My Ficus bonsai arrived on 14 November in its lovely sapphire blue ceramic pot, and a few weeks ago, I decided upon a name for it: Miss Flo.

Miss Flo, the Ficus Bonsai, is doing well. She arrived looking rather bushy but has since had quite a snip here and there. I didn’t do any major pruning, but hopefully, by tactically removing some of the larger leaves, she will grow smaller ones. I think it is working. Little buds are sprouting from the branches, turning into little leaves—babies!

I will leave Miss Flo for now (i.e., no more snipping). Those remaining large leaves will stay on until spring next year. I hope to see her become bushier by then, and I will snip off more of the large leaves to make room for the desired smaller leaves.

Miss Flo gets her weekly shower to freshen up her lovely foliage (and remove dust particles). I only lightly mist her; she gets her daily sunshine from the window (it’s winter now, so there’s very short daylight available). When it’s time, she gets a ‘soak in the tub’—water filled in a container, and her blue ceramic pot submerged into the container for the water to slowly sip into the soil. She seems happy with this approach.