New guy here....
Have been binging Peter Chan videos on Youtube...

My brother has gotten interested in houseplants so bought him a Ficus microcarpus today and went ahead and purchased myself one as well.
I bought them both from a nursery- found some aphids (5) as expected but overall seem to be doing alright.

I have a spray bottle for misting and will water as needed. They will sit in my home office window which gets good sun from the South. The fella who sold them to me said to hold off on pruning until Spring but did sell me on some wire, I figure i should hold off on that as well and just let them grow/ keep them healthy for the time being.

Any tips or advice? I look forward to taking care of these guys- I know the Ficus is considered a beginners bonsai but I love the aerial roots I have seen on more mature trees; maybe one day these will really shine. My next purchase will likely be Juniper (my wife's idea) or a Japanese maple... but taking it slow for now and focusing on these indoor plants.

Cheers.

I would follow the seller advice, let them grow until spring or better early summer so you can increase the green , what growth in all direction means.

nathanappraise wrote:

My next purchase will likely be Juniper (my wife's idea) or a Japanese maple... but taking it slow for now and focusing on these indoor plants.

Japanese maples are very nice and popular for bonsai but you have to pay a lot of attention when cutting, i wouldn't recommend it for beginners.
Looking for locals trees, they are cheap and you offer the optimal climate conditions, later you can choose other trees. Just an idea, you dont have to follow.

In Japan maples are like weeds. In my area as well. Not at all a hard.

I can highly recomend japanese maples for beginners that are in a suitable climate. If you are not in a suitable climate or want to grow trees indoors. Maples is not for you. The same goes for junipers.