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In April I ordered a "Pre Bonsai Ficus Midnight Bonsai Tree (benjamina 'midnight')" from bonsaiboy.com. I am new to gardening and while so inexperienced I've decided to keep plant size and investment small at least until I know more. This "pre-bonsai" plant fulfilled the requirements and also my desire to grow a ficus benjamina which I've always loved but killed indoors while living in California (now in Arkansas). Despite the reputation of losing its leaves after being moved just inside a house, this plant has only lost about 5-6 leaves and I'm amazed after being shipped across the country. I keep it in my kitchen window (sort of NW facing) and bought a small humidifier placed next to the window and run when I'm home to increase humidity. It's a little warmer than the rest of the house, but I keep house fairly cool, so I don't think this is a factor. The plant is supposedly 5 years old, but being pre-bonsai has not been "trained." It came in a regular 3" pot. The entire plant including the pot is about 12".
My question is with root pruning, and when to place in a more "bonsai"-like container. I've waited and not done anything, wanting to let it get used to this environment. It has numerous new leaves that haven't opened, but other than that does not have much new growth since arrival. When should I trim the roots (by 1/3?) and place in a different (flatter) container? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. I am immensely enjoying my growing collection of small plants, but am pretty clueless on details.
Donna
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