Hi, I hope someone can advise me on this. I have a five-foot braided ficus that had had some neglect. I had just got it back to happiness at a sheltered east window in my office. The A/C vent is directly across from it (about ten feet away) and I usually kept a chair in front of the vent and a fan to move the air and keep the cold air from blowing directly on the tree. I also kept the A/C on the warm side anyway. The climate here is very hot and dry and the power bill shoots up if we try to keep it below about 75-80.

Two weeks ago someone here turned the A/C way down into the 60's over the weekend. I came in Monday morning to what felt like a refrigerator. That cold air had been blowing right on the ficus all weekend. I hadn't worried about the chair and fan as I left the building with the A/C at about 85. There are maybe five or six leaves still alive--everything else is dead. I've trimmed some of the twigs and see just a hint of a sort of sick green.

Can I save this tree? And if so, how? This poor ficus holds a lot of sentimental value for me.

Thanks,

Laurie