Repotting Soil - Rookie Mistake

[SerSwanky]

I purchased and repotted a 2 year old ficus benjamina January 22 this year from a mom 'n' pop shop nursery. They had told me I could use indoor potting soil so that's what I had done. However after researching the best bonsai methods etc later, and finding out that was obviously a bad call, I'm wondering when the soonest I can repot it in bonsai soil for better drainage without causing it any damage/shock? Currently the soil takes a long time to dry out and is pretty compact (the photo of the soil is current from today in the photo it looks somewhat dry but its actually much darker). I'm nervous for the roots. I haven't pruned anything and it still has its feeder roots. I keep it in my office where I keep the leaves misted in the morning and evening. I keep it pretty warm in my office and the ficus sits just below a north facing window with indirect morning light. I also fertilized it once February 23rd.

I made a lot of mistakes with this so don't judge it too harshly. Just some background, I know it's not supposed to be in a mound, originally I had seen pictures of aerial roots, neagari etc while I was standing in the store to see what it could look like in the future before buying it and thought that was done by exposing the roots below so I planted it higher than I should have so the feeder roots were partially exposed before actually doing the research on how to do neagari (smart right).

A month later, I covered the soil in moss but didn't want it to be directly on the feeder roots so I took part of the soil from the training pot and moved it to cover the roots before putting moss over it, hence why the soil is not flush with the edge of the pot. And I keep forgetting to bring a bag of soil in to work to even it out.

I took off the moss yesterday because I learned the hard way that rock moss doesn't like porous surfaces or being over misted. I need to find hardy moss or moss that lives on a similar surface (I know it doesn't grow well indoors I'm still going to try!).

So now I'm here back to where I started. When would be the proper time to repot it into better soil. Should I just wait until next spring? I know it's not proper but it is indoors and will be all year round and will most likely stay that way. I'm just not sure on the recovery time after its first repotting. And if I repot it a second time before next year, then I assume I shouldn't cut out any of the feeder roots later in the summer time? I don't know what will cause undue stress on it.

 

[dbonsaiw]

First, don't beat yourself up as we all make these mistakes. I don't want to give you the wrong advice, so I will simply tell you that I did the same exact thing last fall. It was probably the wrong time to repot and I put it into a really bad soil mix that I concocted. Once I realized my mistake, I repotted him again this time into potting soil. I guess third time's a charm because I eventually repotted it again into bonsai soil - three repots in the wrong season and I think the tree will pull through. It was a really hardy maple, so not sure if that makes a difference.

Let's see if someone with more experience will chime in. I've heard folks say to repot if the soil is bad, but again I dont want to give the wrong advice.

 

[Shibui]

Ficus are mostly quite hard to kill but F. benjamina is a little less hardy than many others.
We find the best time to repot ficus is late spring and summer when the trees are growing well. As you keep yours warm at the office it probably thinks it is still in the tropics and could be safely done any time of year.
Many growers believe in the 1 insult per year/season meaning only prune or repot once then allow time to recover but I think many trees are far more resilient than that blanket rule allows for and frequently repot and prune or chop in a single session or style after allowing just a few months to recover. It is far more about observing your trees than blanket rules.
I suspect your previous repot would have removed very few roots and the tree looks healthy and happy so I'd be confident you could repot again soon. Just make sure you provide good care and especially warmth afterwards.

 

[HoneyHornet]

Just do ittt

 

[Crazy Diamond]

Just do ittt

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[ShadyStump]

I have one of these that lives under a desk lamp with a grow light at work, in the darkest coldest corner of the building furthest from a window. No misting, and intentionally water retentive soil. (I don't want to go to work just to water on breaks.)
It out grew it's desk space allotment very quickly requiring an out of season trunk chop just before the holidays, resulting in two cuttings that are now growing like weeds.
Here's the setup.

Not exactly complicated or fancy.
I found a pot I like better, so a repot is coming before long.
These things really are the ideal starter tropical.

Benjies are adapted to survive in tropical extremes: long, hot, dry summers, and monsoon winters in jungles where they could grow straight up for 30 years before reaching direct sunlight.
So long as you're not watering twice a day 7 days a week 52 weeks a year the roots on these things won't rot. If you're worried about it, use the chopstick trick. Stab a wooden or bamboo chopstick or skewer into the soil to the bottom of the pot, and use it as a dipstick to check moisture level. Water thoroughly just before it's dry.

When you work it hard (the insults @Shibui was talking about) it will stop EVERYTHING for a month or so to adjust. Once you see it growing again, you're safe to do slightly less invasive work again. If you make drastic changes to it's environment, they're known for dropping all their leaves and starting afresh. They're safe to mess with within reason whenever they're actively growing.

I'd get yourself a grow light with a timer (mine runs 16 hours on) to make sure it doesn't grow too leggy, but I believe you'll be just fine. Benjaminas are successfully kept indoors as house plants by novices the world round.