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massimo_p

My ficus has lost its leaves

massimo_p
21 years ago

I bought a ficus benjamin 3 years ago.

I kept it outside in summer and inside in winter for two years and everything was ok. The ficus was very healty.

Last year something went wrong: when I put it inside in september, it started loosing its leaves and it never stopped up to now.

Now it has only 10-15 leaves. I repotted it few days ago.

Any esplanation of what happened and any suggestion for the future?

Comments (23)

  • tropicals
    21 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    may need repotting; have you followed the same routines for transitioning it outdoors, and back indoors. If you don't properly acclimate it, it may lose leaves due to too much light when going out, or conversely too little when coming in. Just a thought.
    ~df

  • cattlover
    19 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have, I believe, a benjamina and it's dropping its leaves as well. No changes that I am aware of. It's in the living room which has a northern exposure. There has been some shift in the weather, but I don't think enough to affect it inside. So, I haven't moved it or anything. On the other hand, I have a benjamina bush that is doing great -- no leaf drop -- and I even divided it!

    The one in the living room is a multi branched tree that has been trained around each other. It is in a 12-14" pot and is about 4.5ft high. Any suggestions?
    BTW, it is still growing, new leaves consistent.

  • cattlover
    19 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I mean multi-trunk :)

  • Malawi
    19 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My neighbor had the same problem. She kept the ficus for two more years, ignoring it, watering it once every two months, and then when she was throwing it out, she noticed it had some green buds on it. Now, one year later, her ficus looks normal again.

  • Tunia
    19 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I too have a ficus that has shed all it's leaves and the
    one right next to it still has all of its leaves. Now I
    know it's ok to prune it but it may even be dead. I wonder
    if it's worth all the trouble to keep a ficus or would you
    just trash it and get a plant that doesn't shed every where? What does everyone think with a ficus. This shedding drives me crazy. Please help?

  • massimo_p
    Original Author
    19 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My ficus had lost all its leaves.
    ALL, completely.

    I kept it outside and I pruned it.
    Impossible to believe: after a long time with no leaves, it started again to have leaves.
    Then in autumn I put it inside and it started again loosing its leaves. At last I trashed it and I bought a new ficus.

    Rule of the game:
    1) keep the ficus indoor, even in summer. If you put it outdoor the ficus likes it very much and it becomes much
    better. But then, when you put it indoor in winter, this is a too high stress for it. Keep it always indoor
    2) be regular in giving water to it. Regularity is the rule for most of the plants (except bonsai). A bit more in summer, less in winter, but with regularity.

    This is what I learnt (or I think to).

  • cattlover
    19 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well, I just bought a new ficus (one trunk) and put it in the same spot as the old one -- which I won't throw out yet. Well, it's now starting to drop it's leaves as well. I just don't get it. I shook it a little and all these leaves started falling. When I bought it, it was all lush with new leaves all over. I pruned it a little--actually, trimmed. Just to get some dead out. After all this leaf drop, it's looking almost empty and void. It was so full...I know I can't be doing anything wrong...I haven't DONE anything!!!

    Help!

  • Jermes
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This message may be to late to save some ficus lovers. I have one tree I saved from Lowes about 6 years ago. The first few years were pretty tough as I came close to throwing it out several times. I have finally learned a few things and here they are. Do not place the tree where it will receive hot or cool air blowing on it i.e. air or heat vents. East and south exposure is always best in a window. They will drop their leaves at the slightest hint of stress.
    Hang in there, continue to water once a week and if they are getting enough light, the leaves will come back out. When all else fails put the tree out in a shady area where it will get some morning sun and liquid fertilize like hell!! My tree was about 3 ft with maybe 6 leaves left when I saved it and is now a 10 ft beauty.
    Jerrie

  • birdsnblooms
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hope everyone having ficus problems toss them out..
    Ficus can be finiky, and like the above poster mentioned, any change can cause leaf drop. The thing is, once a perfect spot is found, let it be.
    I don't agree about watering once a wk..there is no set date on watering any plant..for instance, one location may be much cooler than another, therefore, the cooler room's soil will take longer to dry..It's important soil doesn't stay constantly wet. It needs to dry a bit between waterings, especially in winter. A bright location is best, remember, figs are in the ficus family, and figs grow in direct sunlight.
    I agree keeping away from a heating vent is important..dry heat will kill a plant..daily misting helps w/humidity, but a humidfier works best.
    Now that the days are getting longer, some plants can be fed..I'd use something high in nitrogen, 1/2 the recommended dossage the first time, then once a month feeding after. If the plant is to go outdoors, do so gradually, otherwise the tree will burn..I found, for those of use who live in cold, dry climates, bringing a ficus indoors in mid-Sept is best. This can also be done gradually, but when one is dealing w/a large tree, it can require work..Halt feeding in Sept, again using 1/2 dossage. It's inevitable some leaves will fall, but w/care the number should be few. As the days shorten, the tree will go dormant, which is another reason fertililzer should be stopped. And water should be given sparingly..I'm not saying to devoid plant of water, but the best way is when watering, water well, soak the entire rootball. Then be sure the soil feels a bit dry before next watering. Toni

  • seventowers
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ficus are pretty tough plants , they can be fussy when moved from outdoor summer location to an indoor one for winter.
    The best possible senario would be to keep the light levels consistant both in summer and winter. Ficus will still fuss a bit , but if cared for will settle down .
    I am aware that Ficus can live in lower light but generally they do best in 5 hours sun.
    Please remember when any indoor plant is having a fit , this is the worst time to Repot it !!!

    Ficus have alot of roots and plants that have been in thier pots for some time can get snug . If it dries out extensively , you need to soak the whole pot, because all water you give it will drain right out of the pot . The rootball and soil need to soak in order to expand .
    If you can't move it water and it will drain quickly into tray due to air pockets created by the roots pulling all moisture from the soil . Wait until the plant drinks what's in the tray and give it water again. Continue until it stops drinking .
    I have seen so many Ficus loose all there leaves due to severe dry soil conditions.

    It may appear a little wilted and even perk up after you give it a good dose of water , but next day I have seen half the leaves turn yellow green and a slight shake and all fall to the floor. Then a few days more , other leaves follow. If this happens never repot , until the tree leaves out again and going strong .

    A good rule of thumb about watering with most all container plants with Free drainage is "It is not How much you give a plant when you water, water freely and plenty.
    It is how often you do this that can give a plant root rot.
    Let me also add this does not include plants that are taken from a 6 inch pot and put into a 10 inch pot . A 6inch root ball will have a very hard time drying out in all that excessive soil, roots structure will deteriorate.


    Ficus are fast growers , that is why they are cheap.
    I think people get discouraged by Ficus because they have let thier plants go dry before and they did not defoliate.
    But when a ficus gets really dry or this condition builds over time and you give it the normal amount of water and maybe less because it is now soaking your rug or floor due to run off , and next day you look at your once georgeous tree and half of it is yellow green and worse yet when you touch it several of them fall to the floor , it can be devastating ..
    But this is still better than having Root rot. That is much harder to salvage on all plants.

    Those of you who like PALMS , there are several varieties that are easy , Do not Repot them !!! The cheaper faster growing palms are more tempramental like Areca , Majesty and if you are buying from Home Depot , make sure you check really well for mites!
    The more expensive palms like
    Chamaedorea erupens/siefritzii and Kentia's are very easy , Don't repot them!!! If you want a better looking container , place the grow pot inside the container!
    Palms like a very snug fit in there pots and get very fussy when disturbed, But when repot time comes you can do this with no fussing . Only step up 2 inches in size from previous grow pot, use a free draining container , Buy the light potting soil mix , buy a bag of sand ! SAND!
    Palms when in containers appreciate a heavy presence on thier root systems and if you mix the sand with the Wetted potting soil, you will get a combination that will serve this purpose.
    If the palm is really root bound and formed , you can gently tease away some fleshy roots , they have plenty and won't mind If you are "Gentle" . Pack the SAND/SOIL mixture as you go tapping the sides so it settle's nice and snug and make sure new soil line on top matches that of old . Water in generously and tell it you love it 's Sequoia Spirit!
    Check regularly for spider mites , if the plant expieriences no stresses this should be less of a hassle ,But can happen and does , but Rates of mite intrusion is higher when some folks get busy and forget to water their palms, ect ect , and hence suseptability to mites.
    If mites get out of control on a palm it can seriously damage the look of a palm . Mites are busy and present a good while before you start seeing webbing on fronds from across the room. It is much easier to be tenacious with a small population and rid the plant of it , then wait till a large one has created a universe for itself on your Palm.

    Hope this helps ! It works !
    L.

  • birdsnblooms
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I want to apologize..in my first sentence above I wrote, hope everyone having ficus problems tosses them out..I meant to say, doesn't toss them out..geesh, I'm embarrassed..Dont discard them. Toni

  • donn_coon_com
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I've felt guilty that my ficus b. may be neglected. Now I know it's true.

    Mine is about 15 years old, standing in only it's second potting for the past 10 years. It lives outdoors throughout the year. Can't bring it in due to my cats.

    Will be re potting again in the next month or so.

  • ethai
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    15 years...Wow! How tall does it get after 15 years?

    I moved mine outdoors in March, and it did well. I'm thinking of leaving it outside, but may have to move its location if it grows too big. Right now, it's too close to the house.

  • hostaholic2 z 4, MN
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I also wonder how tall they get.Two of mine are 6 years old, started from cuttings and are about 6 1/2 feet tall. I saw one in a greenhouse last spring that was about 10 - 12 ft.

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Their height is only limited indoors by the height of the ceiling & our/your ability to provide cultural conditions that suit both longevity and good vitality. The most common cause of death of old specimens indoors, is from root issues due to a lack of proper and regular root pruning. Where they naturally occur, it is not uncommon to find these trees growing to 40+ M (130+ ft).

    Al

  • cestina
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I left six healthy ficus in the care of a friend, along with other plants, from November till now. For ease of watering they were all moved to the bathroom windowsill. All survived except the ficus, two look as if they may come round, with care, they are just doing the normal leaf drop when stressed. The others all have dead shrivelled leaves which strangely, given the normal ficus habit, do not drop if I shake the plants.

    I am reluctant to dump them, at home in the UK I have several six-eight foot high ficus which are probably about 20 years old so I know they can recover from apparent death.

    The apparently dead ones are all quite young - about a foot high. I've had them two years or so. I wonder whether I should cut them back and if so how far? And should I feed and if so what? Repotting at this stage is I think not a good idea. I am planning to put them on another light windowsill and see what happens. I can't leave them where they are. I don't know if she under or overwatered or if it got too cold for them. The light levels should have been sufficient.

    Any help would be gratefully received.

  • lifesgood18_hotmail_co_uk
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i have a ficus bonsai that i saved from the stupid people at hombase i saw it and dell in love with the way it had grown. upon closer inspection i noticed that a bad infestation of mealy bug the little bleeps i to a risk brought it home and kept it isolated from the rest of my plants used pestaside and anti fungal to cler up the infestation prewened back heavily infetsted branches (it had an verry healthy amount of foliage and hadn't been prewemed for a year) adn sat there with a cotton bud diped in pestaside and a magnifying glass killing all the mealy bus hiding in the cracks and acranys in the trunk i also brought some preditors to help with the job. i am now pleased to say that with a 10x magnifying glass there is no mealy bug in sight and hasn't been for some time but now my ficus is loosing quite a few leaves mainly from the top of the tree. there not turning yellow before droping just droping and it has coincided with winter, its been kept indoors since ive had it and on ok light conditions what is realy strange thoe is allthoe its loosing leaves its alsog growing a large number of new ones some a little deformedwith creases in them. i wonder is this a natural sheading of old leaves to make way for new and why are some diformed will they become better with age?

  • Julie Breining
    7 years ago

    What is an average a amount of time for leaves to come back after being in stress and losing all leaves.

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    7 years ago

    I've had Ficus and other plants sit from early summer of one year to late spring the next without a single leaf, then resume what seemed like normal growth.

    The amount of time it takes a plant to put on a new flush of growth after a bout of defoliation can vary a LOT. If your plant is defoliated in summer and it's in a high state of vitality, refoliation can start immediately. If your plant is struggling and has low energy reserves in summer and loses its foliage, it might not resume growth until early the following year if at all.

    To an experienced grower familiar with the plant's recent history, the answer to your question can be supplied with a fairly reasonable amount of faith in it's accuracy - not so easy over the internet. If your plant has lost its leaves recently, and you're watering it appropriately so you're not providing ideal conditions for fungaluglies in the root zone to multiply, and you live in the northern hemisphere, and you're able to keep the plant viable, you might expect growth to resume in mid-late spring - but that's just a wild guess based on much too little info.

    Al

  • Daniela Avramioti
    3 years ago

    I've got a 2.5m tall ficus benjamina tree that i saved from my old office which was closing. It was already suffering when i brought it home over the summer, it had a lot less leaves than the "perfect ficuses" i was seeing online, but i knew that this one needed some love.



    and i moved it outdoor (the UK summer was nice in 2019) so it had no problem enjoying the sun, especially since i was spraying it occasionally to have more moisture. Winter came, and i moved it inside, of course expecting leaf shed. But that's when it started going downhill.



    The leaves started shrivelling, turning black, and just dropping. even the little thin branches were already so dry they were snapping off.

    I looked it up online and saw that it could be watering related too, so i started watering less. Nothing, kept dropping.

    Then i moved it outside the following spring/summer thinking it will enjoy it again, until a storm hit London, and the wind was sooo strong that it blew off almost 70% of the already few remaining leaves. I decided i won't be keeping outside anymore, so moved it to the brightest indirect light space in the flat. After a month it grew some new leaves, first time it ever had new foliage since it had arrived in my flat.

    But then after a while just stopped, and started dropping again, but at a much higher rate. Even the new leaves were turning soft, and black, and falling off.

    So i thought, must be the roots. Given the size of it, i wanted to postpone repotting, but there was nothing left for me to do, so I bought a compost mix, mixed with washed clay pebbles which i also covered the bottom of the pot with, mixed with perlite for more drainage, and also some organic coconut fibre which also had perlite. The person who had repotted it before me left some old pieces of the previous pot in there, it was a total mess, and the clay it was potted in was moist and gathered up around the roots, took me ages to break it off coz it was like moulded clay. I pruned it heavily (left maybe 5-6 branches which still had leaves or green tips) because most of the little branches were snapping off, and when cutting them there was no white liquid coming in, so i thought the branches must be dead. I thought after all this it has to work!

    A week in the new medium, and the remaining 20 leaves become soft, some turn black and fall. I'm left with maybe 5-8 healthy leaves....

    I dunno what else to do to save it...any advice would be welcomed!

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    3 years ago

    Am I understanding correctly that you did a full repot, which includes removing all existing grow media, root pruning, and a change of medium? If yes, and especially considering a highly stressed plant will have little in the way of natural defense against insect herbivory and pathogens, your priorities should be to ensure the grow medium is damp/moist - about as damp as a well-wrung out sponge, not wet or soggy, the plant is warm (21-26c), and it gets plenty of light. Resist the urge to water until a wooden "tell" inserted deep into the pot bottom comes out barely moist. More on using a "tell":

    Using a 'tell'

    Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant.

    Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor.

    In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water.

    Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'.

    One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue.

    I'll link you to two short pieces I wrote that provide 1) An Overview of Good Growing Practices, and 2) an Specific Overview of Long Term Care of Ficus in Containers.

    Hopefully it's not too little, too late. If you have other questions you think I might be able to answer, please don't hesitate. I have at least 40 containerized Ficus covering at least a dozen species or cultivars.

    Al

  • Daniela Avramioti
    3 years ago

    Hi Al,


    Thank you so much for your detailed response. I can confirm i did a full repot, which includes removing all existing grow media, root pruning and branch pruning, and a change of medium. I pruned lots of branches because they were all fully dry, and just snapping off. No white liquid came out of them after being cut, so I assumed they were all dead branches.


    I can also confirm that now the remaining leaves have wilted, and either dried out fully, or turned soft, brown and falled off. I know this is a highly stressed plant now, I really hope it can still recover.


    I waited 2 weeks until giving it another watering, because I was afraid of too much moisture. I also use a long stick (from a big orchid) to poke the soil all the way through the bottom to allow more oxygen to come through the soil and to the roots.


    I don't know what else I can do, thank you for letting me know about your "tell" method. I will deifnitely use this in the future.


    If there is anything else you think I can still do to save my 2,4 meter tree, that is now with bare branches, and very few branches left, then please do let me know.

    I hope this is not the end for it. It was such a long journey to try and bring it back to its once majestic shape.

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