thanks how long typically do people let their young bonsai trees grow for until they wire it for the first time?
I wire seedlings as soon as I feel comfortable handling them. This might be within weeks of them popping up. If you want a tree with lots of movement, it is important to get the first few cm of the trunk to have curves.
For most trees this means: Wire within the first year. But it is tricky and risky.
So all the leaves seem to fall off I touch it. It gets direct sun for 5-6 hours a day and I water it when soil is dry. Is the tree jus acclimating? I do see green buds swelling up but all the existing leaves are curling and falling off.
There seems to be this misunderstanding that bonsai do not need water. I never let my plants go dry. I wait untill the soil starts to get dry. But I never let the soil actually run dry
For soil i am using a mix of black, red lava rocks, pumice and akadema. When the rocks look dry that's when i water since the colours are different when wet vs. dry.
Well, as it is a ficus, you have plenty of time to wire it, as they stay flexible for a long time...
You can also tie it...
It all depends to your vision on the tree, but I would say there's no need for doing it now...
