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mblan13

Best mix for indoor Ficus Benjamina?

mblan13
5 years ago

I picked up a Ficus Benjamina and a F.B. "Toolittle" (12" - 18") cheap the other day. I'd like to repot them and keep them small and in pots, but not actually make Bonsai out of them. They will be kept indoors. I tried to look up a mix but they just said "free draining potting soil". Most sites also included outdated practices or misinformation. I have access to all components of 5-1-1 & gritty mix, as well as bonsai soil ingredients (lava, pumice, haydite, akadama, turface, pine bark and screens. I'm just having trouble coming up with a recipe that works well for Ficus

If you have indoor Ficus, what do you use?

Comments (7)

  • tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
    5 years ago

    I would suggest gritty mix. Some of large leaf ones are in 511 though because of weight factor - the pots are big (a 4 gallon and a 7 gallon I think). Although I am thinking of reducing the pot sizes for those too and go gritty.

    mblan13 thanked tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
  • mblan13
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    Thanks. I have several JM's in gritty, and they seem to love it. I didn't know how Ficus would fare, being more of a tropical plant (?) than JM's. I definitely have to get them out of the fungus gnat laden muck they are in now!

  • tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
    5 years ago

    For some tropicals I tend to bump up the turface relative to the grit. Say you start with 3:3:3 (Grit, Turface and Bark). Instead you can do 2:4:3. Ficus will be fine in straight 1:1:1 though. For conifers I tend to do the reverse - reduce turface relative to grit.

    mblan13 thanked tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    For ficus and other tropicals, I use the gritty mix with a 1:1:1 ratio. If you're using a conventional container (as opposed to a squat, bonsai pot) , you can start with screened gritty in the bottom 1-3" of the pot, and the rest can be gritty mix made with unscreened Turface MVP, which will save a fair amount of effort and should reduce waste (of the Turface fines) considerably, which also represents a monetary gain.Using that type of layering will ensure no perched water but will increase the length of intervals between waterings.

    Plus - what ToC said just above.

    A tip about the Fb 'Too Little': It has a distinct tendency to put out new branches just below an existing branch. We know that photosynthate moves downward in the cambium, but it feeds the branch from below. The new branches that grow below existing branches tap into the nutrient stream and rob the branch above of photosynthate, which significantly weakens the larger established branches - often to the point of loss of viability; so, scrape those branches off with some sort of blade as soon as you spot them. This is not a problem with the species tree - only the cv 'Too Little'.

    Al

    mblan13 thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
  • mblan13
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    Just a regular pot. Maybe... I do have an empty bonsai pot I was thinking I might use it for the 'TL'. I'd probably go with a 1/16" to 1/4" deciduous "boons mix" (2 akadama, 1 lava, 1 pumice, with a bit of granite & charcoal)

    Thanks for the branch tip Al, I'll keep an eye out for that.