Brand new to Bonsai... need some advice.

[mr_monaco]

Hello all,

I am new to the community. I recently purchased this 12 year old Tiger Bark ficus Bonsai (pictured below) after wanting to get into Bonsai for years.



I have shears for clipping, a water meter to gauge soil moisture, fertilizers, wire, everything I could possibly need (I think!)

A couple of novice questions though, roughly what # on the water moisture scale should my Bonsai be at (0-10) ? I have seen 3 floating around online but nothing for my specific species.
I live in Miami where it is very hot & humid, but the tree stays inside all day.

Also, the yellow leaf below... what does that indicate? Ignore the scar, but I have had a few leaves like this so far. Turn yellow with green splotches.



Thank you in advance for the feedback... once I get the hang of everything, hopefully I can help out too!

 

[Lutonian]

Hi Best water meter is your eyes and fingers. You want the soil to dry up a bit but not bone dry then water till soil is wet through and repeat. Ficus will drop leaves when the environment changes I wouldn't worry about the yellow leaf.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Welcome to an amazing hobby. Would love some history on this tree. How you came about to owning it. Did you have it shipped? Where do you live?

Water meters don't work well with bonsai soil. But here is a tried and true resources I pulled for you on watering.

Watering Bonsai Trees

Watering Along with proper siting, proper watering is among the most critical tasks to master to become successful in the art of bonsai. Water too frequently, or too infrequently, and the tree's health declines. Usually, the symptoms of...

www.bonsainut.com

Personally love tigerbark ficus. Their bark as they age gets all gnarly. I have no clue as to the age of my tree. Sometimes its a sales gimic sometimes its a good estimate. But, thing with trees. If grown in the ground...verses pot. A tree grown in the ground can have a thicker trunk. So...age is a relatively deceptive concept. We want to have a tree that looks old.

Why I love tigerbark. Looked several years before this one ended up on my bench.

Mine just got a haircut...growing like a weed and foliage was about to burn...in the bulbs. Grow light 18 hours on while inside for winter.

 

[mr_monaco]

Thank you for the advice so far!

I bought the tree from Bonsai Outlet online, it was shipped to me in Miami.

I always had a curiosity for Bonsai, but last year I saw some incredible ones when I was in Japan and really fell in love. Researched and found tiger bark to be most suitable for inside, and went with that! Hoping that one day when my living situation changes I can have some Junipers outside too.

I know that lots of light is critical to smaller leaves, but if existing leaves are too large: do I wait for them to fall and smaller to grow? or do I clip and hope smaller grow?

Mine is probably getting around 9-10 hours of direct, and 3 hours indirect sun each day.

 

[Carol 83]

it was shipped to me in Miami.

Check out Wigert's, they are in Florida also. You'll get more bang for your buck there. If you are looking for something specific not listed on their website, you can e-mail Andrea there and she can tell you what they have. She'll even send pictures.

 

[Michael P]

I know that lots of light is critical to smaller leaves, but if existing leaves are too large: do I wait for them to fall and smaller to grow? or do I clip and hope smaller grow?

Mine is probably getting around 9-10 hours of direct, and 3 hours indirect sun each day.

That is plenty of light! All ficus bonsai should be so lucky.

Don't worry about size of the leaves until you have some experience with the tree and are sure you can keep it healthy. When that time comes, you can partially or completely defoliate the tree, and the new leaves will be smaller. This is an advanced technique used only on trees in refinement.

On watering, I find the chop stick method very helpful. Push a wooden chop stick or dowel into the root ball and leave it there all the time. When you want to check soil moisture, pull it out and feel the end. If it is dry or nearly so, it is time to water.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Allow it to acclimate, no trimming...was it shipped with a heat pack? Now essentially I wouldn't ship tropical. It came from Massachusetts...so colder climate. Surely kept in a greenhouse with good lights. So change in light will effect leaf...and you may see significant leaf drop. The new foliage will acclimate to your light. Tigerbark are awesome to have on the bench.

I must admit...I've not grown one without a grow light on for 18 hours. So that said...I can't offer any guidance on growing with light near a window.

 

[Michael P]

Could you put the tree outdoors, even on a patio or balcony?

 

[BonsaiNaga13]

What's the soil medium? Bonsai substrate or potting soil with rocks glued over the top? The later is bad for any tree.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Mine is probably getting around 9-10 hours of direct, and 3 hours indirect sun each day.

Any light from a window...is indirect light to a degree. Yet depending on the strength of the sun...sometimes can even burn foliage. It's a toss up in my minds eye as to what a plant gets through a window as to sun.

I have this sun room... with two 4x4 sky lights. I found trees next to the glass...got leggy. That tells me not enough natural light. I have a thing about creating the best optimal tight internodes on my trees. I was removing all winter growth because of it. This set me back...so I added grow lights. I get good growth...and my trees come inside and they don't skip a beat. Growing and no shock to its system with leaf drop.



Here's a peak at my tigerbark. I don't wire my secondary...for winter. ( I am used to hibernating through winter with bonsai and having dormant trees...To be wiring and unwiring them. I am afraid...I may find scaring. I know my limitations.) It allows them to grow at a quicker pace and thicken. I trimmed it not long ago. Because it grows nice inside under the grow lights.

 

[Eckhoffw]

Any light from a window...is indirect light to a degree. Yet depending on the strength of the sun...sometimes can even burn foliage. It's a toss up in my minds eye as to what a plant gets through a window as to sun.

I have this sun room... with two 4x4 sky lights. I found trees next to the glass...got leggy. That tells me not enough natural light. I have a thing about creating the best optimal tight internodes on my trees. I was removing all winter growth because of it. This set me back...so I added grow lights. I get good growth...and my trees come inside and they don't skip a beat. Growing and no shock to its system with leaf drop.

View attachment 344412

Here's a peak at my tigerbark. I don't wire my secondary...for winter. ( I am used to hibernating through winter with bonsai and having dormant trees...To be wiring and unwiring them. I am afraid...I may find scaring. I know my limitations.) It allows them to grow at a quicker pace and thicken. I trimmed it not long ago. Because it grows nice inside under the grow lights.
View attachment 344413

Damn Darlene! That’s a nice space!

 

[BonsaiNaga13]

Any light from a window...is indirect light to a degree. Yet depending on the strength of the sun...sometimes can even burn foliage. It's a toss up in my minds eye as to what a plant gets through a window as to sun.

I have this sun room... with two 4x4 sky lights. I found trees next to the glass...got leggy. That tells me not enough natural light. I have a thing about creating the best optimal tight internodes on my trees. I was removing all winter growth because of it. This set me back...so I added grow lights. I get good growth...and my trees come inside and they don't skip a beat. Growing and no shock to its system with leaf drop.

View attachment 344412

Here's a peak at my tigerbark. I don't wire my secondary...for winter. ( I am used to hibernating through winter with bonsai and having dormant trees...To be wiring and unwiring them. I am afraid...I may find scaring. I know my limitations.) It allows them to grow at a quicker pace and thicken. I trimmed it not long ago. Because it grows nice inside under the grow lights.
View attachment 344413

Holey Jabba the Hutt

 

[Cadillactaste]

Damn Darlene! That’s a nice space!

Thank you. To think what pulled me into the hobby...was not enough space for another house planted tree. Now look...I went and did something I swore I wouldn't do...added a second grow area...and with an actual hydrofarm grow light to boot. But have to keep my bougainvillea happy.

 

[mr_monaco]

Could you put the tree outdoors, even on a patio or balcony?

I have a balcony, but the breeze often gets pretty crazy out of nowhere... I would be worried about it getting blown over out there

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[mr_monaco]

Check out Wigert's, they are in Florida also. You'll get more bang for your buck there. If you are looking for something specific not listed on their website, you can e-mail Andrea there and she can tell you what they have. She'll even send pictures.

next time I am on that coast I will definitely check them out! thank you

 

[mr_monaco]

Allow it to acclimate, no trimming...was it shipped with a heat pack? Now essentially I wouldn't ship tropical. It came from Massachusetts...so colder climate. Surely kept in a greenhouse with good lights. So change in light will effect leaf...and you may see significant leaf drop. The new foliage will acclimate to your light. Tigerbark are awesome to have on the bench.

I must admit...I've not grown one without a grow light on for 18 hours. So that said...I can't offer any guidance on growing with light near a window.

No heat pack, just a TON of foam, and a bag to contain moisture. Came in the pot shown in the picture. The box says grown in Missouri... so colder, but not quite as cold as MA.

 

[mr_monaco]

What's the soil medium? Bonsai substrate or potting soil with rocks glued over the top? The later is bad for any tree.

substrate

 

[Cadillactaste]

No heat pack, just a TON of foam, and a bag to contain moisture. Came in the pot shown in the picture. The box says grown in Missouri... so colder, but not quite as cold as MA.

Peculiar since the address to Bonsai Outlet is MA. Still cold...when shipped. I wouldn't be surprised if you lost a lot of leaves from stress of shipping while cold...and now a different light strength. I don't think it will hurt the tree. It will recover without much of a blimp.

But, I would not be mailing tropical right now to my home. It's risky in winter. As our temps continue to drop...and shipping through USPS would not be recommended. I've things sitting for weeks now with tracking numbers. Stuck in the process of getting to my home.
Bonsai Outlet
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914 South Main Street
Bellingham, MA 02019