femlow and joelewko I did what you said but...

[karol1996]

Hi fem and Joe I did what you said: I put the stones off of the soil, and it has loose soil very wet (as you said) I checked the roots and to me they looked ok, but the thing is that it has A LOT of little white particles, like little white balls in the soil, is impossible to take them out of the soil because they are a lot. I put the bonsai back in the pot and just let it out for a while to dry the soil, I also cut a little bit of the trunk and it has a little green in there, I don't know if I'm doing well, please let me know what to do and what are those white things, thanks.

[karol1996]

I forgot to tell you that it does not have any more leaves

[Sharp]

Big things with your ficus:

Light
Watering.


Is it getting enough light? I know you said its been doing fine where it wsa till recent, but has the sun changed possistions? Ive had to shift a few of my indoor Bonsai for this reason.

Watering, are you watering it too much? A big tendancy when you see a tree in distress is to overwater it. don't. Just stay steady, in fact with the leaf drop you will water it even less. Ficus are infamous for dropping their leaves. Its what makes them hardy plants. They drop leaves in hopes to regrow new ones that are able to handle the new conditions that caused it to drop the leaves in the 1st place.

Keep up the humidity by placing a humidity tray under it. They can tollerate low humidity but if its in distress you want to give it the best conditions possible to recover.

I think those white balls are just fertilizer. Just leave em, till spring. You can repot it in better soil then. (in my opinion)

Make sure there aren't drafts or temp fluxuations, those aren't good.

[opabinia51]

If the white things in the soil are grunular in nature, they may be salt that is leaching from the soil. If you haven't already, try an organic fertilizer.

Though, I think that you are really in great hands with the members of this forum.

[karol1996]

Hey Sharp do you think that is ok to take it outside for sun? I never did it before

[femlow]

like Sharp said, light and water are the most important things. I would just stop watering for a while, until the soil reallly gets a chance to dry out a bit. Normally it would be best to leave your tree where it was, but if it has no leaves, moving it outside might be a good idea just to try and get things going again. You will want to put it in a pretty sunny spot (not where it will get cooked though). If the white things in your soil are actually like little round balls, then they are a time release fertilizer like Sharp said. If they are not super round, but more oddly shaped and different sizes it may also be perlite, which is a strange but useful biproduct of volcanic activity. This is actually very good to have in your soil because it will help with your water problem (normal potting soil usually has some, but not nearly enough for bonsai trees). So give your tree lots of light, let the roots dry out a bit, and keep an eye out for new growth.

[Sharp]

Hey Sharp do you think that is ok to take it outside for sun? I never did it before

Well thats a loaded question i think.

Yes, they love full sun. When bringing them outdoors from inside, the change can make them drop leaves normally. That whole evinronmental change thing again. Now yours has already dropped its leaves, im not sure we know the cause of it.

So, personally id take it outside. (im guessing its not cold where you live, they are roughly 60-100deg ok) don't water it too much, back off ...check it with a toothpick but just don't over water it. It doesnt have any foilage so its needs are drastically cut back. However offer it tons of humidity. Place it in a tray with stones it it or you can mist it 2x a day. (i like to mist mine) When you take it outside, put in a spot that gets great morning sun, but shaded from the afternoon heat. Of course also dependant on where you live. This should hopefully work.

Note: What kind of water are you using? Do you use an filtered or...soft water? Those can be harmful.

Now please, keep in mind, from the forum standpoint its hard to know what is exactly causing it to decline. Taking outside is not a failsafe, if there is some other variable, whether its in the soil or whatnot then its very hard to say. But I really hope it helps you. Is there a way you can post a picture of it?

[karol1996]

I use tab water. Is it okay? I will take the picture but how do I post it here?

[Sharp]

I use tab water. Is it okay? I will take the picture but how do I post it here?

I would assume that it is. Unless you have softwater. So in my case i use the water from the hose outside.


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