The tree just needs to grow right now, giving you time to study, one how to grow this ginseng ficus and keep it healthy, and two find a better way to secure it to the rock. It is a good effort, but as the plant fattens up grooves will form where the wires are. Look into Velcro garden tape or raffia.

ez

FWIW, I wouldn't be thinking too far ahead of getting the plant into a soil it will appreciate instead of marginally tolerate at best. I can see you're in for some serious diminishment of o/a health via poor root health/function if you don't fix the soil, and can expect to be fighting a continual battle with your medium for control of the plant's vitality. Plants in shallow pots are much less tolerant of waterlogged soils because they are often 100% saturated after a thorough watering - and tend to remain that way for extended periods because the hypoxic soil conditions inhibit water (and nutrient) uptake. The end result is a plant dying of thirst in a sea of plenty.

Al

Al

thank you for your input... I have a few question for you...

What is wrong with my soil... I use a bonsai soil mixed with a house blend soil from a nursery...

What do you recommend I should do with the soil... Obviously I would like keep the strength and integrity of my tree... Any advice is much appreciated...

Soils comprised of fine particles (like Miracle Grow et al) support a perched water table (PWT), which is a column of water held in the soil so tightly by capillary attraction that it's able to resist gravity. If there are enough fine particles to fill the spaces between the large particles, the soil holds roughly the same ht PWT as if the larger particles weren't there. Some bagged soils support PWTS taller than 6", and it doesn't matter what size or shape the container is, the PWT will always be 6" tall.

Let's say your soil supports 3" of perched water. How deep is your pot? 3"? If it supports 3" or more and your pot is 3" deep or less, that means your soil will be 100% saturated with water after a thorough watering and can hold no air to fuel root metabolism/function. Water and nutrient uptake is an energy-driven process and must take place in the presence of O2 - you can see where this is going.

From the plant's perspective, a soil that holds no perched water will offer the most opportunity for plants to grow to their genetic potential. The trick is to build enough water retention into a soil that doesn't hold perched water to satisfy the grower. The plant might like a soil best that requires a soil that needs watering 2-3 times per day in the heat of summer, but the grower might say, "No Way - I ain't having any of that kind of commitment", so he compromises in such a way that it fits the way he's ordered his priorities. As is often the case, what's best for plant and best for grower are often mutually exclusive.

What I grow in looks like this:

Because it's screened to a size that eliminates the support of perched water, it holds water on the surface of particles, at the interface where particles touch, and inside of those particles that are porous. The soil is always filled with air to fuel root function from top of the pot to bottom.

It produces root systems like this:

Roots are the heart of the plant, and a healthy tree is only a hope unless the roots are happy.

Read more about How Water Behaves in Container Media here. The information it contains probably represents the largest step forward a container grower can take at any one time.

I hope you found this offering helpful. As someone who has worked toward greater proficiency at the art of bonsai for a good number of years and been around many budding artists, I can say that a working knowledge of soils it is a significant part of what you will need to learn to clear the hurdle of being able to keep your trees viable and healthy enough to work on.

Al

This is great I'm going to look into a soil with some what of the same consistency as what you use and see what happens from there...

Thanks so much greatly appreciated!!!