How to Care for your Bonsai Ficus Ginseng Plant!

How to Care For Your Bonsai Ficus Ginseng Plant

The Bonsai Ficus Ginseng Plant is also known as Taiwan Ficus or Banyan Fig.

One of the attractions of this particular bonsai ficus ginseng is of course the roots which are usually exposed. Along with a thickish trunk and a canopy of dark green leaves it is a most attractive plant, creates a wonderful display in the home and is so easy to look after. This makes it ideal for newcomers to indoor plant keeping especially as it is very low maintenance.

Caring For The Bonsai Ficus Ginseng

Although the bonsai ficus ginseng can tolerate low light environments well, it does thrive much better in well lit environments and natural sunlight. So it is important to site the plant beside a window which receives lots of light for as much of the day as possible. I turn my own Ficus Ginseng by one quarter turn to the right each day so the whole ginseng plant has its fair share of the sun.

This bonsai tree does need a little tender loving care. It does need moderate watering in the winter, and I have had good results by feeding the potted soil with tomato plant liquid feed of all things. (Don't overdo this) Obviously, a little more water will be needed during the warmer summer season and less during the winter season.

The bonsai ficus ginseng does not mind being overwatered once in a while nor does it take offence when you forget to water it sometimes. It will however thrive more when misted regularly to mimic its rainforest home conditions. I do this daily using an old aerosol spray, and where possible I use rainwater rather than tap water which tends to contain Fluoride in this Country and I'm not sure this is good for the plant. Boiling tap water first may be another solution.

The bonsai ficus ginseng is basically a slow grower although this will depend on the condition of the plant and obviously on its environment. Repotting the bonsai plant depends on growth, so you may have to do this annually or bi-annually. I have had my ficus ginseng for about 6 months and growth is slow, so there is plenty of time to think about re-potting at a future time.

As for the soil, the plant does not seem too fussed and I have just used the soil which was in the pot when I bought the ginseng plant. Fertilizers may be added but the bonsai ficus ginseng is a good grower and can survive in lean conditions. (Try the tomato liquid fertilizer trick mentioned earlier)

The bonsai ficus ginseng tree is an easy tree to care for and you will not need to constantly monitor its state. At first you may be worried at the alarming habit the Ficus has of dropping its leaves daily. Look closely however at the plant and you will see that for all the dark green leaves which have been discarded, there will be a roughly equal number of light green new growth leaves to replace them.

The leaves of the bonsai ficus ginseng will need to be pinched when there are more than necessary to make a good looking crown. For every six new leaves that come out, you need to pinch off at least two or three to maintain its beauty and symmetry.

Overall the bonsai ficus ginseng is a hardy tree that is great for novices and beginners!

The Under-rated Hydrangea - hydrangea care!

One of the classic blue shrubs (in more acid soils) is the Hydrangea macrophylla, or common hydrangea. This has become almost a signature plant of gardens in the U.K. and it's easy to see why, because it provides endless Summer Hydrangea. Hardy and requiring little maintenance, it delivers year after year, over a long flowering period from midsummer to late autumn. Hydrangea macrophylla is in fact divided into two categories. The most frequently encountered are the 'mopheads' or 'Hortensias'. These are the ones producing big, confident, dome-shaped blooms. 'Blue Bonnet' or 'Goliath' are examples.

If you are looking for something more unusual, the 'Lacecap' hydrangeas provide an exciting alternative. The flowers of the lacecap hydrangeas are quite different from those of the mopheads. They are made up of two parts - an outer ring of showy florets and a central arrangement of small fertile flowers. Hydrangea 'Blaumeise' is a wonderful lacecap to look out for. Also known as 'Blue tit' or 'Blue sky' it produces exceptionally deep blue coloured flowers set against dark green leaves.

Another great choice if you're looking for blue flowering shrubs is the buddleia. Ideal in a border, the arching stems, tipped with clusters of flowers of varying shapes and colours (depending on species and variety) are, like the hydrangea, a classic sight in the summer garden. 'Black Knight' and 'Empire Blue' are examples of Buddleia davidii bearing flowers with blue and purple hues whicb are very attractive to butterflies. 'Lochinch' and 'West Hill' are other examples of bluish buddleia.

Lavender is a shade in its own right, and fields of the plant shimmering under a hot sun are an image to take home from Mediterranean holidays. Bring some of that romance into your garden with one of the hardy lavenders grown in this country. Lavenders will bring fragrance and colour to shrub borders or rock gardens. They can also be used to form a low hedge, perhaps around a vegetable area.

Three very different shrubs, all with the potential to bring the beauty of blue into the garden. As with many shrubs, none of these require much maintenance and will thrive in most garden soils (though for best blues from your hydrangeas your soil needs to tend towards acid). Blue can be bold or it can be demure. Either way it is always the height of good taste.