Hi.
I've just purchased a ficus (don't know anything more than that), and
just read somewhere online that it is supposed to be lowered in water,
up to the trunk, once the soil gets dry(-ish). Is this right? Or should
I not do it? Or should I do it only once in a while? Or . . . . . ?

rgds,
ole k


--
Walls are doors

Ole Kvaal wrote:
Hi.
I've just purchased a ficus (don't know anything more than that), and
just read somewhere online that it is supposed to be lowered in water,
up to the trunk, once the soil gets dry(-ish). Is this right?

No.

Or should I not do it?

Yes.

Or should I do it only once in a while?

No.

Or . . . . . ?

You should water from the top, either with a hose with a
fine-spray attachment or a watering can, ditto. Like rain,
which is how Ma Nature does it. Water until it starts to
flow out of the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot.
Let it sit for 5 minutes or so and repeat.

And since I assume you bought this tree from a store, check
to see if there are glued-on rocks/pebbles on the surface of
the soil. If so, REMOVE THEM. Fill the void that will
leave behind with a decent topsoil or potting soil. (Also
make certain that there IS a drainage hole or holes in the
bottom of the pot. If there is not, find a pot of some sort
that has drainage holes and transfer your tree to it, adding
potting soil as necessary.

Next spend an hour or two at www.internetbonsaiclub.org in
the "Knowledge Base" section reading up on the basics of bonsai.

Ficus tend to not want to be watered TOO often. Let the
soil get on the dry side (without being parched) before you
water.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - When we
see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to
use it with love and respect - Aldo Leopold - A Sand County
Almanac

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Jim Lewis wrote:
Ole Kvaal wrote:

Hi.
I've just purchased a ficus (don't know anything more than that), and
just read somewhere online that it is supposed to be lowered in water,
up to the trunk, once the soil gets dry(-ish). Is this right?

(snip)

Next spend an hour or two at www.internetbonsaiclub.org in the
"Knowledge Base" section reading up on the basics of bonsai.

Ficus tend to not want to be watered TOO often. Let the soil get on the
dry side (without being parched) before you water.


Thanks a lot for your advice(s). I'll spend the rest of this day (when I
get home from work, that is) reading. I also got a copy of Thomlinson
(sp?), which spends a couple of pages on ficus.

bow,
ole k

Jim Lewis wrote:

And since I assume you bought this tree from a store, check to see if
there are glued-on rocks/pebbles on the surface of the soil. If so,
REMOVE THEM.

To be precise, it was bougth at a market garden. I just didn't know the
word used for it. And no, there were no such pebbles.

best of wishes,
ole k