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Sensei-in-Training (Very)
Join Date: Jun-2006
Location: Baltimore
Country: USA
Posts: 497
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I don't have any experience with the fukien tea, and I'm currently working with my first ficus (which actually isn't mine, but I've been charged with it for awhile). Two things to keep in mind:
1. Indoors is always much darker than you think it is, so indoor trees generally need to be given more light than you think they will. Some species of ficus do well in darker conditions, from what I understand, but nearly all of them do better with a lot of light. If you can set up an area with a grow light, the trees will undoubtedly benefit from it.
2. Indoors is generally less humid than outdoors, so attention needs to be given to watering/misting to make sure the trees don't dry out completely. The general rule of thumb is to water when the top inch of soil feels dry. One trick I picked up that can help is to stick a bamboo skewer into the soil and leave it there. You can then check it daily (using it as a dipstick) to see how the soil lower in the pot is doing.
Another consideration is the soil. Often bonsai bought from vendors that don't specialize in bonsai will be planted in inappropriate soil with decorative rocks glued on the top. I can't tell from the photos if that's the case with yours, but if rocks are glued on the top, it's important to remove them as soon as possible. They tend to prevent water from getting down into the soil. At the appropriate time for the species, repotting in good bonsai soil may improve the tree's chances. I had to do this with the ficus I'm caring for. After repotting it dropped all the leaves from some lower inside branches, but overall it's seemed to do well even though I don't have ideal light conditions for it.
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