Ficus Lyratas in need of growth and health
KariAptGarden
9 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (33)
MsGreenFinger GW
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKariAptGarden
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Large ficus lyrata donated to library in need of rejuvenation
Comments (4)It definitely needs repotting. The interveinal chlorosis might be nutritional, but it looks more characteristic of foliage that is in the process of being shed - ie the plant is translocating pigments & nutrients out of the leaves for use in other plant parts. Here is what my thinking is: If you prune it back now, you'll be pruning it back to already compromised foliage that is likely to be shed in the near future - not a good move because it leaves the tree unable to make it's own food. If you REALLY want to rejuvenate the tree, I'll help you, but anything you do, other than a full repot, is only going to give the tree a temporary lift. Actually, I just left this piece (below) from one of my other posts on another forum here. Read through it, please, for an illustration of the difference between a repot and potting up. If you do decide to repot, I can give you step by step instructions, starting with what to do now, so you can have the tree back on track by summer's end. If you decide to go forward, we can talk about suitable soils and a fertilizer regimen the tree will respond well to. The timing of certain procedures is closely related to energy management, which gets too little consideration by most growers tending trees in containers. Because repotting and root pruning seem to be most misunderstood on the list of what it takes to maintain trees that will continually grow at close to their genetic potential, I will include some observations about those procedures to open the discussion. I have spent literally thousands of hours digging around in root-balls of trees (let's allow that trees means any woody plant material with tree-like roots) - tropical/subtropical trees, temperate trees collected from the wild and temperate nursery stock. The wild collected trees are a challenge, usually for their lack of roots close to the trunk, and have stories of their own. The nursery stock is probably the closest examples to what most of your trees are like below the soil line, so I'll offer my thoughts for you to consider or discard as you find fitting. I've purchased many trees from nurseries that have been containerized for long periods. Our bonsai club, just this summer, invited a visiting artist to conduct a workshop on mugo pines. The nursery (a huge operation) where we have our meetings happened to have purchased several thousand of the mugos somewhere around 10 - 12 years ago and they had been potted-up into continually larger containers ever since. Why relate these uninteresting snippets? In the cases of material that has been progressively potted-up only, large perennial roots occupied nearly the entire volume of the container, plant vitality was in severe decline, and soil in the original root-ball had become so hard that in some cases a chisel was required to remove it. In plants that are potted-up, rootage becomes entangled. As root diameters increase, portions of roots constrict flow of water and nutrients through other roots, much the same as in the case of girdling or encircling roots on trees grown in-ground. The ratio of fine, feeder roots to more lignified and perennial roots becomes skewed to favor the larger, and practically speaking, useless roots. Initial symptoms of poor root conditions are progressive diminishing of branch extension and reduced vitality. As rootage becomes continually compressed and restricted, branch extension stops and individual branches might die as water/nutrient translocation is further compromised. Foliage quality may not (important to understand) indicate the tree is struggling until the condition is severe, but if you observe your trees carefully, you will find them increasingly unable to cope with stressful conditions - too much/little water, heat, sun, etc. Trees that are operating under conditions of stress that has progressed to strain, will usually be diagnosed in the end as suffering from attack by insects or other bio-agents while the underlying cause goes unnoticed. I want to mention that I draw distinct delineation between simply potting up and repotting. Potting up temporarily offers room for fine rootage to grow and do the necessary work of water/nutrient uptake, but these new roots soon lignify, while rootage in the old root mass continues to grow and become increasingly restrictive. The larger and larger containers required for potting-up & the difficulty in handling them also makes us increasingly reluctant to undertake even potting-up, let alone undertake the task of repotting/root-pruning which grows increasingly difficult with each up-potting. So we are clear on terminology, potting up simply involves moving the plant with its root mass and soil intact, or nearly so, to a larger container and filling in around the root/soil mass with additional soil. Repotting, on the other hand, includes the removal of all or part of the soil and the pruning of roots, with an eye to removing the largest roots, as well as those that would be considered defective. Examples are roots that are dead, those growing back toward the center of the root mass, encircling, girdling or j-hooked roots, and otherwise damaged roots. I often explain the effects of repotting vs potting up like this: Let's rate growth/vitality potential on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best. We're going to say that trees in containers can only achieve a growth/vitality rating of 9, due to the somewhat limiting effects of container culture. Lets also imagine that for every year a tree goes w/o repotting or potting up, its measure of growth/vitality slips by 1 number, That is to say you pot a tree and the first year it grows at a level of 9, the next year, an 8, the next year a 7. Lets also imagine we're going to go 3 years between repotting or potting up. Here's what happens to the tree you repot/root prune: year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 repot year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 repot year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 You can see that a full repotting and root pruning returns the plant to its full potential within the limits of other cultural influences for as long as you care to repot/root prune. Looking now at how woody plants respond to only potting up: year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 pot up year 1: 8 year 2: 7 year 3: 6 pot up year 1: 7 year 2: 6 year 3: 5 pot up year 1: 6 year 2: 5 year 3: 4 pot up year 1: 5 year 2: 4 year 3: 3 pot up year 1: 4 year 2: 3 year 3: 2 pot up year 1: 3 year 2: 2 year 3: 1 This is a fairly accurate illustration of the influence tight roots have on a woody plant's growth/vitality. You might think of it for a moment in the context of the longevity of bonsai trees vs the life expectancy of most trees grown as houseplants, the difference between 4 years and 400 years, lying primarily in how the roots are treated.color> Good luck! Let me know if you would like more help. Al...See MoreNeed advice on my Ficus Lyrata (Fiddle leaf bush)
Comments (3)Right now, the large leaves are the only source of food for the plant. Fertilizer isn't plant food. It only supplies the building blocks plants need to grow, keep their systems in order, and to make their own food during photosynthesis. You can see now why the large leaves should be left to feed the new growth until the new leaves are about 75% their mature size - that's when they stop being an energy sink and become net producers of energy. After that, or around Father's Day if the plant is doing well, you can cut the plant back to just above a vigorous new branch that will become the new leader. Al...See MoreNew Ficus Lyrata help
Comments (3)You didn't give a hint at how large the tree's container is, so it's difficult to judge if 3 cups of water is adequate. It may be that the soil has become water repellent (hydrophobic) and the water is simply running down between the soil mass and the container wall. I probably wouldn't have fertilized yet, and I would have chosen a different fertilizer ratio, but it's not a big deal, unless you over-fertilized in your quest to coax the tree to grow. Try to remember that plants grow at their own speed if you keep them healthy, and you can't speed that up with magic elixirs or extra fertilizer. I'm going to suggest a couple of threads for you to read. The first one is about basic houseplant care. The second one is aimed specifically at the care of Ficus trees in containers. Hopefully you'll find them enlightening. Al...See MoreNew ficus lyrata & ficus elastica...cold shock?
Comments (5)I missed the 4th picture from the top, which shows the leaf arrangement to be 'opposite' (leaves arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the branch). Ficus leaves are alternate (arranged singly along the stem in alternating locations). So whatever it is, it's not a Ficus. Some good Samaritan who's better at IDs than I, will come along and tell you what it is. Your soil should be something you can water to beyond the saturation point (so you're flushing accumulating salts from the soil) without the need to worry the soil will stay soggy so long it affects root health or function. Your soil choice is probably going to have more impact on how easy/ difficult it will be to keep your new pals healthy. I'm not sure how much effort you want to put into learning about the importance of soil choice and it's impact on plant vitality; if you're interested this link covers it, and probably represents the largest step forward a container gardener can take at any one time. The goal for fertilizing containerized plants can easily be described. Ideally, we would work toward ensuring that all the nutrients plants normally secure from the soil are in the soil solution at all times, in the ratio at which the plant actually uses the nutrients, and at a concentration high enough to ensure no deficiencies yet low enough to ensure the plant isn't impeded in its ability to take up water and the nutrients dissolved in water. This goal is easily achievable using one water soluble synthetic fertilizer. You CAN use organic forms of nutrition, like fish/seaweed emulsions or various types of meal, but that makes it much more difficult to achieve the goal. I use Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 because it has ALL the essential nutrients in the ratio at which plants actually use the nutrients, and it gets most of its N from nitrate sources, which helps to allow plants in low light conditions to remain compact and helps keep them from getting leggy. Al...See Morepetrushka (7b)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKariAptGarden
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agopetrushka (7b)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKariAptGarden
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agopetrushka (7b)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKariAptGarden
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKariAptGarden
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKariAptGarden
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoLulu Ho
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoLulu Ho
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoLulu Ho
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKariAptGarden
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKariAptGarden
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agopetrushka (7b)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoLulu Ho
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoLulu Ho
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoLulu Ho
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoLulu Ho
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoLulu Ho
9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
Related Stories
HOUSEPLANTSPlay Up Some Fiddleleaf Figs for a Lively Indoor Tune
Strike a dramatic chord in a minimalist scene or a country note in a rustic setting — fiddleleaf fig plants harmonize with any style
Full StoryHOUSEPLANTS8 Essentials for Healthy Indoor Plants
Houseplants add so much to our homes — and can thrive when grown in the right conditions. Keep these tips in mind
Full StoryHOUSEPLANTS10 Top Plants to Grow Indoors
Brighten a room and clean the air with a houseplant that cascades artfully, stretches toward the ceiling or looks great on a wall
Full StoryTREESHow to Use Trees Inside
Bring nature close by integrating the beauty of trunks and trees — even smaller leafy trees — into your home
Full StoryDECORATING GUIDESDitch the Rules but Keep Some Tools
Be fearless, but follow some basic decorating strategies to achieve the best results
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDES10 Deer-Resistant Native Flowers to Plant This Fall
Learn about natives that embrace some kinds of wildlife but resist grazing deer
Full StoryHOUSEPLANTSHow to Create an Indoor Landscape
Apply principles and elements of design to help your indoor garden flourish
Full Story
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)