Bonsai Help.

[Karrie]

Help. My Bonsai tree has green root mold!!! I am sure it is from me overwatering it. How can I get rid of this mold. The leaves are green and I have new growth, so it does not seem to be killing the plant. Please help.

[rainbowgardener]

That may not be root mold, it may be in the soil or even on the glass of the container. None the less, it is a sign that the soil is staying too wet, too much of the time.

To start with, does the glass container have drainage holes? With out drainage holes, it is nearly impossible to keep it from being too wet. Plants die in containers with no drainage.

[imafan26]

It looks like algae and the problem is that the glass container not only holds water but allows the roots and soil to be exposed to the light allowing green algae to grow. It is time to repot anyway. The plant itself looks like it has adapted to the conditions. Trim off any dead roots and get a pot with good drainage that allows about two inches of growing space. You can trim up to 1/3 of the canopy if you have to. The plant is large so you may have to wire or staje it into the pot to keep it from falling over.
The plant looks like a ficus elastica. It comes from rainforests where it rains everyday so it probably tolerated the conditions in the container because it does not mind being moist most of the time.

OOPS, there goes another rubber tree plant. Sorry, I couldn't resist. I think of that song every time I see a rubber tree.

[Karrie]

Thank you for your help. I will repot the plant and make sure it has good drainage. I did think it was strange to be in a glass container, so I will fix that. I was assuming it was a Bonsai because the tag that was on the plant says Bonsai, didnt realize it was a rubber tree.

[imafan26]

rubber trees can be bonsai or houseplants but they get big. When I look for a bonsai plant I usually look for one that has small leaves since it fits better in scale when the plant is miniaturized. If the plant is stunted when it is small the leaves will also be smaller. I prefer a small leaf fig (ficus obliqua) to a benjamina and a benjamina to an elastica.

[Gnome]

Karrie,

I was assuming it was a Bonsai because the tag that was on the plant says Bonsai, didnt realize it was a rubber tree.

Bonsai is not a species or variety of plant but more a style of training. Many different trees can be grown as bonsai, including Ficus.

I could be wrong but I think you might have a Ginseng Ficus which is a variety of F. benjamina, which is often sold at mass retailers.

Correction: Sorry, Ginseng Ficus is a variety of F. microcarpa not F. benjamina.