I just got into bonsai... I have one tree. I think it is called a Ficus. When it grows new leaves some of them fall off when they are about 1/4 of an inch long. What am I doing wrong? I water every other day and give it a lot of light.

Also, where can you buy the trees? Mine came from a guy who grows them and sells them. I want to grow them myself and not have to buy them already cut. (I think he means he wants to buy bonsai material.)

Thanks so much, Seth.

I think you may find your problem is that you are watering your Ficus too much. Although they are tropical plants and like a fair bit of humidity, they do not like wet feet. Your over-watering is probably causing the root system to rot or at least stay damper than the tree actually likes and is therefore resulting in the tree dropping its new leaves. You should also make sure that if you are keeping your plant inside that it is living in 'healthy' conditions and not being subjected to drafts or being burnt by afternoon sun through the windows.

Depending on your area, there should be many places where you can buy pre-bonsai Ficus or 'potensai'. Your local bonsai nurseries would probably have a few in stock, and I'm sure that your garden centres would have them too. Ficus are quite easy to propagate, so you could probably just buy one large plant, and take off cuttings which once rooted, you can use as bonsai. You can find more about the ficus here.

Regards,

Dan