Ficus Alii repotting

Mark1994

Seedling
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So about two years ago I took two air layers off of my ficus Alii and potted them up in a well draining cactus mix. They did great in this soil and barely ever need watering. The room they’re in is low/medium light and pretty humid. Recently I wanted to bonsai these air layers so I cleaned out their roots pretty well, and put them in a cement bonsai pot I made and potted them in pure akadama. A couple days have passed and their leaves are beginning to droop. Is this okay or will this tree die a slow death? Should I water more or less?
 

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Kdavis1109

Sapling
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Bump! Not enough organic in the soil mixture? Hopefully a seasoned ficus caretaker will be here soon to help.
 

canoeguide

Chumono
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I don't know anyone growing ficus in pure akadama, but that doesn't mean it can't be done, and that probably isn't your immediate problem. Always moist soil, but not saturated is what my ficus like.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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Ficus can and do drop leaves when roots are disturbed. Also when moved from outside to inside and when moved from inside to outside. Might not be a problem.

Akadama if dry when you potted the tree up, takes a lot of water to fully wet the first time it is wet. Keep an eye on the potting media. When you water, take the tree to a sink, flood the pot with water, let drain then flood again with water, let drain, then return to where you grow your ficus. You need to make sure there are no dry pockets inside the pot.
 
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