How To Care Willow Leaf Ficus Bonsai

Willow Leaf Ficus (Ficus Nerifolia / Salisafolia)

The Ficus Salicifolia/Nerifolia or Willow Leaf Ficus is additionally is aware of as Mexicana Ficus. The Willow Leaf Ficus bonsai is popular for its elongated, light-weight green leaves and its tall trunk. Its name comes from its placing resemblance to the favored weeping willow tree. The structure gives it a very appealing and sharp look. It is forgiving and thrives in indoor conditions. It is a spectacular bonsai and is also simple to worry for.

How To Take Care Of Your Willow Leaf Ficus Bonsai Tree

Bonsai is that the copy of natural tree forms in miniature. This art type has its origin in Japan and China where it's been practiced for centuries. Bonsai are grown in pots and are dependent on you for his or her care.

With proper care, your Willow Leaf Ficus Bonsai can stay healthy, lovely and miniature for several years. Since your bonsai is a living miniature tree, it will increase in beauty as it matures through the years.

Placement Spring, Summer & Fall

The Willow Leaf Ficus will thrive indoors in high light and good to keep outdoors during the spring and summer. When nighttime temperatures drop below 45 degrees that you place the tree on a windowsill or on a table in front of one.

Placement Winter

Once nightly lows begin approaching the forty-degree mark, it is time to bring your indoor bonsai inside. The ideal indoor location is on a window sill facing south. An east or west exposure is second best. A northern exposure will work but can cause the employment of "grow lights" to produce enough light-weight to stay your Willow Leaf Ficus Bonsai healthy. Four to 6 hours of daylight per day ought to suffice. If you can offer a lot of, thus a lot of the higher.

Watering

The watering of your Willow Leaf Ficus bonsai should never be neglected. Apply water before the soil seems dry -- never allow the soil to become dry. It is a sensible idea to use a moisture meter until you're able to understand the necessities of your bonsai tree. Water should be applied until it begins running out of the holes in the bottom of your pot. It doesn't very matter “how” you water your Willow Leaf Ficus tree, but rather that when you're finished the tree has been well watered.

Humidity

Throughout the cold months, try to put it in a shallow tray stuffed with a layer of gravel with water added. This provides better moisture around the tree because the water evaporates and reduces the number of moisture lost to fashionable heating systems.

Fertilizing

Fertilizing is also necessary if your Willow Leaf Ficus bonsai is to stay healthy and beautiful. Since your bonsai is growing in such a tiny quantity of soil it's necessary to replenish the soil's offer of nutrients. Any general-purpose liquid fertilizer can do fine and is out there at most garden centers. We suggest that fertilizers be used at half their counseled strength. Fertilizer ought to be applied at least once a month except during winter. Your Willow Leaf Ficus bonsai can respond well to foliar feeding, with a water-soluble fertilizer applied every different month as a spring.

Training Willow Leaf Ficus

This brief clarification of basic care does not cowl coaching. Training deals with the art of bonsai and should be completely understood before enterprise -- or left to a skilled. But, most of the true bonsai trees you find have already been through their training amount, so requiring only periodic trimming and pinching to stay miniature.

Trimming and Cutting Willow Leaf Ficus

Trimming and pinching keep your tree miniature. Pinch and trim back the new growth to the farthest safe purpose. Never should all the new growth be removed. A little ought to be left to sustain the health of the tree. Tropical and sub-tropical trees used for bonsai can need periodic pinching and trim throughout the year. Since completely different trees grow at different rates, it is necessary to judge every tree's rate of growth and regulate your trimming and pinching to accommodate it.

Repotting Willow Leaf Ficus

Repotting should be performed on all bonsai when their root system has stuffed the pot. The reasons for repotting are to provide your tree with contemporary soil and to encourage a more compact root system. As a rule, most deciduous trees need repotting every two or 3 years, whereas evergreens want to be repotted every four or five years. Since Willow Leaf Ficus trees grow at completely different rates, this schedule will not hold true, thus, you must examine your tree's root system every year to see if it's become pot-bound.

In most cases, the potting method is straightforward and safe if performed and at the correct season. Repotting should be worn out mid-summer. The tree, together with all its soil, should be far from the pot. The outer and bottom most fourth of the tree's root mass should be removed. This is finished by raking the soil away, then pruning back the roots. In most cases, it's not sensible to prune back more than one-fourth of the tree's root mass. After this, the tree will be placed back in its original pot or into another. The pot should have screen placed over the drainage holes. Then a thin layer of little gravel is placed in the underside of the pot for drainage purposes. On high of this gravel is placed the new contemporary soil. Place a layer of well-draining soil that is enough to elevate the tree to its previous height within the pot.

After putting the Willow Leaf Ficus back in the pot, the world left vacant by the pruned root mass ought to be stuffed in with fresh soil. This fresh soil ought to be worked in around and underneath the foundation mass in such a manner on avoid leaving any air pockets. After repotting, your bonsai should be watered. This can be achieved by submerging the entire pot during a tub of water. Moss or different ground covers will be used to cover the surface of the pot to help forestall soil erosion when watering.

Insects & Diseases

Since your Willow Leaf Ficus Bonsai may be a tree in miniature, it will be treated for insects and diseases the same as any different tree.