It is kind of funny to me that when I mention the word bonsai to some people, the first thing they ask is if I mean the little tree that Mr. Miyagi had in the movie ‘Karate Kid.’ Yes indeed, Miyagi was fond of his bonsai tree, even teaching the art to Daniel-son. Well, I’m not here to talk about Karate Kid today, but rather what you should do if you are thinking about taking up a bonsai hobby.
First things first: know that some bonsai trees are best left for only the most experienced, while there are a lot for those who don’t have any experience at all. If you fall into the second camp, you will want a tree that is forgiving of beginner mistakes and can handle the time it may take you to become proficient. You may feel that this limits your choices, but it really is for the best.
The bonsai tree that I would like to talk about today is very good for beginners because of the reasons mentioned above. I am referring to the ficus tree. Ficus is very good for bonsai, even if you live in a climate where they would not grow naturally. They are easy to find, though some have been taken care of better than others by the time they are sent to the nursery for purchase.
Ficus bonsai really attracted me because they are known to do very well for beginners who are still figuring things out. As an example, they are more forgiving when you are trying to come up with set watering times; they won’t dry out and die immediately.
It’s easy to let the roots sit in too much water, but if you do this they will rot. Thankfully, ficus won’t just wither away after a few watering errors. They will allow you to get into your groove. You’ll love this about ficus after you realize that it’s more difficult than you thought to care for it.
Neither should you fear unnecessarily if you have made a mistake as you were cutting some growth off. If you are giving it what it needs in the way of water and sunlight, your tree should grow back pretty fast and cover your mistake. The mistakes will come often in those early months, so be glad it grows back.
Lastly, your ficus will not shrivel up and die if you put it in less than ideal lighting conditions. Yes, you should give it plenty of south west sun, but it will adapt to less sun if you have no other alternative. It’s always best to give it what it needs when you can, but know that it will live if you cannot.
I personally think any person that buys a ficus bonsai will quickly turn into to a lover and an advocate of them. Just make sure to give it its share of h2o, lots of good sunlight, and don’t it over grow, and it will thank you with good growth.
Tags: Garden Bonsai
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