Post #1617496
2026-04-23 13:30 UTC
Replies (8)
-
@sven@troet.social 2026-04-23 13:42
@jamie You can just cut off the long branches. The Ficus will form new fresh shoots on the trunk.
-
@dpc2@hachyderm.io 2026-04-23 13:47
@jamie I would wait until a hot day and then repot that tree into a chunky, free-draining soil mixture and water generously using a heavily diluted water soluble fertilizer. You might also consider pruning off any dead or severely compacted roots during the repotting, as you really need healthy feeder roots in order to take up nutrients. Ficus tend to develop large bulbous roots if you don’t trim them, but the bulbous roots don’t really help with water/nutrient uptake. Once you start to see the tree bounce back and put out new growth, you should be safe to trim those long branches back and encourage more dense branching. For a chunky, free draining soil: I like using a combo of Fox Farms potting soil, reptile bark, medium or small sized pumice, and perlite. It’s not a 100% inorganic bonsai soil like the pros use, but I don’t have any trees old enough to warrant that treatment. Also, ficus are fast growing tropical trees that grow to monstrous size in the wild, so I think in general they do better with some organic material in the soil.
-
@secretsloth@mastodon.art 2026-04-23 13:57
@jamie don't take this as super pro advice, but I did take a course on repotting, so hopefully my teacher knew what he was talking about. Here's what he said. (This was not about ficus, so YMMV): first, remove from the old pot. Remove as much of the old soil as you can, gently massaging the roots with clean hands. You want to replace as much soil as you can, so get as much of the old stuff out as possible without damaging the roots too much. Next, you can trim the roots if they're too large. >
-
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social 2026-04-23 14:10
@jamie Does your local botanical garden have a bonsai display? If so, they probably know some experts.
-
@unsafelyhotboots@sharkey.world 2026-04-23 14:37
@jamie@gamerstavern.online doesn't look like it has been repotted. I would get fresh soil (look up the soil mixture for ficus) and a slightly larger pot. Then pull it out, trim the smaller roots off so it is just the root ball + larger roots and drop it in the new pot
-
@cynblogger@sfba.social 2026-04-23 14:43
@jamie Reddit has a wealth of info on bonsai, and many major city subreddits include a local bonsai club. Easternleaf.com has free info. Good luck.
-
@Mikal@sfba.social 2026-04-23 15:03
@jamie Best to look up a bonsai nursery or dedicated website/forum to get advice, since what you're trying to do with a bonsai plant is very different than most house plants. (Nursery owner here who never deals with bonsai, so I'm giving you the advice I'd take myself.)
-
@pencilears@mastodon.eternalaugust.com 2026-04-23 15:55
@jamie likely needs root pruning, but bonsai care is complicated and outside the scope of any one toot, you will need to consult your local library.