dirty or infested leaves?????

[dr.arun]

This is my ficus bonsai whicj I bought as a sapling and trying to grow it as a bonsai. But the leaves look dirty and show tears. How to manage it and advice regarding induce branching. Thank u.

[applestar]

I don't know that the damaged/affected leaves will recover -- you may have to just clip them off eventually for "clean" look. It looks to me like there are dried residues on the leaves. If all you have used lately is water, then you may have "hard water" -- alkaline lime water or other minerals. It's best to spray plants with filtered, distilled, or possibly rainwater.

Ficus does well when leaves are wiped off with a little milk and water. It makes the leaves shiny. This also helps to prevent fungal infection.

Almost any plant will grow side shoots when growing tip Is cut off to just above a leaf node. Some plants need to be more mature to branch freely though (will only grow one or two new shoots at a time when young) I don't know about this particular species.

[GardeningCook]

I'd GENTLY rinse & rub your leaves with plain water, allow them to dry, & see what happens.