Good houseplant section score for a beginner?

Almost a year ago (Jan ‘13) I found this Ficus (retusa?) in the houseplant section of a local nursery. I only had a couple olives and junipers at the time so I thought I pay the $12.99 and try this small Ficus that looked like animal more than plant at the time of purcahse. I didn’t take photos when I got it but that’s a drawing of what the Ficus looked like almost a year ago. It was potted in coco peat with barely any roots. The plant hooked over the edge of a small plastic pot.



Here’s an updated photo taken a couple months ago after rework and training.



To retrain the Ficus I made some bonsai soil and repotted. The pot is not a bonsai pot, I found it at a thrift store and liked it and I drilled some holes for drainage. I let the Ficus recover for a couple months into April. It reestablished a good root system by end of May and I pulled off all the leaves. I wired and bent the tree’s small branches carefully. I let it recover in shade and once the new leaves came out I moved the tree into semi-shade, by mid-summer the Ficus was happily in full sun for half the day, part shade for the rest.

I know it’s not perfect but I'm happy, its the BEST I could have possibly hoped for as an outcome for myself as beginner on a small nursery find.

Comments? I was thinking of trying to facilitate some aerial roots to grow below the first horizontal curve.

Good choice.

I like it a lot. Looks like a fun project and the tree is already looking very nice. Even better that it was only 13 bucks and YOU found and reworked it. Nice!

Its a nice little ficus. I have one that is similar.

You're doing a good job so far. I might have kept it at the angle in the first drawing, but I like how it looks now. People have used sphagnum moss wrapped around ficus to get aerial roots to sprout. Also bagging them or increasing humidity. Once they sprout you can guide them to the soil with drinking straws.

I bought a curved ficus microcarpa like this and ended up with an informal upright similar to what you did and plus a rooted top piece that I'm turning into a sort of clump style.