Hi,

I live in Southern California, and have planted a row of about 30 ficus nitida plants (15 gallon) earlier in the summer. They grow like weeds out here, and were doing great for a while. Just recently, I noticed that about 6 of them, roughly grouped together, developed very dark brown leaves and dropped them, all within a few days. Notice I didn't say they turned yellow, dried out, and dropped them. They turned dark brown (while still maintaining the feel/wetness of a normal leaf) and then dropped off, very quickly. A couple of the trees are totally bald now. It's a mystery to me. Some specifics, and variables:

1. It was VERY hot at that time, for the week, over 100 degrees every day...which is unseasonable, and strange weather for us. But again not every tree effected, so not sure if there is a link.

2. I water on a timer for 7 minutes, 3 times a week.

3. I had fertilized all of the trees about 5 weeks earlier, with lawn fertilizer (high nitrogen). No trees saw any adverse effects in the following days/weeks.

If anyone has any follow-up questions or answers, please let me know!

Best,
Tony George