Ficus Ginseng, or a different plant?

[GoldenDays]

Hi,

I am a newbie in this forum and with bonsais. I just got one Ficus Ginseng and I include a few photos of it.

What surprises me is the 94 cm (37") height of this plant in a pot that is 24 cm (9") height. From what I have seen in this forum and elsewhere on the Internet these plants are much smaller also because they grow up very slowly.

I would like to understand from other forum members if this is normal, or if my bonsai is not a real Ficus Ginseng but another type of plant.

https://img194.imageshack.us/I/webl1020811.jpg/
https://img9.imageshack.us/I/webl1020817.jpg/
https://img4.imageshack.us/I/webl1020812.jpg/
https://img33.imageshack.us/I/webl1020813.jpg/
https://img20.imageshack.us/I/webl1020814.jpg/
https://img20.imageshack.us/I/webl1020815.jpg/
https://img33.imageshack.us/I/webl1020816.jpg/

One last question froma newbie: should I expect fruits from a Ficus Ginseng bonsai?

Your help will be appreciated !

Cheers

Ribeiro

[josh1812@live.com]

From what I know about ficus which is sufficient but not enough is that they vary from seedling to seedling the reason of the height might be age or genes what does puzzle me though is the absence of bulbous roots maybe it has them but if not I doubt its a highly doubt its a Ficus Ginseng. Though the leaves do resemble a ficus but I'm not sure its a ginseng. Wait for other responses because I'm not hat much of a ficus guy as other members of this forum.

[JTred]

Golden, welcome to the forum, you have a very nice looking tree. I think Josh is right, ginseng ficus isn't really a type of tree, it just refers to ficuses that have the thick swollen root masses at the base, or as the trunk which resemble ginseng roots. Your tree is more of the banyan style, which I find much more pleasing. Personally I'm trying to diminish the look of the swollen roots on my ficus and encourage more of the longer, skinner roots to get closer to a banyan style. My guess is that its f. microcarpa.

IMHO they are very forgiving and are great trees for beginners. Keep them relatively humid, give them a moderate amount of light, and allow the soil to dry out between waterings and they will grow well. If at all possible try to keep it outside as long as nighttime temps are above 60 and you will have much better growth. Also, if you trim shoots to 3 or 4 leaves you will keep the foliage nice and compact and encourage ramification.

As for fruits, even though they are sometimes called banyan figs, I have never seen a ficus with fruits. In any case, normally fruits slow the growth of trees, so unless you are happy with the size of your tree you would want to remove at least some of the fruit on any tree.

[GoldenDays]

Hi Josh1812 and JTred,

Thank you very much for your replies. I will be following your advices.

The best thing is that at the end we are happy with our plants and that we know how to help them growing up in a healthy manner.

Once more many thanks. You are very nice guys and this forum is quite helpful.

Cheers from Portugal.

[Marsman]

Golden,

What a beautiful tree. You've already gotten great advice, so I have nothing to add. Just wanted to let you know you have a great, healthy-looking tree to work with.

[djlen]

Just from a personal perspective, I am not a great fan of the 'Ginseng' style.
For me most of the rules about Bonsai should go out the window. The object for me is to make the tree in it's pot look like a large, mature tree looks in nature.
To my way of thinking these trees with the huge, bulbous roots don't look all that natural.
But that's why they make chocolate and vanilla, I guess.

Golden, your tree looks perfectly natural, IMO. You're off to a good start and have received some great advice above. Good luck with it.