Golden Gate Ficus & Bonsai Newbies
Hi everyone! So we adopted a ~8 year old golden gate ficus recently and noticed it has thrips or aphids (can’t tell) in the soil. They move when we water her, which is how we noticed them because they’re so tiny. We just bought Bonide and have begun spraying her weekly, but wanted to know is there anything else we should do? Also, we’re VERY new so if you have a recommended watering, pruning and/or fertilizing schedule we’d REALLY appreciate it! #Bonsai #Ficus
0ft to light, direct
8” pot with drainage
Last watered 1 year ago
3
Best Answer
Oh my GOODNESS!!! I am in love with her look at those Ariel roots!! She is absolutely fabulous and a wonderful find!
These are a couple on my bonsai ficus trees.
The first one is around 30 years old and has been in my care for 21 years now!
The oth Ginseng ficus is around 8 and has been in my care for around 6 years.
First I will address the pests.
I would start with fresh soil to be honest since that is where you are noticing them. Use a soil mix that is aerated, all this means is that is has plenty of chunky bits, such as perlite, pumice, small lava rock etc. . It's really important to have good aeration to keep the roots happy for decade to come.
Then since you suspect pests you can use Bonide it does work for some bugs. But it will NOT work for spider mites and even some colonies of thrips have built up immunities to it.
I will give you a treatment for thrips. But will warn you it is tedious and work. But your plant will be free of them in this time. Now thrips burrow into the plants leaves branches and stems so the whole plant will need to be treated and since they burrow they take longer to get rig of. But I recommend Neem Oil or Insecticidal Soap I have never lost a plant from using it and it is safe for you and your family.
Your treatment options:
THRIPS
Neem oil:
4 teaspoons neem oil + 2 teaspoons soap (Castile preferred its plant safe)
Mixed in 1 gallon water
Insecticidal Soap: (Castile Recommended)
1 Tablespoons of soap per gallon of water
First make sure you isolate your plant.
1. Isolate plant
2. New soil, since you see larvae in there the best way is new soil, when you do this wash out the roots thoroughly with water.
3. Replant
4. Spray down entire tree with your treatment. Until it is literally dripping off tops and bottoms of leaves, stem branches and tree trunk must be treated.
5. Flush the soil with the neem oil until it runs out of the drainage holes.
I always recommend a bathtub if you have one and just keep the plant in there for duration of treatment if possible.
Now this treatment will need to be repeated
Every 3 days for 6 weeks
When your tree needs water, water with you pest treatment of choice.
This really does work, they will be gone but DO NOT skip a treatment otherwise you will need to start process again. They are a pain to get rid of.
During treatment do NOT expose your tree to direct sunlight, it WILL burn!
Now these are my care tips for my Bonsai trees. I have about 15 of them now!
1. Plenty of light. Either 12 house under a grow light or bright indirect.
2. Fertilizer is a must a good quality liquid fertilizer is best. This is critical for bonsai trees because their small pots don't hold much soil to pull nutrients from. They need fertilizer on a regular basis. I recommend Super Thrive Foilage Pro, I use it on all of mine. Every time I water them they get fertilizer.
3. Water frequently. The small pots also dry out faster. You don't want your tree wet but you don't want it bone dry either.
4. The more you prune the more full your tree will be. Prune branches with at least 6 leaves. You always want to leave at least two leaves. And, you want to cut off 4 leaves. This is because then the stem you cut will branch out 2 ways to create a more full tree. It you only cut off 2 leaves, it will not usually branch off.
Enjoy your tree and congrats! ❤️
These are a couple on my bonsai ficus trees.
The first one is around 30 years old and has been in my care for 21 years now!
The oth Ginseng ficus is around 8 and has been in my care for around 6 years.
First I will address the pests.
I would start with fresh soil to be honest since that is where you are noticing them. Use a soil mix that is aerated, all this means is that is has plenty of chunky bits, such as perlite, pumice, small lava rock etc. . It's really important to have good aeration to keep the roots happy for decade to come.
Then since you suspect pests you can use Bonide it does work for some bugs. But it will NOT work for spider mites and even some colonies of thrips have built up immunities to it.
I will give you a treatment for thrips. But will warn you it is tedious and work. But your plant will be free of them in this time. Now thrips burrow into the plants leaves branches and stems so the whole plant will need to be treated and since they burrow they take longer to get rig of. But I recommend Neem Oil or Insecticidal Soap I have never lost a plant from using it and it is safe for you and your family.
Your treatment options:
THRIPS
Neem oil:
4 teaspoons neem oil + 2 teaspoons soap (Castile preferred its plant safe)
Mixed in 1 gallon water
Insecticidal Soap: (Castile Recommended)
1 Tablespoons of soap per gallon of water
First make sure you isolate your plant.
1. Isolate plant
2. New soil, since you see larvae in there the best way is new soil, when you do this wash out the roots thoroughly with water.
3. Replant
4. Spray down entire tree with your treatment. Until it is literally dripping off tops and bottoms of leaves, stem branches and tree trunk must be treated.
5. Flush the soil with the neem oil until it runs out of the drainage holes.
I always recommend a bathtub if you have one and just keep the plant in there for duration of treatment if possible.
Now this treatment will need to be repeated
Every 3 days for 6 weeks
When your tree needs water, water with you pest treatment of choice.
This really does work, they will be gone but DO NOT skip a treatment otherwise you will need to start process again. They are a pain to get rid of.
During treatment do NOT expose your tree to direct sunlight, it WILL burn!
Now these are my care tips for my Bonsai trees. I have about 15 of them now!
1. Plenty of light. Either 12 house under a grow light or bright indirect.
2. Fertilizer is a must a good quality liquid fertilizer is best. This is critical for bonsai trees because their small pots don't hold much soil to pull nutrients from. They need fertilizer on a regular basis. I recommend Super Thrive Foilage Pro, I use it on all of mine. Every time I water them they get fertilizer.
3. Water frequently. The small pots also dry out faster. You don't want your tree wet but you don't want it bone dry either.
4. The more you prune the more full your tree will be. Prune branches with at least 6 leaves. You always want to leave at least two leaves. And, you want to cut off 4 leaves. This is because then the stem you cut will branch out 2 ways to create a more full tree. It you only cut off 2 leaves, it will not usually branch off.
Enjoy your tree and congrats! ❤️
Welcome to Greg!
The bonide systemic granules will make your plant toxic to most things, and usually the soil around the roots become toxic as well.
You could always repot your bonsai and toss the soil so that whatever is living there is out of the picture. You can sanitize the pot and use systemic in the new soil for good measure, too.
As far as care, I do not have a bonsai so I cannot say for sure.
I would recommend using the schedule the app sets for you and always checking the soil moisture first. The top inch or two should be dry before you water it again. Once you've filled out the plant card the app gives you a schedule with about 80-90% accuracy and enters "learning mode" so each time you mark "watered" or "snooze" it will adjust the schedule for you.
Fertilizer I always recommend reading and following the instructions on the label. You can enter the recommended frequency into Greg so you get updates. Personally, I use plant food because I'm terrified of over fertilizing 😂🫣
I cannot tell you how to shape a bonsai, but with pruning you cut above a leaf/set of leaves and the new branches will grow at that growth point where the leaves are.
The bonide systemic granules will make your plant toxic to most things, and usually the soil around the roots become toxic as well.
You could always repot your bonsai and toss the soil so that whatever is living there is out of the picture. You can sanitize the pot and use systemic in the new soil for good measure, too.
As far as care, I do not have a bonsai so I cannot say for sure.
I would recommend using the schedule the app sets for you and always checking the soil moisture first. The top inch or two should be dry before you water it again. Once you've filled out the plant card the app gives you a schedule with about 80-90% accuracy and enters "learning mode" so each time you mark "watered" or "snooze" it will adjust the schedule for you.
Fertilizer I always recommend reading and following the instructions on the label. You can enter the recommended frequency into Greg so you get updates. Personally, I use plant food because I'm terrified of over fertilizing 😂🫣
I cannot tell you how to shape a bonsai, but with pruning you cut above a leaf/set of leaves and the new branches will grow at that growth point where the leaves are.
Great tips already from others on here. It's a pretty hardy plant but don't trim off more than a third of the branches to prevent shocking the plant.