ahannon
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Hubby surprised me with a Bonsai from Walmart...

My husband surprised me with a beautiful card and a Bonsai last night from Walmart... I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing and was hoping I could get some help identifying what kind it is so I can try to not kill it :x
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Thanks in advance for all the help!!

ahannon
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P.S. That smiley is definitely the wrong one lol Not sure how the mad smiley got included in there...Sorry!

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GardeningCook
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That looks like a Ficus (aka "Weeping Fig") to me, so it will be an indoor bonsai. Enjoys moderate sunlight, & can take lower humidity than a lot of other tropical bonsai. (One tip - if the pebbles on top are "glued" to the surface, it would be best to gently pry them off.)

ahannon
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GardeningCook wrote:That looks like a Ficus (aka "Weeping Fig") to me, so it will be an indoor bonsai. Enjoys moderate sunlight, & can take lower humidity than a lot of other tropical bonsai. (One tip - if the pebbles on top are "glued" to the surface, it would be best to gently pry them off.)
Thanks!! This is my first and I was looking online, but nothing really looked like it. The stones are glued... When I gently pry them off do I want to try to keep them or discard them completely?

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rainbowgardener
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Sorry, but I don't really think so. The weeping fig, ficus benjamina looks like this:

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https://www.zengardenbonsai.com/files/22 ... 5%2008.jpg

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https://www.container-gardening-for-you. ... _popup.jpg

I can't say for sure it isn't a ficus, because there are a whole bunch of varieties of them. And since I don't know what it is, I can't really rule anything out.

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GardeningCook
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Exactly - Ficus come in many variations, but the leaves of the OP's plant still look like a Ficus to me. The trunk & root configurations can be styled in infinite ways by whoever trained the tree.

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GardeningCook
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ahannon wrote:
GardeningCook wrote:That looks like a Ficus (aka "Weeping Fig") to me, so it will be an indoor bonsai. Enjoys moderate sunlight, & can take lower humidity than a lot of other tropical bonsai. (One tip - if the pebbles on top are "glued" to the surface, it would be best to gently pry them off.)
Thanks!! This is my first and I was looking online, but nothing really looked like it. The stones are glued... When I gently pry them off do I want to try to keep them or discard them completely?
Just discard them. You can find small bags of similar loose pebbles or gravel at most big box/garden centers to top your pot with if you wish. The glued-on stuff is just too restrictive for the plant.

imafan26
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It does look like a ficus. I can't really say if it is a ginseng or Benjamina. The ginseng leaves would be more oval. I see more Benjamina and small leaved figs than Ginseng here and most of the bonsai I see are more finished and less starter so the leaf size has already been reduced.

I do disagree with with it being an indoor plant. While most ficus can be trained to lower levels of light, they and most bonsai trees prefer to be outdoors when the weather is warm.

The ficus in the picture has very dark green leaves so it has been in the dark for a while.

If it is suddenly taken outside it will burn so it would need to be hardened off. Ficus of all kinds hate to have their light changed. If it goes from high light to low light, the leaves will all fall off as it goes dormant and then will regrow new leaves.

It is still in a fairly large and deep pot. The leaves do need some shaping, but for now finding a good spot for it will be your goal.

Water the pot in the sink well and make sure it is thoroughly drained. I do not like pot saucers but if you are going to use them, do not leave any water in the saucers, that is why you should water the plant in the sink. Fill the saucer with pebbles or use pot feet to keep the pot from sitting in any water that might be in the saucer. Use the chopstick or weight method to determine when it will be time to water again.
Stick a chopsitck in the soil near the middle of the pot and feel if the end of the chopstick is damp. Water when it is dry or almost dry. Or, weigh the pot when it is watered. When you think the pot is dry (do the chopstick test) wait one more day and weigh the pot again. After a while you will be able to tell if the pot needs water just by how heavy it feels.

To learn how to take care of your bonsai, join a club near you and bring your plant, they can help you train and trim the bonsai. They can probably positively identify the species.

Bonsai are not planted in dirt or potting soil. The bonsai mix is much more airy and usually contains different sizes of gravel.

Some basic tools are turntable, nippers, shears or clippers, different guages of copper wire for training, screen trays for sifting gravel, a fork or mini rake and of course a chopstick or two.

Pry off the glued pebbles and discard. Fresh loose pebbles can be placed on top. You can get those kinds of pebbles from pet stores. I would lose the moss too if it is loose. I personally do not like anything up against the trunk of any size tree.

ahannon
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Update:

I took out those glued pebbles and started some general research on ficus. I've also emailed a group near me and hope to hear from them soon :) I am already noticing some new growth that wasn't there before... yay!!
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GardeningCook
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That new growth is a good sign that your tree is healthy, but in the case of a bonsai, you're most likely going to want to pinch that off, as allowing suckers to form & grow from the exposed roots/lower trunk will not only ruin it's shape, but also can sap some strength from the rest of the tree (just as suckers do with regular trees).



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