Hey folks, I just purchased a new Ficus Retusa at B&Q just Friday past (14.05.10) It's about 3ft tall and cost me ...£100 but I went today to water it and notice small tiny black flies flying around it and I'm now worried as this is my first bonsai and I've paid a lot for it and I'd hate for anything to happen to it, so was wondering if someone could shed some light on what the tiny black files might be and how I could go about getting rid of them ???
Many Thanks
Your help would be gratefully appreciated
Paul Josh Brennan.
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It sounds like you might be having a problem with Fungus Gnats. They are generally a problem in soils that have a high percentage of organic matter and that are being watered too frequently.
They are seldom a problem for bonsai growers due to our use of extremely free draining soils. It looks like your soil is rather heavy on Peat. When next you re-pot consider using a leaner mix that won't stay as wet. Also if you don't provide the Peat that stays constantly damp that should help too.
For now though, the first thing I would do is to begin to manage my watering a little tighter, allowing the soil to dry a bit more between watering. Get an old chopstick or kitchen skewer and follow the procedure outlined here.
P.S. A few ancillary thoughts. Is that drip tray permanently attached to the pot? Allowing water to stand in it might be part of the problem. Make sure that no water can ever wick back up into the pot.
The position looks a little precarious to me, perhaps that was just for the sake of the photo.
Your tree will do better outside during warm weather if you are able to keep it there. Careful with the transition though, some species of Ficus are noted for dropping their leaves if they abruptly moved to a different environment.
Thanks for your help, do you know of a way I can get shot of these fungus gnats without harming my ficus??? I have not watered it since I last posted onto this forum to help dry out the soil but I'm just wondering if there is anything else I could be doing to kill them.???
Thanks Again.
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I had a problem with fungus gnats when I first got my ficus. It wasn't a really bad infestation, so I was able to control it using a soap/water solution. The tricky part is using a soap that is really a soap, and not a detergent. I can't remember which is which, so hopefully someone else can help with that.
I hope you were able to take care of these gnats already, but If not I got a answer to your problem ( works awesome for me) .
I use a kitchen safe non toxic spray I buy from lowes.
You don't have to drench the leaves of your trees just a light mist over your trees every 2- 3 days works perfect for me.
When I have a gnat out break ( havent had one for almost a year now, knock on wood) easy and safe kitchen bug spray. That easy.
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