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Hey all,

New to bonsai and received my first tree as a surprise gift. It came in garden soil so I repotted it immediately in a well draining bonsai pot and found that a portion of the trunk and roots were rotted. I removed the rotted roots and potted it in bonsai soil to give it a chance to recuperate. After some time it started to grow beautifully along with throwing air roots underneath. I'm wondering what to do about the trunk rot. I'd love to keep this tree for as long as possible but I do realize it is my first and I've learned entirely from videos so this is a learning experience that may go terribly but if I can learn and keep the tree, that'd be great. There are also cracks in the bark that I'm concerned about. Please see the attached pictures. The rot goes beneath the soil as you can see in picture 1. Picture 2 shows some cracks. Picture 3 shows more cracks. All of these were there when I got it back in early spring. Any help/advice would be appreciated.

It is not much help if you don't know what species it is. It could be a Ficus, looking at the trunk, nut that is a guess. That means it will need protection from frost i the winter so you need a greenhouse. Re potting at this time of year is not a good idea, if you don't know how to look after it, It needs a sheltered spot in the garden in? mainly shade for a few weeks to recover the stress of re potting. Keep it well watered. As for the rot if you have done the re pot properly then it should heal as it has probably been wet around the trunk for some time.

It will proboably heal with the right care. But there will always be an inverse taper there. In a distant future you may want to look into airlayering or soil layering to remove that part. But for now, just do as Geoff sugested. Healing comes with good care and plant health.

It's a ficus microcarpa but according to the tag on it it was a "bonsai plant". It's kept indoors and will remain so, especially since it's cooling down now. The rot and cracks are the concern.

Now may be a good time to learn that there is no such thing as a bonsai plant, a bonsai Is a tree of any species that is manipulated into staying or becoming small and living in a pot. They are made to simulate an old majestic tree living in the wild, that is what the basic concept of bonsai is.

I think this is a ficus ginseng. They are incredible hard to create a realistic bonsai from.

Let me add context and details to maybe help. I got intrigued by bonsai a year ago. I spent 9 months studying it through a recommended book from a local bonsai dealer and online videos like from this site's YouTube channel. I had begun purchasing the tools and materials needed to get started but was holding off on purchasing a tree until I had decided on which tree would be best suited for my living arrangements. In late winter/very early spring of this year I was surprised by my mother with a tree in a pot she had seen labeled, "bonsai plant" in a big box store. Seeing that label had reminded her that I was getting ready to get started, not knowing I was deliberately waiting to get a tree. It was this tree, a Ficus Microcarpa a Ficus Ginseng. It was in a pot with no drainage holes in organic garden soil. I went and picked it up and started my bonsai journey a little early. I took it home and started poking into the soil to check out what the nebari might be once I moved it into a proper pot. That's when I found the rot in the trunk. I looked online and saw that getting it into proper bonsai soil in a well draining pot was a huge priority. I saw that while it wasn't ideal, since it was still late winter it might be okay to repot right then given the circumstances. I did so. I kept the roots moist as I used a chopstick to remove the garden soil from the roots and found the rotted root extending down from the trunk that has the rot. I cut off the root until I found what I think was healthy root. There weren't many roots to cut because not many had grown on the tree. I potted it in the 1/3 akadama, 1/3 lava rock, 1/3 pumice mixture that this channel always recommends (at least in every video I've seen). I had positioned my wires first and wired it in place. As I did this I noticed the cracks in the bark and white splotches on the leaves. I wiped off the leaves with a soft, clean, damp cloth. I watered her every couple of days based on how dry the bonsai soil felt, but only the soil, not the tree or the leaves. The white splotches never came back so I think she was being watered with hard water at the store. A read online to give her at least a month to recover from any root trimming before fertilizing. When I finally did fertilize I used a 9-3-6 liquid fertilizer, following the instructions on the bottle. She exploded in new growth. I gave her her first trim and wiring once she seemed to be healthy enough. 3 months later she was fertilized again. She keeps growing beautifully, even throwing air roots now, which I think add to her beauty. I know it's a tropical plant and intend to keep it indoors through the winter. The only issues are that rot, and those cracks. I'm worried the cracks are from a fungus. Any input on those things or corrections for things I've done improperly would be appreciated.

?what i understand about these trees is that they are grafted ficus leave onto a root of some other plant, the cracks are nothing to worry about, the rot is literally that whole root looking thing rotting, but as you can see there are more roots growing underneath so again not much to worry about, just keep it clean. Try your best to keep it healthy and if you intend to bonsai it your only option would be ayrlayer the top as previously suggested. Good luck with your journey into bonsai

Actually Nigel at the bonsai zone have done a very interesting project with carving a ginseng ficus to make the swelling base look like a nice nebari. That have created something that I think looks like a bonsai and have potential to become a really nice one in the future. There are one play list for every tree in his colection and that is many. But if you find the right play list it may be a good inspiration?

Regarding your question about the horticultural side of it. What you did wrong and what to do in the future I think Geoffs answer earlier pretty much sums it all up and I have nothing more to add to that.