Ficus Microcarpa Ginseng Bonsai - Drastic Repotting!

After two years I finally decided to repot my ficus microcarpa ginseng bonsai. It was in dire need, as the soil it was sitting in was way too dense and kept the moisture for too long. As the video shows, the repotting turned out way more drastic then expected and included quite an extensive root pruning. What the future holds for this tree is definitely not foreseeable as of now.
#ficusginseng #bonsai #ficusbonsai

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

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[@worldgonemad1977]

I transferred one of my 3 Microcarpa Ginseng plants to Leca a few weeks ago as an experiment. I expected it to shed it’s leaves but to my surprise, the plant is flourishing and has produced new healthy leaves, which I am very happy about. like growing my plants in semi hydro and if this one continues to be healthy and happy, I will transfer the rest to Leca.

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Really interesting! I never looked deeply into Leca myself, but maybe I will give it a try too.

[@bunnyfluffyfluffs]

is there an update for this one?

[@joshslackslack8115]

I've done something similar if you just cut all of it off you can basically plant it in soil as long as you don't overwater the tree will be fine treat it as a big ficus cutting

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Great tip! I already see new roots developing from the cut-points, so that would have definitely been a viable option as well

[@gianisaerialuniverse-jn2np]

Good job. I use cinnamon and or sulfur on all my desert rose cuts just in case they rot. Got my first fiscus bonsai today.

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Thanks! I definitely have to try cinnamon for fresh cuts. All the best to your new ficus!

[@Punki001]

How do you do the cinamon thing. Just putting some cinamon powder onto the fresh cut before putting the tree into the new pot?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

@@Punki001 I believe so. It is supposed to prevent fungal infections in the fresh wound

[@Punki001]

@@ThatBonsaiGuy That's definitely something i'm going to try.

[@Punki001]

@@ThatBonsaiGuy I watched some videos about cinamon. It seems not only to be a good fungicide, but also a rooting accelerator/rooting hormone and can also keep insects away from plants. It can be applied as a paste, in water to spray it on or you simply dip your cuttings or cutting wounds in it before putting them in water or soil. I will try that.

[@WanderingBobAK]

I would have cut the bulbs 2'" below the base of the plant. In fact, did that with mine and it looks so much better! After finishing the vid, I see you mostly did that.

[@jadeyes]

Woooow ..he just wanna grow under the table🤭🤭enjoy your new life little fellow🤗

[@mattharsent48]

How often do you water it just when you feel the soil is dry? And how does the frequency of watering change when planted in bonsai soil mix?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Yes I usually water when the top layer of the soil is dry. What changes with a more airy bonsai soil mix is that the soil does not stay wet for that long, which reduces the risk of overwatering your tree. But yes, I definitely water more frequently with these soil mixes.

[@maryperrysmith5815]

My plants like this the branches are really long. Where do I cut them back so they are more bushy ??? I need help please !!!

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

With ficus microcarpa you can be quite aggressive with pruning. If you have some leaves close to the trunk still you can cut all the way back to that point. You might even try to cut back to a point with no leaves and it would regrow from there as well most likely.

[@maryperrysmith5815]

@@ThatBonsaiGuy thank you so very much for getting back to me !! I really appreciate your response ❤️

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

@@maryperrysmith5815 happy to help 😊

[@dahlmasen3084]

Hi! Thank you for the video! I have two Ficus Microcarpa that haven’t been pruned enough and the branches are very long and there’s only leaves at the end of the branches. Any ideas how to rescue them? Will there be new branches if I hard prune and repot them?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Ficus microcarpa usually back-buds very well, so you can take off all the growth of a branch and new foliage should develop from a lower node. To be one the safe side maybe leave some foliage on one branch so the tree can still produce energy while new foliage develops. I wouldn't prune and repot at the same time as it puts additional stress on the tree.

[@dahlmasen3084]

@@ThatBonsaiGuy Thank you for the super fast reply! Maybe I can try repotting one and prune the other to see the difference

[@dahlmasen3084]

@@ThatBonsaiGuy I don’t know if you’ll be reading this but I was working with the one that looked worst of the two and that one clearly has some root rot and is probably going to die soon. I don’t know what I did wrong with it since the one that stands right besides it in the same window is much healthier. But I am going to replace it with something else and try again, maybe an Azalea

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

​@dahlmasen3084 sorry to hear that. Did you check the roots on the one tree and remove any rotted roots? That might still turn the tide on that tree. Azaleas are quite finicky, would you be able to keep it outdoors?

[@dahlmasen3084]

@@ThatBonsaiGuy I removed quite a lot of roots and they looked a bit better but I didn’t want to remove anymore since there wouldn’t be any roots left then, we’ll see how long it survives. At least the better looking one is ok👍🏻 Yes I will be able to keep it outdoors, at least in the summers, I don’t think an Azalea would survive outside in a Swedish winter, this winter we had -27°C as its coldest

[@kathiestephenson6165]

Good video

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Thanks!

[@jasonebroamann7283]

Is there a video off how it looks now?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

This one is more recent: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXm6kKeYp9CAi5Y

[@mattharsent48]

How would you go about cutting the roots if they were higher and wouldn’t be buried? can you just cut it?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Yes, that part will dry out then, so leave a bit on as to not affect the rest of the tree.

[@mattharsent48]

@@ThatBonsaiGuy do I need to cover the wound with something?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

@@mattharsent48 You can cover it with wound sealing paste. I for example didn't use any paste on my tree and just made sure to keep the wound dry, so it doesn't get infected.

[@mattharsent48]

Ok and in your experience do you think the tree would survive if I cut all the large bulbous roots shorter? Like if I cut them all to the length you did in the video?

[@karinapastrana763]

Hi there, thank you for this helpful video. Do you have any recommendations for a ficus retusa that is experiencing root rot? I just saw a few fungus gnats on my ficus retusa. I am a new plant parent and didn't know how to deal with fungus gnats so I repotted it thinking it would get rid of the larvae that may be in the soil but I now realize that I should have trimmed the roots that were rotten. Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I would hate to kill my first bonsai tree.

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Cutting off the rotting roots is definitely something you should do, if you can see that the health of your tree is still declining. If the tree is healthy however, you might also want to wait with the stress of another repot.

[@bunnyfluffyfluffs]

why cut into the stem and not get a deeper pot?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

I feel the hight of the tree wouldn't work to well a deeper pot, so I saw it as a good opportunity to get rid of the more bulbous parts of the roots

[@LidijaSimic-s4n]

why not get wider and deeper pot instead of cutting almost all the roots off?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

The goal for me is to have this tree in a shallow pot. By being a bit more drastic on the roots now, I can speed up the process until the tree is finally there.

[@freya1579]

@@ThatBonsaiGuyis the tree still alive?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Yes!

[@jamgormit7589]

Does it matter much what time in the plants lifecycle to do this?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

If you keep it indoors it should not matter too much. To be safe I would recommend repotting by the end of cold season, before it starts to show lots of new growth. This way it can focus its energy on recovering from the repot and potentailly from a root prune as well.

[@dariodaquino2754]

Hi. I have a question for you. Cutting the trunk can cause rot? Or will new roots sprout from that cut?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Any cut is basically an open wound and a potential entry point for rot, especially when the wound stays too moist. The desired case is that the wound heals and new roots develop around it!

[@dariodaquino2754]

@@ThatBonsaiGuy i have to do the same cut, because the new pot is lower than the previous one. In your experience, have new roots already sprouted?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

@@dariodaquino2754 yes! The first roots were visible after roughly 2 weeks. Make sure to leave some roots on the tree. It increses the chance the tree will pull through

[@DroiDolf0]

This was cruel to watch😢 Hopefully it’s growing okay

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

😂 yes, it is doing really well!

[@artsvanlifeuk9967]

Hi is it still Alive

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Yes, alive and healthy! I actually just had this tree in another video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpK7oKmbndx-sLc

[@kezzyx3581]

Do you have to use a training pot?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Not necessarily. However, for my tree the roots where too deep at this point to fit it into a more shallow pot, so this one seemed like a good step in between until I can further reduce the roots.

[@honeyjose173]

when's the best time to repot ficus ginseng

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

If you keep it indoors you can basically repot all year around. However, early spring before a lot of new growth is happening is normally a good time to repot.

[@ΠΑΝΑΓΗΣΜΕΣΣΑΡΗΣ]

What is the mixture of the soil?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Roughly equal parts bark, coco coir and clay pebbles

[@ImAFrogg]

Hellooo

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Hi!

[@greggwells4518]

Bro really fucked up his tree and he cut off the most important root of the tree witch is the tap root witch is the one that goes straight down and anchor the tree down and the tap root is the main root so that tree is going to die sorry dude

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

I am looking at the healthy tree two years later now. So yeah, seems to fine...

[@jroasay4084]

Lol

[@djratino]

I would have gotten a deeper pot to not cut the roots off. I have one that's been repotted, They do lose a few leaves in late fall that I've seen is normal. Mine is doing fairly well. 🪴

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

Mine is thankfully also doing great still 😄🪴

[@SimplyGlam]

hey i just found out the name of my plant. i found it in my basement still alive! i would like some tips to help the growth, i only seem to be sprouting leaves on 1 side of the bark :( the other side just has the parts i recently cutt becaue they were dry and dead. how long does it take to resprout sticks on the other side ?

[@ThatBonsaiGuy]

It sounds like the branches in the back have dried out. You would need to cut back all the way to parts that are still alive to get a chance of new growth from that point. To find out if a branch is still alive slightly scratch the bark with your fingernail. If it is green underneath the branch is still alive.