can dissolve it into a watering can and feed the plant when you water. Follow the direction on how often to apply it, but cut the amount used in half. Example - if the bottle says use 1 cap full per gallon of water, use only 1/2 cap full. Bonsais shouldn't be forced to grow fast with lots of ferts, but they do need nourishment.

REPOTTING: You have at least a year before you need to worry about that. By then you may really get into the bonsai hobby, then it will be a simple task.

TRIMMING/SHAPING: Until you decide to learn more about this subject - and it can get involved - you'll just want to prune of any stray shoots that take away from it's current shape. Trim with either sharp scissors or a small pruner. You can either cut part of a branch or the whole branch depending on how you want it to look. Whichever you do, each time you trim, you'll be helping the tree make new buds to develop more branches.

Once you're comfortable with the tree, you may want to start looking on websites and reading up to learn the details of how to further shape and style your tree.

Good luck with your new tree. :)