Improving an Ficus Bonsai 

One word of warning: if your tree is a Ficus benjamina (as opposed to the F. microcarpa Peter was working on) don't cut twigs and branches back to a bare stump without leaves. On F. benjamina branches are very likely to die back to the last location that has a leaf at the end. Of course if you cut back to just one leaf you very likely get shoots further back; then you can prune to those.

*Greetings Peter* I’m enjoying coffee and your informative video! I own a Willow Leaf Ficus Tree, I will apply your techniques! 🙏🏆🥇🪴

It's Coffee time! Good morning gang.

I think that the reason people want to repot new bonsai is because most houseplants sold in stores are severely potbound as they come from the greenhouses. Many people mistake the compact root system of a bonsai for potbinding. It isn't. It is the result of careful root pruning to produce a radial fibrous root system.

My better half and I started our little terrace garden in 2011. We never found any need for a bonsai until this peepal tree popped up on the wall in Jan 2020. I picked that little seedling and potted in garden mud. I had no idea how to make a bonsai so I tried RU-vid and I met you. I'm very thankful to that peepal tree for I met you.

Thx for sharing Peter, and those are strong healthy trees. can't wait to see the next one. 🌴👍

I have to come back and rewatch Peter’s video to remind myself what to do to my ficus. Thank you for posting your bonsai and life knowledge on You Tube. It really help me going through the pandemic much more at ease.

Really love the phone photo demonstration of where to prune. Would love to see more of that! Found that a really good learning tool. Thanks Peter 👍👍👍

I made the mistake to buy a 150 euro japanese black pine and repot it after a year because i thought it would be good for the tree. Only if i knew.. not making this mistake again. After seeing this video i'm gonna buy ficuses for 10 euro at the supermarket and try to improve them with PRUNING. Thank you Peter

Thanks again for this Ficus video. I have been wandering what to do with mine. I need to repot as it has been in the same pot for a while and the soil doesnt look so good. Peat an sand is just what I needed to hear

I was given a Ficus that was potted in a plastic-pot with no drainhole and it had been continously drowned for a long time until it had lost all of its leaves. The previous owner just wanted to get rid of it, obviously. I first let it just dry, draining out the excess moisture but It didn't really recover only budding a few leafs and loosing them quickly again. I finally repotted it in a a clay-pot, sprayed it often and after just a few months it was full with new leaves, only loosing the outer tips of the branches. It really is hard to believe how bad you can treat this plants and they still recover so beautifully.

Got my Ficus a few weeks back from Herons, doing great so far but was worried about wiring or pruning around the winter (foliage on top is a bit thick) and leaves were yellowing and dropping (only the odd few) This was great timing! Its quite warm indoors so figuring out the correct watering is tricky as i do not want the plant to dry out but at the same time do not want to overwater Looking forward to wiring and pruning

Love seeing work on ficus. They are very common here in Sa we got loads of species. The are a great lover of water you can often find them near water in the bush as the birds drop the seeds while drinking. They are very easy and forgiving for newbies. They root so easy from cuttings. The strangler fig at the coast here can root with in a week. Thanks for sharing love your work

I really like the roots on that first tree it looks like the tree can almost walk away in case of fire. 0:13

Sunday breakfast👍 If I’m not mistaken this is video number 420 that has been uploaded on Peters channel for us to watch and enjoy

This Hobby is what is keeping you young. Never give up. It is the best reward to grow life.

Dear Mr. Chan, thank you for this precious lesson about ficus...I've three of them and now I'm able to follow the right way to grow them more properly. Best regards. Alessandro

Look at Peter Go.. 6 plants ion no time! Thank you Peter!

Thank you for your frequent uploads, you're a blessing

I'll add "don't repot the tree" to my memorization. My middle school science teacher made us recite every day "never eat wild mushrooms" and "lightning can strike several miles from the thunderhead". She taught that to me over twenty years ago. I also remember how she wrote in all capital letters on the chalkboard. She said it was because she lived in China for several years and it helped the locals know what she was writing.

what i read, these bonsais from garden market (OBI , BAUHAUS etc.) has to be repoted because the soil hold too much watter and the roots than rotting. I re-poted my ficus to bonsai soil and it grows really healthy. Thats my experience

The ficus makes a nice tree , i enjoy my outdoor trees but it is nice to have bonsai in your living space even though many may not accept keeping bonsai indoors. I think the ficus on reading up on it is by far one of the easiest or tolerant to care for in an indoor enviroment.

The story of my 3 ficus'.....Two are Benjamina , ( one is a rooted cutting from a branch of the other ) the other a "Willowleaf" (Nerifolia?/Salicaria?) They are still rather small. A neighbor threw them away, because they assumed they were dead. ZERO leaves, just very small stems for the most part. I knew better. I have had these for almost 10 years now. Its Jan 30th, and I've just finished cutting them back just a bit. The Benjamina was a very awkward "Y" shaped tree, so last spring, I cut off one of the branches making the "Y", and rooted it. It itself, is now a fantastic, small tree well on its way. They stay in my kitchen window during the winter, then spend almost all summer outdoors with my other trees. I have to say, my ficus' trees, are probably the easiest trees to train, shape, and keep. They mean a GREAT deal to me. I just dont know what to do with the "willowleaf" ficus. Its a difficult tree to come up with a design. It took this much time to get the foliage denser, but it has so many branches. More of an ornamental tree right now. I'd like to find a way to Bonsai this specimen. Great video Peter.. again, thank you for what you do.

I should get training pots for my trees. Drawf Alberta, 2 parsoni junipers and 1 blue star juniper. Need to wire the junipers, followed the dwarf alberta videos but the tree had this weird patch at the top where it had a lot of very small branches 2/3 up which were all like an inch long, and then bloomed out the last 1/4. I guess I could get an assortment of training pots and repot them soonish. The only ones I put in a new pot are the parsonis because I got 2 trees from 1. The roots grew and look healthy so I think transferring to a training pot is safe. The only things I would probably do to those Ficus is shaping with some wiring. But what do I know im just starting out, 100% green. Nothing has died yet thumbs up to that. Keeping them watered, in the sun and im not messing with them much at all. One thing I would like to see, is the next step after the wiring of how you get it looking like a wired plant to a mini tree. Basically how to create the pads. Does that just happen with time?

I’ve been watching random bonsai videos for a couple hours now, and learned far more from this one than all the others combined. 👍🏻

They actually look like real beautiful bonsai

THANKS A MILLION for this video! It really shows how to shape the tree branches for composition and to use the wires to train the Ficus branches.

I have ficus myself. This was very helpful for me. Thank you for the tips and pointers. Its hard to break the fear of trimming too much, especially when I am trying to get the tree branches to bud more. Thank you Peter, -Luis

Thanks Peter, I've just given mine a really decent chop which I wasn't confident to do before!

Thanks for this one. I am a newbie and have a few ficus and my daughter bought me a willow cutting (super nervous I'm gonna kill it). I also potted up some maple tree seedlings from my yard last summer but of course they are dormant until spring/summer. I always seem to start working on my ficus trees and then get nervous that I will cut the wrong one and it'll look stupid. I actually had a 6ft tall house plant ficus that I chopped up to make several small ones. It now looks super odd and I am having a really hard time trying to figure out what I will do with it because it has 2 trunks twisted together in a not so pleasing way. Hopefully it'll grow many branches this summer and I will be able to see the future of it better.

I found this video to be so helpful! Watching you shape 6 different trees gave me so much inspiration for how to shape my trees. More of this, please!

Very useful! Thank you, Peter!!😀😘

Peter Regarding the last ficus Earlier u made a vedio U explained how to get rid of and be careful about POM POM EFFECT

Wow this is my first time watching ficus bonsai training. I learnt so much from this!!!!!

Hi Tony. I can't attend in person since I'm in the US. But I love your channel and hope to catch it on RU-vid. Cheers to you.

Thank you peter, your video was timely in reminding me to cut back my retusa. I've just been managing it this winter to tackle some scale here in Canada.

I like Steven lol , good luck with your ficus

Hi Peter I would love it f you tried to make a eucalyptus bonsai.

Creating beauty is very nourishing and rewarding 🌱

Hi Peter I've just ordered some of your bonsai mix,I was supposed to visit your little paradise Friday last week but got held up at the doctor's for longer than I thought so maybe soon I'll come and say hello.. regards stu..

...you just see....whilst I sit there staring at the tree for inspiration before reducing myself to tears....

Hi Peter, I hope you don't mind me asking. But how is the other ficus doing from the video: 20 Year Journey of a Ficus Bonsai?

Thank you Peter

Hi Peter very interesting this video on ficus . I have got a big one the trunk is about ten cm at the base and it lives all year round outside. I’m in Nice south of France I don’t miss none of your lessons and learn every time. Hope to come to the nursery soon

I have learned so much from you sir! Thank you. I now know what I have done in the past, I think I'm ready for a new bonsai challenge! Thank you again!!

Thanks

Hi Peter, despite the repotting point, when would you reccomend repotting if your tree is in poor soil etc?

Peter , another informative video. Thank you

Thanks Peter

Thank you for this I have two focus bonsai and a Japanese juniper and I really was hoping you would make a video on them

too funny, i always think of mr chan when i prune my bonsai and it always makes me happy

terimakasih sangat menginspirasi, akan saya aplikasikan pada ficus Bonsai saya..salam dari Indonesia.

Thank you for YOUR TEACHINGS. I SO APPRECIATE THESE VIDEOS.

🌳very informative Pete 😉👍

One day, it would be nice to see how to tell when it is necessary to repot a ficus; bc eventually it will need it right?

Amazing results from the master. My fear is trimming too much from my ficus. Thank you for this video.

I love that hoody/sweatshirt your wearing. Definetly gonna have to check out the merch

I bought a department store ficus and the first thing I did to it was repot it, because the pot was ugly and potted with dyed moss, but I think that was in September, it’s doing really well

I have a ficus which l bought after falling in love with about 4 years ago. It doesn’t really have a typical bonsai shape as l have been a little shy of leaning it to one side. I have pruned it quite often. It has a thick “potato like” trunk. It has always been so happy on a sill in sunlight. Also it’s not in a “real” shallow bonsai pot, but in an ordinary earthen flower pot quite deep. Surely l must repot it now after 4 years. I will take it out of the pot to view it’s roots although it doesn’t look pot bound. My question is, if l cut back the roots can l put it in a pretty bonsai pot which is much shallower? P. S. I love your bonsai passion!

I've been waiting for this video for a lot of time!! Thank you peter :)

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹 thanks Peter

🤩🌳 very helpful vedio .... I got some problems , I always have an urge to change the wearing and bending of my trees someone else has that problem too ??

An amazing transformation of ficus.

It is always edifying to see the mundane becoming extraordinary.

But at some point i will have to repot it. When is the time for that?

Nice sharing 👍👍👍

Wow what a difference

Hi there, I rescued a discarded ficus plant, and it's in dire need of repotting since it has completely loosened from the soil, which also seems lifeless. Could you please advise me on the best type of soil to use for this situation?

Can you prune back ficus like this any time of year? According to Google answers, winter is best... but also summer is best. And spring is best, as well as fall is best. So does it even matter?

Thank you I think I need to get out my Ficuses for some TLC.

Peter, there are many fallen trees in our area due to the recent high winds. Could any of this be ideal bonsai material? And if so what should I look for?

Good reminder to prune mine!

what about a rather LARGE bonsai with a nice looking vine pot installed onto/into/or up the tree? Or is it frowned upon to permanently add unnatrual fixtures to the tree? Maybe add some sorta small leaf vine that matches the aspect ratios.

I added a couple of my own made beginner bonsai in my resent upload fruit Forrest tour 👍

Thank you

I dont agree with you Peter. If the trees come in straight mud. Repot it! The ficus would dont even skip a beat. I tryed many types of substrat for ficus. And my favorit is akadama and perlite 70%akadama and 30%perlite. And to anybody if trim a ficus benjamina. Keep some green on the tips of branches!

Please stay safe!

I love your work!

Agree transplants probably have negative on the natural root system. U live and learn

Love from BHARAT sir ❤️

I bought a banyan ficus in a small plastic pot. The roots are pressing the pot to each side. Is it safe to put in a larger pot now?

Do you think ficus trees would do well if I put them inside a tropical vivarium/terrarium with quite high humidity and UVB lights? The type used for keeping geckos or tropical frogs

Thank you thank you thank you Sir!!!

Great video. So if you purchase a nursery stock, when should you repot?

Thank just beautiful

Do you have any videos of a tiger bark ficus that has been over watered & has dead branches and no leaves?

"If you don't look to the future, in the future the material will not look too good."

Egy fordító lehetőséget jó lenne aktiválni! :)

They repot inmediately because people in forums encourage them to do so. They tell the noobs that the soil is very bad for the tree and it will die soon, and that they have to put it in akadama asap.

36 mins, So we first get a dense tree?

This was great. I felt like he was personally scolding me about the excessive repotting.

Sir how to grow fast chinese banyan(ficus microcarpa)in outdoors at temp around28-35C in INDIA

If a tree has lost all it's leaves, how can you tell if it's alive and salvageable?

But why not repot it? At some point the roots just need to be cut and the soil needs to be changed... or am I wrong? That's what pretty much everyone else says🤔

Thanks for sharing. Went with the chainsaw and pruned mine.

Are ficus benjamina treated the same way?

What kind of wire are you using?

I have one that loose almost all the leaves, just have 10 for cent now and they seems to be stabe now, what ihave to do?

yo Peter how often are these trees and the smaller ficus' given liquid fert?

What kind of wire do I get