Need some advice for my bonsai

Mon Apr 06, 2009 2:43 pm

Hello everybody

Here is one of my bonsai trees.
There is something strange in the soil but I don't know what is that...
1. There are some white things in the soil
2. The soil looks quite black, not brown.
3. There is some kind of sand on the tree trunk, you will see in the pictures.

Hopefully you can give me some tips

I am a beginner with bonsai trees. The first that I had was 7 months ago...

Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:46 pm

looks pretty normal to me i.e im thinking could be lime deposits is ur water hard ? but i do miss loads of things id wait till some1 who really knows what those things are tells u what to do
at the momment rember the rule leave if its growing fine

Tue Apr 07, 2009 2:48 am

I think you might have Genseng rot. See this post for details: http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... hp?t=12950 Now its still to early to tell for sure, but a little knowledge can't hurt.

Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:23 am

ukko wrote:
bonsaiboy wrote:I think you might have Genseng rot. See this post for details: http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... hp?t=12950 Now its still to early to tell for sure, but a little knowledge can't hurt.

Is it good or bad?

Sorry for the double post, mistake!
This is my tree:

Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:59 pm

It is difficult to tell from the picture if it has fungi or not. However, I would say it is getting very close to that part. If I were you, I would change the soil it's in ASAP (into a better draining, less organic one), and inspect the roots for this disease, because the first signs of it will show under the soil level.

Wed Apr 08, 2009 5:12 pm

bonsaiboy wrote:It is difficult to tell from the picture if it has fungi or not. However, I would say it is getting very close to that part. If I were you, I would change the soil it's in ASAP (into a better draining, less organic one), and inspect the roots for this disease, because the first signs of it will show under the soil level.

Is it hard to change the soil? Never done it, I am afraid that I will destroy everything :wink:

Fri Apr 10, 2009 12:32 am

No, its not hard at all. All you have to do is lift the bonsai out of the pot, dump out all the old soil, remove any soil residue from the roots, replace it in the pot, and fill it back up with fresh soil. Here is a website that goes into detail how to care for ficuses. http://www.bonsaihunk.us/cultural.html