Help! After years of successfully growing indoor ficus trees, my latest is suddenly dropping yellow leaves. It gets light from sunup until 4:00pm but not direct sunlight. I am now misting the leaves twice a day. What's my problem? Thanks for any suggestions. Annis
lotsa questions :) which variety is it? how long have you had it? when was it last repotted? what kind of soil is it in? what kind of container is it in - plastic, unglazed clay, glazed clay? does it have drainage holes? how large is the container? how often and how much do you water? has it been moved recently? what about a/c vents? is it too close to one and you've just started using the a/c? have you looked for bug infestations? mealy bugs look like white flufff and are usually on the stems right at the base of the leaves. scale bugs are UGLY things and would be anywhere on the trunk/branches. spider mites are barely visible - their webs are easily found, though. can you post a pic of it?
Joclyn - Thanks for your reply. I do not know what type of ficus the tree is. I bought it about 8 years ago at Home Depot. I moved the ficus about 6-9 months ago and had no problem until about a month ago - before we turned on the ac. The ac outlet is at the top of the 12' wall on the other side of the room. There is a fan in the middle of the ceiling about 5' away and 4' above the tree. I see no sign of bugs or spider mites. I can't remember when I last repotted it, but I think the size of the pot is adequate. I know I don't want anything bigger. It is glazed ceramic with a drainage hole. I used all purpose potting soil. I water it about once a week and have just started misting it twice a day. I have never watered it so much that water comes out the bottom of the drain hole into the saucer.
Realize that most trees have to drop some leaves as they mature and branches and stems enlarge. Ever notice that maple, fir, pine and other trees have leaves on the small stems, but the leaves fall off when the trees age? You just don't see an older dogwood with leaves from top to ground along the main stem. Ficus being an outdoor native somewhere, does the same thing. Could this be what's going on? If so, it tends to be the older interior leaves, rather than younger leaves toward the branch ends.
Your tree is a Ficus Benjamina. It looks like you have been taking really good care of it so far. When you water it, you need to water it enough so it comes flowing out the bottom, then empty the saucer so it's not sitting in water keeping the roots soaking wet which can cause roots to rot. I water mine when the top two, or so inches feel close to dry, otherwise as I'm sure you know, ficus like to be a little on the moist side. The ac might be the reason for the leaves yellowing because it's stressed, and ficus stress easily! If you move the tree to another location, you'll really see leaf drop since these tree don't like to be moved around to different light. If you think the trouble started not long after the the ac started running, maybe you could block the cold air flow somehow from hitting directly on or close to the tree??? I us ac to cool the whole first floor, but the tree is in another room, although it gets cool in that room, the air is not blowing on it. Make sure it's also getting enough water, but not over watered. Misting really does nothing because it dries to fast and anyway, most tropicals get used to the lower indoor humidity and do perfectly fine without it.
Thank for the tips, Bluewing. I think maybe I might not have been watering it enough. The leaves turning and dropping started before the ac went on and I've had it for 8 years with ac so I don't think that's the problem. I had read somewhere to mist it but I guess I won't waste my time. You're right that the misting dries out quickly, especially here in AZ where the humidity is probably in the single digits right now. We are all eagerly awaiting the start of the monsoon season. Annis
annis, Yes, if the soil has been dryish at all, that just might be the problem then, especally if your ac was on before without problems. It might take a couple weeks, but eventually with deeper waterings, the yellowing and dropping should slow and then stop. I wish you well with your tree, AND the monsoon season!
Bluewing gave you good advice. I water both my Ficus trees once a week and I water until it starts coming out the holes in the pot. Fortunately, they are pretty good at making up for the lost leaves. Once it's conditions improve, it should start putting on new leaves where the old ones fell off. Beautiful tree by the way!!
