Newbie with Ficus Religiosa

Joshua_L · Tue May 19, 2015 7:08 pm

I have recently purchased 2 small f. religiosa plants from my local farmers market. The are currently about an inch or so tall and have roughly 6-8 leaves. I was not given much information about how to care for them and I am unable to find much information on the web. I was able to find information on ficus plants in general, but not much about this specific species. Any help you all could give me would be much appreciated.
I have not cared for many plants in the past, but I would really like these trees to do well and I will put in the time and effort necessary to see to that. I am just not well informed at the moment.
I need to know of course basic things like general watering guidelines, how much light they need etc.
Further, I would like to know when is an appropriate time to repot them to larger containers and what I should use to repot them into. General potting soil? Or something more specialized and specific.
Any other information you feel I could use I would like to hear.
Thank You

GardeningCook · Tue May 19, 2015 9:20 pm

How you care for them will depend on what you ultimately want to do with them. Are you planning on raising the as bonsai? Or just indoor plants/trees?

Regardless, & I know (or hope) you've already done this - do a websearch on "growing Ficus Religiousa". Tons of info out there.

Joshua_L · Sat May 23, 2015 4:46 pm

No I will not be growing it as bonsai. They will be indoor houseplants with size limit being what is practical/reasonable for my means. They will remain in a Buddhist shrine room for the foreseeable future. Should it become necessary to plant them permanently outside I will find a suitable place such as a Buddhist monastery or practice center, however this is many years down the line I suspect.
If anyone has experience with this (or similar) species I would appreciate any specific pointers. I have indeed browsed the web however much of the information is bonsai specific and I'm not sure it if would be applicable to my situation.

Thank you

GardeningCook · Sat May 23, 2015 5:03 pm

Well then, like I said, TONS of dedicated info out there as to growing them as regular houseplants. As far as growing them outdoors, that will only be possible if you live in a year-round tropical climate, as they are not even remotely frost-hardy. In temperate climates they can spend summers outdoors so long as you take the time to slowly acclimate them to outdoor digs & back inside again in the Fall.