I just bought a small Bonsai tree.

[August]

It's a ficus; likely thrives in the same conditions as your orchids and no special rules for quarantining as far as I know. They like good sun. Outside over the summer if possible. In bonsai, much like with orchids, it is important that the soil is well draining and holds air as well as water. Granular, ideally. But a ficus is highly adaptable and clearly doing fine in what I assume is peat moss. Hard to go wrong!

Edit: I have a hard time identifying "ginseng" ficus if anybody wants to chime in with a 'retusa' or 'microcarpa' or what have you

 

[charlesf6]

I have a hard time identifying "ginseng" ficus if anybody wants to chime in with a 'retusa' or 'microcarpa' or what have you

I had a suspicion it mirrored this tree.

https://www.easternleaf.com/Ginseng-Ficus-Bonsai-Tree-p/809400-03.htm

 

[19Mateo83]

Your tree does not appear to be grafted, I believe you have a ficus retusa on your hands. Good starter material and fairly hard to kill. First things first, does the pot have a drainage hole in the bottom? Those costa farms pots are notorious about not having drainage holes. Second, the moss on top is just that, decorative moss. You can lift it to see how the soil is doing. You don’t want it staying wet. Moist is ok but wet will lead to root rot. Keep it in a sunny location or under grow lights and only water when the soil feels dry.

 

[AJL]

I suggest you should at least do a visual check for tobacco whitefly, scale insect. aphids thrips and leaf miner before putting it in with your Orchid collection.
A quick google search will give you all the info you need on Ginseng fig Ficus microcarpa

 

[rockm]

Scale, mealybug, mites, diseases etc.
It came from a store. I know that Bonsai is an art form and not a species.
But tree type is not displayed on the label and the storekeeper couldn't tell me.
I will find out. I just didn't know if sanitary prep for a mini tree could fall in line with the
new orchid method I employ without harming the little fellow.

Looks like a ficus, a "ginseng" ficus (which is not really a species, but a ficus with bulbous roots).

 

[It's Kev]

I had a suspicion it mirrored this tree.

https://www.easternleaf.com/Ginseng-Ficus-Bonsai-Tree-p/809400-03.htm

eeeewwwww, easternleaf, run away

 

[charlesf6]

eeeewwwww, easternleaf, run away

Run away from what?

 

[WNC Bonsai]

You are right to be concerned about importing pests, especially with ficus as every one I have ever owned came with scale. I would wipe the leaves down with rubbing alcohol unless you can take it outside and spray it with an insecticidal soap. Look over it with a magnifying glass and see if there are any signs of other insets. Fortunately though this is a pretty easy plant to grow and is pretty popular so you should be able to find information on the internet and YouTube on how to manage it.

 

[charlesf6]

You are right to be concerned about importing pests, especially with ficus as every one I have ever owned came with scale. I would wipe the leaves down with rubbing alcohol unless you can take it outside and spray it with an insecticidal soap. Look over it with a magnifying glass and see if there are any signs of other insets. Fortunately though this is a pretty easy plant to grow and is pretty popular so you should be able to find information on the internet and YouTube on how to manage it.

Didn't get a positive on the alcohol, so I brought it outside and wiped each leaf down with a mild hand soap and cotton ball, watered,
left in some sunshine for a bit and brought her back in and put her to bed.

 

[charlesf6]

I thoroughly watered last Saturday. Would it a good idea to stick to a similar schedule and water the small Ficus
once a week or should I try to judge by weight or insert a bamboo skewer to check moisture level?
I believe I had had many of these trees dry out on me because of the humidity levels in the apartments I used to reside in a long, long time ago.

 

[August]

Watering strictly on a schedule is not a good idea. I have a "schedule" which basically is giving everything a good look every other day / watering what needs watered and doing one particularly big group watering once a week or so. So something of a scheduled "water review".

It's really best to stay vigilant, and it gets easier the more cues you pick up on. Weight is my go-to and checking the soil is my next step if I still can't decide. This sounds like a lot, but it gets more and more intuitive, and after a few years of this it takes me about 15 minutes to "check" my 50+ houseplants.

 

[jradics]

We will see if allowed here.


View attachment 471890

ficus. tropical. will not stand frost or freezing