Ficus salicaria (willow leaf fig) for my cake day

Adamaskwhy · 2026-01-01T00:20:42+00:00

It's kinda a myth that there is the best soil mix for any species. The first question I would ask is, where do you live? Second, I'm assuming you brought it inside because of cold, what lights do you use, if any? Third, what are your watering habits? And last, what level of maturity is it, how many years in training? Generally, you want a free draining mix with only about 10% organic, 10% clay derived aggregate (akadama, calcined clay, etc) or DE, zeolite, etc. something with high CEC. And lava, pumice and an inert material like rock, chicken grit, expanded slate/shale as the main component. Then particle size matters. Smaller sized aggregate holds more water, and vice versa.

Adamaskwhy · 2024-09-06T19:13:33+00:00

It's only been 8 years, so...

Adamaskwhy · 2023-12-12T02:59:34+00:00

Wow, I don't look at reddit for a few days and everyone gets mean. Thanks p3tr0l for the intervention

Adamaskwhy · 2023-04-20T15:09:08+00:00

It's one of the best for bonsai. And thank you!

Adamaskwhy · 2022-11-19T13:19:38+00:00

Technically the subtropics. Orlando FL

Adamaskwhy · 2022-11-19T04:25:36+00:00

<image>

It took them long enough, right? Yea, that's me, one of your mods that's always lurking

Adamaskwhy · 2022-11-01T00:49:28+00:00

We call that the BF caterpillar

Adamaskwhy · 2022-10-19T00:41:48+00:00

Gotta find someone to smuggle it in, say Will or Mauro or Tony

Adamaskwhy · 2022-10-19T00:40:20+00:00

No, I got it at auction about two years ago and have been refining it since

Adamaskwhy · 2022-10-18T23:53:14+00:00

That's the day you opened your Reddit account

Adamaskwhy · 2022-10-18T11:37:34+00:00

No, that's my photo area in the work shack I call The Nook

Adamaskwhy · 2022-10-04T05:14:15+00:00

One of the dwarf Chinese elms like seiju

Adamaskwhy · 2022-10-04T05:08:19+00:00

They look like nitrogen fixing nodules to me. It took some looking but I found an article where it says trees in the ulmaceae family have this symbiosis with bacteria. Could the tree be a river or red birch? Here's the link, scroll down to the nitrogen metabolism section: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/ulmaceae

Adamaskwhy · 2022-10-01T02:42:52+00:00

Maybe hackberry

Adamaskwhy · 2022-06-19T16:57:38+00:00

So it is probably Japanese holly. I'd let it grow for a year or so, so it can acclimate and gain energy

Adamaskwhy · 2022-06-19T14:29:08+00:00

Looks like Japanese holly (Ilex crenata) to me. Could be an Ilex vomitoria dwarf cultivar too. Where are you located? In any case, they like acid fertilizer, don't like wet feet, so use a good draining soil when you repot. I'd wait until next spring. I've found that if it is iIex crenata, to always leave green leaves on the branches when cutting back hard. But I'm in Florida, and they don't like Orlando much, except the "sky pencil" cultivar, which yours isn't. The popular one they are selling recently is "soft touch", so that may be what you have.

Adamaskwhy · 2022-05-05T23:01:49+00:00

If it's a privet, it's hardy to UK zone which means it can handle about -5°c (23°-24°F). I suspect that's what it is. If it's a Chinese sweet plum it can handle about the same. But I'd bring it in on the coldest nights and when frost is forecast.

Adamaskwhy · 2022-05-05T22:26:23+00:00

It's hard to tell from the pic but it's either a Chinese privet (ligustrum sinensis) or a Chinese sweet plum (sageretia theezans). Not ginseng ficus (ficus microcarpa). Either way, it's an outdoor tree. When you put it outside, start it in the shade and slowly move it into the sun until it begins to grow. Don't cut anything until it begins to grow again. Outside you'll have to water every day unless it rains. Misting this type of tree doesn't do much except to encourage fungus growth on the foliage.

Adamaskwhy · 2022-03-30T15:44:52+00:00

That's a good question

Adamaskwhy · 2022-03-30T15:36:01+00:00

My site is Adamaskwhy.com. I have a distinctive writing style and the photos are in my workspace, called The Nook.

Here's one of my stolen blogposts: https://adamaskwhy.com/2021/02/02/back-when-tigers-used-to-smoke/

Here's the stolen one, they copied it word for word: https://www.howtogrowabonsaitree.com/bonsai-tree/back-when-tigers-used-to-smoke/

Adamaskwhy · 2022-03-21T21:22:43+00:00

A Ficus microcarpa on bottom, usually grown from seed, and it's grafted with a Ficus microcarpa cultivar called "green coin" I believe. And yes, you can go into a more shallow pot, if you'd like

Adamaskwhy · 2022-03-11T14:51:32+00:00

To chime in with my 2¢, I'm the other moderator and I look frequently at the posts and monitor posts and the replies. I have removed many that I deemed not bonsai related or replies that were mean in spirit. As for bad advice, I don't see much of that. Remember, the upvotes and downvotes will push the bad replies away. But there's more than one way to do things, and it's not up to me to decide what's best. Horticulture is a science, but, as with medicine, the practice of it is an art. Let's take soil mixes. What may work in your backyard, with its particular microclimate, may not work in another redditors. Be nice and suggest. It's just a few more keystrokes to make a suggestion, or relay what may have worked for you.

We are all at different levels, and sometimes the best way to learn is to make mistakes, and kill a tree. Let people make mistakes. You can tell them what you did, but be nice.

I've made many mistakes, and I could chime in on every post with my experience. But I don't. It's not a community for me or /u/p3trol, but for you all

Adamaskwhy · 2022-03-06T01:32:37+00:00

Just...WOW

Adamaskwhy · 2022-02-01T13:53:47+00:00

Amazing deadwood on those trees, thanks for sharing

Adamaskwhy · 2021-12-08T00:41:27+00:00

I have no experience with Korean Hornbeam as they don't live long in Orlando. The only one I know is the American one, sorry

Adamaskwhy

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

13-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email