ficus advice please chaps

just acquired a teeny retusa. never had a ficus or any other tropical tree before. I want it to throw some bulk on. I'm assuming it's an indoor tree in winter, but I can put it outside once the risk of frost is gone? That would be march ish here in sunny coventry. Any tips for promoting fast growth?

bobby little wrote:just acquired a teeny retusa. never had a ficus or any other tropical tree before. I want it to throw some bulk on. I'm assuming it's an indoor tree in winter, but I can put it outside once the risk of frost is gone? That would be march ish here in sunny coventry. Any tips for promoting fast growth?

March is too early Bobby, End of April really. I suggest you over pot it, feed well and don't prune. Mind the leaves in direct sun. Introduce it slowly.

You can transition it to the outside starting when the daytime temperatures get over 50*F. I would start it in partial sun and move it more and more to full sun. Bring it in at night before temps drop below 50. When night time temps remain above 50 and you have properly transitioned it to the outside environment you can leave it out 24/7. Food, water and proper pruning should promote the growth you are looking for.

I expect your best advice will come from books and Iris (aka: bonsaisr)

Good luck!

will baddeley wrote:

bobby little wrote:just acquired a teeny retusa. never had a ficus or any other tropical tree before. I want it to throw some bulk on. I'm assuming it's an indoor tree in winter, but I can put it outside once the risk of frost is gone? That would be march ish here in sunny coventry. Any tips for promoting fast growth?

March is too early Bobby, End of April really. I suggest you over pot it, feed well and don't prune. Mind the leaves in direct sun. Introduce it slowly.

does over pot mean putting it into a large pot to allow root growth?

to prune or not to prune? what are the pros and cons of the two opinions?

The only way to increase size is to let its branches grow. Unchecked growth if you want to bulk it up significantly and quickly. Grow then prune if you want thickening to be slower.

will baddeley wrote:The only way to increase size is to let its branches grow. Unchecked growth if you want to bulk it up significantly and quickly. Grow then prune if you want thickening to be slower.

this was my understanding, but wasn't sure if there were differences with ficus.

bobby little wrote:just acquired a teeny retusa. never had a ficus or any other tropical tree before. I want it to throw some bulk on. I'm assuming it's an indoor tree in winter, but I can put it outside once the risk of frost is gone? That would be march ish here in sunny coventry. Any tips for promoting fast growth?

When you see active growth, start feeding it . I use a 20-20-20 indoors (as there is little odor....) When you put your tree outside, you can feed with the good smelly organics - like fish emulsion and seaweed, fertilizer cakes, etc.
Todd

bobby little wrote:just acquired a teeny retusa. never had a ficus or any other tropical tree before. I want it to throw some bulk on. I'm assuming it's an indoor tree in winter, but I can put it outside once the risk of frost is gone? That would be march ish here in sunny coventry. Any tips for promoting fast growth?

Trees grow better if they're labeled properly. The name is Ficus microcarpa. You have gotten pretty good advice so far. I put Ficus outdoors when the temperatures go above 45 F (7 C). To get growth, especially in the trunk, put it in the largest shallow pot you have room for. In the US, we have what we call bulb pans, plastic flower pots that are twice as wide as they are high. Use very coarse soil, lots of sand or gravel. Feed heavily in warm weather. Light pruning is OK, especially keeping the upper branches shorter than the lower ones.
Iris