My Bonsai is a "Golden Gate Ficus" (Ficus Microcarpa)

I got this bonsai as a present in July 2019. This is my first bonsai ever and I messed up and watered it everyday, thinking I was suppose to. (I realized that I was dead wrong about a month ago...rookie mistake, I know).

Now, I can't tell if I've killed my bonsai or not. Since then, I've reduced watering to about once every 3-4 days. I'm scared to prune (I've done it once) and tried fertilizing it with liquid fertilizer too.

I just have a feeling that my bonsai isn't doing great, but I can't tell what is considered "normal" and not.

- My main concerns is that there are a few leaves that turn yellow with some specs and dark brown spots. (please see pictures attached)
- Should I pluck the leaves off when I see them start turning abnormal or wait for them to fall off on their own?
- Next concern is my soil. I noticed that there's some white "mold(?)" and my moss is turning yellow too. What's wrong???
- I also noticed super small white micro-organisms/species in my soil whenever I agitate the soil (when I mist/water/check for soil moisture). Otherwise, they don't show up. I can't tell if they're pests or symbiotic (Picture attached) How do I get rid of them if they're pests?

I check the bottom of my leaves and there's no "eggs" or webs or anything. They're super clean.

I've attached other pictures of my bonsai for reference.

Please help me make my Bonsai healthier. I don't want it to die...

I would appreciate anyone's help. Please help me!!

The white animal is most likelly springtails. They are not a threat to your plant. They eat the mold that are a threat to your plant. The springtail is your friend.

But hence no threat, the springtail is a sign of too damp and problem with mold. A good watering scedule and they will not be present.

So you need to cut down on watering even more or repot into a more draining substrate. If you want to keep the plant in that pot, I think the second option will be necessary sooner or later. Getting Watering right for trees in small pots with organic soil is really Hard.

Br
Magnus

If i look at yr plant i see very few leaves per branch. It looks like the tree has not been growing much.

The substrate seems to be fairly coarse from the pictures. This is good. Is the plant in the substrate which is visible on the surface?

The pot should drain. Will water run out at the bottom when watering? If not, it is hard to get watering right.

Is the plant on the spot where you took the picture? You should realize plants need light. Not getting sunlight is bad for its health.

Overall, the plant does not look bad. Dropping leaves is normal. I leave them on untill they fall naturally.

Make sure the soil drains, give it plenty of light.

Hi there! Thank you for your responses!

Yes, my tree has been growing but at a very slow rate. I've now moved it closer to the window for sunlight (I live in Minnesota, so there's not much sunlight especially since winter is coming). What is normal for leaves falling? especially when seasons change? I feel like my leaves are dropping more than usual. My soil is somewhat moist, but my moss on the plant is dying...

The pot does drain when I water it. But, I check the soil for moisture, and it seems still slightly moist. But, I've noticed that there's no humidity residue underneath the pot on the humidity tray and rocks like there usually is.

I'm relieved to hear that they are just springtails. I know that springtails is a sign that watering and soil is not healthy. Not sure how long or what I need to do to get it back to a healthy level..

What part of Minnesota are you in? Which direction is your window facing? If you have a south facing window, or a window with lots of light, it would help a lot. Some people use grow lights to supplement the less light in the winter... I've tried different lamps and am not 100% convinced that the actual amount of light the tree gets from the sun isn't more important. The back windows of my house face south... the living roow has a large window, but the amount of direct light was relatively small. My tropical trees suffered until I moved them into my office, which has more windows, and no shadow is cast from the house. There they started growing again.
Plants also don't like being near heaters... I'm not sure how they reacted to forced air heat, especially if there is a humidifier, but I know they don't like radiators.

I'm in the same situation. When I got my tree it was wired like this but dark green now it changed to the color it is now. What do I do to get it better and growing again? Also please pardon the messy table as we are in the middle of moving.

Jbaxter17 wrote: I'm in the same situation. When I got my tree it was wired like this but dark green now it changed to the color it is now. What do I do to get it better and growing again? Also please pardon the messy table as we are in the middle of moving.

I dont mind a messyrtable, but A picture would be nice:)

Br
Magnus

Tropfrog wrote:

Jbaxter17 wrote: I'm in the same situation. When I got my tree it was wired like this but dark green now it changed to the color it is now. What do I do to get it better and growing again? Also please pardon the messy table as we are in the middle of moving.

I dont mind a messyrtable, but A picture would be nice:)

Br
Magnus

Jbaxter17 wrote:

Tropfrog wrote:

Jbaxter17 wrote: I'm in the same situation. When I got my tree it was wired like this but dark green now it changed to the color it is now. What do I do to get it better and growing again? Also please pardon the messy table as we are in the middle of moving.

I dont mind a messyrtable, but A picture would be nice:)

Br
Magnus

That plant is (not a bonsai and) close to death.

Are you keeping it indoors?

Also: please start your own topic.
This topic was about a ficus, which is a very different species.

I would recommend looking directly at the condition of the roots. An d then perhaps cutting all the dead ones of and repotting with lava as grit possibly around 50%