New Bonsai Owner with problems

[elanie101]

I received a ficus bonsai for Christmas from my son. Part of the leaves are drying up (about 1/2 the tree) the rest of the tree looksgood. What do I do? Will the dried part of the tree come back? I think it may have gotten frosted when he bought it. He said when he got it looked good but in about five days time it went drastically down hill. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Gnome]

elanie101,

Some species of Ficus are very sensitive to being moved to a new environment and it is not uncommon for them to drop their leaves while they acclimate themselves to their new location. Find a good spot for it and don't move it around. It needs good light and warmth to regrow its foliage. Don't allow it to go dry but don't keep it constantly soggy either. Patience is the key, it responds on a much longer time frame than we might wish at times.

https://www.bonsai4me.com/SpeciesGuide/Ficus.html
https://www.bonsaihunk.us/cultural.html

Norm

[kdodds]

Had he given it water in that time? Did he keep it outside or in?

[elanie101]

Thanks for your replies. He only watered it after the leaves started to fall. I have placed on the kitchen counter by an east facing window. It gets plenty of light. How do I know when it needswater? There is a mossy surface around the baseof the tree. Should it be misted several times a day in addition to watering?

[Kenshin14435]

I'm not really a ficus person but I am almost positive the east window thing is good. But if it's too sunny out, then the window might have a chance of magnifying the sun's rays and do damage to the leaves. I remember reading something that you should place your tree about a meter/yard away from your window because of the temp. difference. There could be a draft, the coolness from outside has an effect on the air inside as well. I would place it about a meter away. As for watering, ficus isn't my ball of wax so I would a bit for more info on that. Mossy surface is a good thing. Just make sure it doesn't cover more than a quarter of the surface of the pot otherwise it could effect watering and such. I wouldn't mist it more than 2-3 times a day. If that.
Again,
Wait for more folks to come around and give advice.

Take Care

[elanie101]

Ken, Thanks for taking the time to reply. I'll take your advise about moving it a little further away from the window. Thanks again.