It’s your first so, fair question: what do you imagine it looking like in five years and then fifteen years. Do you like this size, this trunk width, inherent movement (basically a default design template). If you just go with what the tree is doing now you have a broom default. Brooms can be lovely, but I admit my bias is I find them largely uninteresting.
It’s a ficus so it wants a lot of indoor light right now (your winters are tough) and very high humidity. The pot size is good for additional root/trunk development.
I can’t really tell but it seems your window is West facing? I’d consider an actual grow light clip-on or stand light with a broad spectrum so you get a full day of light exposure. I use a timer that’s calibrated to local sunrise/set times. You can approximate that with a simple mechanical timer.
You have a knotty inverse taper forming up at the second branch level. Once you’re confident your plant is well settled I’d do an air layer just above the first branch. That first branch then becomes part of the main trunk and maintains good movement for the next growth phase, thickening your base trunk and going less straight stick and more directional.
Everything above that air layer could lead to at least one more air layer so you wind up with three trees minimum (I see four) with promising future movement.
Main thing though is keeping humidity and warmth levels (75%+, 70-75F) with each cutting. Especially at this stage I’d treat everything more as the semi-adjacent succulent this is. Deciduous and evergreen-ish techniques don’t necessarily apply.
Given where you live, and I’m guessing this is an apartment, I imagine your default air is very dry and humidity is a challenge. Consider a tent of some sort. Doesn’t have to be fancy. It could even just be a two gallon freezer bag with some sort of internal scaffolding you could make with an old style wire shirt hangar or three. For warmth you could use a warming mat like for lizards.
Congratulations, welcome to the hobby. 9 times out of 10 the best advice is give it more light, and I think it applies here too. Windows reflect a lot of light, and blinds get rid of any remaining useful light.
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It’s your first so, fair question: what do you imagine it looking like in five years and then fifteen years. Do you like this size, this trunk width, inherent movement (basically a default design template). If you just go with what the tree is doing now you have a broom default. Brooms can be lovely, but I admit my bias is I find them largely uninteresting.
It’s a ficus so it wants a lot of indoor light right now (your winters are tough) and very high humidity. The pot size is good for additional root/trunk development.
I can’t really tell but it seems your window is West facing? I’d consider an actual grow light clip-on or stand light with a broad spectrum so you get a full day of light exposure. I use a timer that’s calibrated to local sunrise/set times. You can approximate that with a simple mechanical timer.
You have a knotty inverse taper forming up at the second branch level. Once you’re confident your plant is well settled I’d do an air layer just above the first branch. That first branch then becomes part of the main trunk and maintains good movement for the next growth phase, thickening your base trunk and going less straight stick and more directional.
Everything above that air layer could lead to at least one more air layer so you wind up with three trees minimum (I see four) with promising future movement.
Main thing though is keeping humidity and warmth levels (75%+, 70-75F) with each cutting. Especially at this stage I’d treat everything more as the semi-adjacent succulent this is. Deciduous and evergreen-ish techniques don’t necessarily apply.
Given where you live, and I’m guessing this is an apartment, I imagine your default air is very dry and humidity is a challenge. Consider a tent of some sort. Doesn’t have to be fancy. It could even just be a two gallon freezer bag with some sort of internal scaffolding you could make with an old style wire shirt hangar or three. For warmth you could use a warming mat like for lizards.
I’m in Texas so I prefer indoor-friendly bonsai like yours. This is a helpful link to help you decide next questions.
https://www.bonsaioutlet.com/golden-gate-ficus-care/
Congratulations, welcome to the hobby. 9 times out of 10 the best advice is give it more light, and I think it applies here too. Windows reflect a lot of light, and blinds get rid of any remaining useful light.
You have entered the rabbit hole!