Please Give me tips on Repotting my Weeping Fig (Ficus Benjamina)?

The diameter of the pot is about 10 inches

I kept my ficus outdoors ever since I bought it, (even though it is a houseplant) what kind of potting soil do i need to buy? how much bigger of a pot do i use? how would i go about removing the ficus from the pot before putting it in a different pot of soil? does the soil go in first? any other advice you can give me? thanks in advance

Please Give me tips on Repotting my Weeping Fig (Ficus Benjamina)?
Get a 14 inch pot. Place small stones on the bottom to cover the drainage holes. Fill about 1/3 with a good potting soil (Miracle Gro Moisture Control is good). Pull the tree out of the pot and place it in the new pot. Add more potting soil, patting down firmly to about 2 inches from the top. Cover with bark mulch to help retain moisture. Water well. The tree will go into shock and will lose some leaves, but this is normal.
Reply:Such anxiety to repot a ficus benjamina is unwarranted. This plant is next to unkillable.



This tropical tree grows without soil -- on walls, on roofs, in the gutters of homes, in the cracks on the sidewalks, in other flower pots. It is an outdoor plant by nature. In a cooler climate its growth might be retarded which is a good thing.



Ours grows in a pot with minimal care and watering and fertilising. Once a year it gives a flush of red fruits, all looking like larger holly berries growing in clusters. And since we hardly water it, it gets that bonsai twisted look. We rescued it from a drain when it was tiny, and where it was growing without soil. Its roots in nature are usually trailing all over looking for moisture.



It likes full sunlight, so if kept indoors it might show symptoms of light deprivation. (It may be etiolated, meaning grow long and thin and lighter in the colour of its leaves.) But its shape and arrangement of leaves is very pleasing. This is my favourite fig.



If your ficus benjamina needs repotting, just lift it out from the old pot, trim off any amount of its roots -- all if you like -- it won't die. Then stir the soil left in the pot, and put in more clods of soil, brick, stones, dried leaves for compost to fill half the pot. Rest the plant on this and add more soil and stones around the roots until it can stand without your holding it.



So what if half of its roots are above the top of the pot now? This is a common bonsai plant anyway. And its natural habitat is to grow with ALL of its roots above ground anyway. So -- you have saved yourself some money by not using a new pot, and the plant will flourish in the old, and feel better in new soil that you have added. You will be rewarded in time with a flush of new, shiny leaves.
Reply:First, it is not a true houseplant, its a tree that does best outdoors. Because it is topical it has to be kept indoors in many areas, but is healthiest when kept outside.



I mostly agree with what the poster above said,but would recommend changing one thing. When you pull the ficus out of its old pot, remove as much of the old soil as possible. It sounds like you have had it for a while, which means it is probably root bound. This can inhibit new root growth as the majority of the roots ar trapped withing the oild soil ball.



Using a skewer, chopstick, etc, gently remove as much ofthe dirt as possible and untangle the roots as much as possible. If you break some, dont worry, you can safely remove up to half of its roots without harming the tree. But just because you can doesnt mean you should so be carefull to break as few roots as possible.



Once you have done this, decide at what point you want the tree to emerge from the pot. the best thing to do is get some one to help you. Have them hold hte tree at the desired level and then you fill in the pot, makeing sure to keep the roots seperated. If you just dump the soil in the roots will get clumped in the center. So, a handfull at a time insert soil into the pot making sure the roots stay spread.



ince the pot is full water well, and place it in a shaded area for about a week ot two - this gives it time to recover from the transplant and helps to reduce leaf loss.

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