I am new to bonsai and I recently bought a ficus microcarpa and I need help styling it. Please if anyone can help me.

Sure.
First things first, this is not a bonsai; It is a house plant.
There are many other threads on this forum that explain this, so please use the search function to find them.

Secondly, please can you make sure that your pictures are the right way up, otherwise we can't really see them properly.

Lastly, If you're serious about bonsai then try to find a suitable tree. You should never really buy trees labelled as 'indoor bonsai' as the seller probably isn't too experienced with bonsai (indoor bonsai don't exist). Go to a nursery or your garden - if you have one - and try to find a nice tree that is suitable for bonsai with a good root flare; thick, interesting trunk; and a dense canopy that you can slowly train into a bonsai.

Remember that this is an art that will take time.
Ed

BonsaiLearner wrote:

You should never really buy trees labelled as 'indoor bonsai' as the seller probably isn't too experienced with bonsai (indoor bonsai don't exist)

Hi Ed, what do you mean indoor bonsai don't exist?

BonsaiLearner wrote:

Sure.
First things first, this is not a bonsai; It is a house plant.

In this case... I'd say it is a bonsai. A standard one, mallsai type.

It's the 'Ikea' and 'Ginseng' ones that usually are not considered bonsai.

Darsh wrote:

BonsaiLearner wrote:

You should never really buy trees labelled as 'indoor bonsai' as the seller probably isn't too experienced with bonsai (indoor bonsai don't exist)

Hi Ed, what do you mean indoor bonsai don't exist?

He means that indoor trees do not exist - there is no tree that has evolved to live indoors.
There are trees that survive indoors. Likewise, there are bonsai that survive indoors, which doesn't make them 'indoor' bonsai.

Of course no tree has evolved indoors.
They're "surviving" indoors because they can't survive outdoors, like if you lived in the Arctic and you owned a tropical plant turned bonsai, I think that's a good term to use no? Indoor bonsai...

Darsh wrote:

Of course no tree has evolved indoors.
They're "surviving" indoors because they can't survive outdoors, like if you lived in the Arctic and you owned a tropical plant turned bonsai, I think that's a good term to use no? Indoor bonsai...

It is a term that is used often but that imho is not really correct. There's no such thing as an indoor tree, it should be "tree that belongs outdoors, in the right climate, but can survive indoors if you give the proper care" which is, indeed, a tad long.

I understand what you mean, but we have to call them something. We don't call normal trees "outdoor" trees we just call them trees.
Maybe the more correct term is tropical or sub-tropical tree, but I don't think the term indoor tree is hard to understand.
Actually, looking back, the original poster never even called his tree "indoor" hahah

Darsh wrote:

We don't call normal trees "outdoor" trees we just call them trees.

In my eyes, every tree is normal. They shouldn´t be grouped in the "no-normal" category, just because they can survive indoors.

Darsh wrote:

Maybe the more correct term is tropical or sub-tropical tree, but I don't think the term indoor tree is hard to understand.

Agreed with the first part of that sentence. Not so much with the other. I believe the term "indoor" is in fact erroneous and leads to misunderstanding. It projects the image that a tree should live and be taken care of indoors, when is actually the other way around, as already Auk stated. Living indoors is just control damage or if you prefer, mitigation measures until spring comes.[/quote]

Alain

Yeah I think it's easy to explain why they're not actually indoor trees, they should be outside in their original conditions.
Here's another question
What should we call house plants?