Ficus ginseng, caring for this beginner’s bonsai

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Ficus ginseng is a bonsai-like houseplant. Great for beginners, it’s got a thick root trunk and very nice leaves.

Key Ficus Ginseng facts

Name – Ficus ‘ginseng’
Scientific – Ficus microcarpa
Family – Moraceae (mulberry family)

Type – indoor plant
Height – 8 to 40 inches (20 to 100 cm), up to you

Foliage: evergreen     –     Difficulty: easy     –     Watering: moderate

Exposure: lots of indirect light     –     Soil: indoor plant mix, well drained

Stems grow directly from the large root, producing an amazing effect. It is easy to care for, and here is how to water and prune it – and when to repot it.

Caring for Ficus ginseng

Although it is easy to care for, Ficus ginseng does require a little care. Watering, fertilizer and pruning give it all the chances it needs to live for decades.

• Ficus ginseng appreciates warmth. That’s why indoor living suits it well: temperatures range from 60 to 75°F (15 to 25°C).
• It loves having good light but not direct sunlight.
• It fears drafty spots.
• Ficus ginseng doesn’t cope well with brutal temperature variations.
• Repotting every 2 years in spring (or fall) is almost mandatory.
• The right way to repot bonsai

Ficus ginseng rarely ever bear flowers and fruits. In exceptional cases, if conditions are perfect, it might happen: you’ll get a tiny fig!

Ficus ginseng in winter

• It’s ok to let temperatures drop to around 54 to 60°F (twelve to fifteen degrees Celsius). Don’t let it get any colder.
• Water a bit less in this season.

Watering Ficus ginseng

Ficus ginseng doesn’t require abundant watering. Don’t water a lot, and don’t water too often.

• Water the ficus only when the surface of the soil is really dry. Test it with your finger.
• In summer, it is often necessary to water a bit more, especially if outdoors.
• Ficus ginseng doesn’t like standing water. Empty the saucer after having watered.

Your ficus ginseng will appreciate having its leaves cleaned often with a rag or a moist paper towel.

Ficus ginseng loves it when air moisture is high.

• You can mist the leaves often with soft water, especially in winter.
• Raise humidity around your plant.

Fertilizer

When you water, you can also provide fertilizer.

Do so twice a month in spring and summer, but stop in winter, in sync with lower temperatures.

• Pellets work fine, but liquid fertilizer is also very effective.
• Make sure it’s already dosed for bonsai. Dilute by half if not.

What matters is that it’s balanced, meaning the “N-P-K” numbers are identical or close. If different, favor a mix with more nitrogen (N) and less phosphorus/potassium (P/K).

Pruning Ficus ginseng

If you consider your Ficus ginseng to be a bonsai, and that you want to keep its shape small, you’ll have to prune it regularly.

Snip new shoots off as they appear for the original shape to be preserved. Or, make it evolve to the shape you wish it to take.

• Pruning the Ficus ginseng on a regular basis will lead it to branch out more.
• Prune winter growth in spring, and if outside, remember to pinch new shoots off as they appear.
• It will trigger new branches to sprout and foliage will grow more dense and beautiful.

Sometimes the Ficus ginseng comes with small branches grafted on a larger root.

• If you notice branches sprouting from below the graft joint, pinch them off: they’re rarely the same variety as the original.

Not only would the ficus change shape, grafted branches will be deprived of sap and die off. Grafted branches are small-leaved, and the root stock is a large-leaf variety.

Ficus ginseng problems

Ficus ginseng losing its leaves

It might be that your Ficus ginseng is simply watered too much, that it lacks surrounding moisture or light, or that it is set in a place full of drafts.

• Ensure that you only water when the soil is dry.
• Mist the leaves.
• Check that where the plant is placed matches the requirements described above, lots of light but no direct midday sun.

Ficus ginseng leaves turn yellow or spots appear

This is often caused by red spider mite.

• Simply treat it with organic mite killer sold in horticulture stores.
• Read our page on how to fight red spider mite.

Ficus ginseng leaves with sticky white spots

This is usually due to mealybugs or scale insects to which the Ficus ginseng is very vulnerable, especially indoors.

• Read on how to rid your ficus ginseng of scale insect

Larger, different leaves appear on this ficus bonsai

This is because the Ficus is grafted. The root part is from one type of Ficus, usually F. microcarpa. Branches tend to sprout from this root part called the “root stock”. Leaves are different from those higher up which belong to the “scion”.

• Snip these new shoots off to keep them from taking sap from the grafted branches.

Sometimes larger leaves appear because growth inhibitors had been sprayed on the plant while at the nursery. Growth inhibitors slow growth and reduce the size of leaves. When it wears off, leaves take on their natural size.

• If you want smaller leaves, defoliate your Ficus ginseng completely every time you prune (snip all leaves off with scissors). New leaves will grow back, smaller than before.
• Don’t do this more than twice a year. Also, remember to fertilize and repot on schedule because this drains nutrients away from the plant.

Strange branch growing under a twig or from the trunk

It doesn’t bear any leaves, starts off as a light-colored shoot but bark gradually appears.

• This is an aerial root growing on your ficus ginseng.

Learn more about ficus ginseng

Native to Asia, Ficus ginseng is grown under our latitudes as an indoor plant. It’s one of the favorite ficus for bonsai.

Its small size and thick trunk make it a very decorative plant, ideal for modern designer homes. It also clears air pollution.

The word “ginseng” means root in Chinese, and is attributed to this plant because of the magnificent aerial root. However,  its very shiny dark green leaves are equally appealing.

Since it is easy to grow and care for, it is often called the beginner’s bonsai. Its life cycle can span many years, even decades, and the key to a successful life is simply to provide appropriate watering.

A surprising root-like trunk

Ficus ‘ginseng’ is the common name for what is usually called Ficus microcarpa in the scientific community. The name “ginseng” refers to the appearance of the root. Actually the thick, bulbous stem was an underground part of the plant, dug out and planted about 4 inches (10 cm) above ground level.

• Read about Ficus microcarpa and how it’s grown and cared for.

Confusing Ficus ginseng names

The Ficus ginseng plant is most often simply a Ficus microcarpa plant. However, due to confusion between production centers, consumer stores and the general public, it also came to be known under the name Ficus retusa.

95% of all Ficus ginseng plants sold are actually Ficus microcarpa grafted together with other varieties like Ficus benjamina, Ficus retusa, and lesser-known cultivars filling in the rest.

Other ginseng plants

Other plants bear a confusing resemblance to Ficus ginseng, too!

Ficus ginseng is different from Panax ginseng, the “original” ginseng root used for its health benefits.

When only few leaves are visible, Ficus ginseng is easily confused with another thick-stemmed plant, Adenium obesum. Telling them apart is easier when Adenium blooms.

Read also:

• Ficus tree care
• Caring for the rubber tree
• Harvesting figs from Ficus carica
• A special series: Ficus ‘Forever’