ficus ginseng Soil and stem going mouldy

[Chrisssy]

Hi all, fairly new to this and need some help. I brought a ficus ginseng about 4 months ago. All seemed to be ok then noticed on one side the soil and stem was going mouldy, I have it positioned on a window sill. It's bright but doesn't get direct sunlight. The leaves all look green and healthy, so not sure what to do?

[rainbowgardener]

Your soil is all wrong for bonsai or even generally for trees in pots. Doesn't matter if that is the soil it came with; bonsai trees are often sold in potting soil that is very bad for them. Your soil is holding too much moisture and your tree is staying too wet.

You need to repot it in to good bonsai soil, which is much more mineral and free draining. Here's an article about bonsai soil:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/bonsai/03/soil.html


and here's one about how to water your bonsai, since you may also be over-watering:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/bonsai/03/care.html

Use the chopstick method to know how wet/dry your soil is and don't water again until it is starting to dry out a bit.

Welcome to the Forum!

[soilistheanswer]

Yes I agree you need to repot make sure you repot with the right soil John.

[imafan26]

Also you have a saucer under that pot. Make sure you drain it after you water or it will keep the pot wet. I ditch all of my saucers or I turn them upside down and use them as a stand. They only cause problems.

[rainbowgardener]

It's another one-and-done. Joined 11/6 at 6:16 AM. Made her post and completed it at 6:31 AM and has never once been back even to look and see if she got any responses. Last visited here 11/6 at 6:31 AM. Always puzzles me; why bother making the post, if you are never even going to look and see if you got answers to your questions.