Tree Identification please

i have just bought a Bonsai. I asked the owner what type of bonsai it is but she didn't know
please help me
I'll be grateful if someone answer

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This request had got lost through being in the wrong place. Any suggestions for Nasy?

Looks like a Ficus Fiona, possibly Retusa

Ficus microcarpa or Ginseng fig, I think.

Hi Nasy,
I concur with Kevin, "Ficus microcarpa or Ginseng fig, I think."
Also, consider spraying it with Insecticidal Soap; it might have a few "scale" pests.

Place it by a very bright window or grow it under flourescent lights.

Good luck,
Todd

I hate to discourage a beginner, but sometimes it can't be helped. As others have told you, this is Ficus microcarpa, the Chinese banyan. Ordinarily, it makes a good bonsai, but what you have is what they call a ginseng ficus. It is a Ficus growing on a cluster of swollen storage roots, which makes it just a houseplant. It will take a lot of work to get rid of the exaggerated roots & make a decent bonsai out of it. I suggest you get another tree for a bonsai, & just let this one grow.
Iris

Like Iris, trying not to be too heavy here, but it's always a good idea to buy trees that come with a clear label on them or a definite identification from the previous owner as knowing the genus and species is a very vital first step in knowing how to care for it.

I looked up ficus ginseng and it is Ficus retusa not microcarpa. My initial thought was this may be a Green Island ficus which is Ficus microcarpa. Iris, is the Chinese banyan also called the ginseng ?

I was just trimming my green island ficus this morning and it is becoming a neat little shohin. It will need some wire soon to corral the tendency for branches to bud only toward tips.

Norma

Thanks everyone very much.
I might buy another bonsai plant

Nasy wrote:
I might buy another bonsai plant

That's the spirit!

Iris

Norma, I kept running into F. retusa, so I researched it thoroughly. I even asked Prof. Berg, who alas is now deceased. I obtained scans of literature from the New York Botanical Garden. F. microcarpa & F. retusa are two different species. As far as I could determine, F. retusa is not in the nursery trade. It is probably not in cultivation at all. Any time you run across the name F. retusa in bonsai, it is actually F. microcarpa. That includes these ginseng ficus.
Iris

very interesting i was under the impression that they were F. retus "microcarpa" basically a subspecies of retusa, good to know iris.

nasy,you may be able to cut the top and root it, i do it with branches. a little rooting hormone,bonsai soil with sphagnum moss in it ,wet soil, good light and in a month the pots are full of roots...this is off of a large specimen tho so i cant garantee results with a "ginsing" .i can say this bonsai are like potatoe chips,you can't just have one