Species · Tropicals like ficus and jade
Chinese banyan
Ficus microcarpa · also Ginseng ficus, Ficus retusa
Chinese banyan (often sold and known as ficus retusa) is one of the toughest indoor bonsai available: aerial roots, a thick trunk that develops real girth fast, and a tolerance for hard pruning and low humidity that few other tropicals share. It backbuds from old wood readily, which makes correcting mistakes unusually forgiving.
Care at a glance
- Watering
- Water when the top few centimetres are dry; ficus tolerates missed waterings. Roughly every 2 days in spring, 2 in summer, 3 in autumn and 5 in winter.
- Light
- Bright indirect light; tolerates lower light better than most.
- Winter
- Below this, bring it indoors immediately. Protect it when the forecast drops below 10 °C.
- Feeding
- Every 30 days, Apr to Sep.
- Repotting
- Every 2 to 3 years, once nights stay warm, in Apr or May or Jun.
- Growth
- Fast growing. Hardy in zones 10 to 12.
The work calendar
| Work | JJan | FFeb | MMar | AApr | MMay | JJun | JJul | AAug | SSep | OOct | NNov | DDec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prune | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | |||||||
| Wire | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | ||||
| Pinch | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep |