The general rule for all containerized plants, and certainly Ficus (which tend to be moody), is to move them up to larger containers in small increments. Your next pot should, for example, be only a tiny bit larger than the present container.

The reason for this is that it takes a while for the root system to 'move into' the confines of the new container, leaving much of the volume of the potting medium stagnant. Over-potting, as this is called, is a significant cause of house plant problems. It can result in soggy soils which always means major problems for a plant.

Also, your ficus is about to have a temper tantrum and will shed about a zillion leaves. This is normal for a ficus. I'd advise that you give your new tree a chance to acclimate to your home, its new lighting situation, humidity, temperature, etc., before repotting into a slightly larger container in the spring. Find the perfect location in your home for your plant, and don't be tempted to move it and move it again when it begins this shedding ritual.

Do not fertilize at this time, though as a new plant owner you'll be tempted to! Hold off on that for the spring, as well.

These pretty trees can be temperamental. I've attached the results of a 'search the Houseplant Forum' for information on Ficus for you to read. The heading topics will indicate which of the hundreds (yes, hundreds) of threads will be interesting and helpful for you.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Click here for your homework assignment!

Agree with rhizo that you should only move the plant up to a 16-inch pot if it's currently in a 14-inch pot. (Maaaaaybe if it's in a 12-inch and the soil is just packed with roots.) And not necessarily even then -- read on.

I don't necessarily agree that a tantrum is automatic: if Home Depot had had it for a while, it might already have acclimated somewhat to indoor conditions. But, since you say it's "beautiful," it's probably pretty fresh from the greenhouse or tropical state where it was grown, and you should grab a dustpan.

I remember a post from tapla saying something to the effect of, Ficuses are rarely in need of repotting, and can handle really ridiculous root-to-soil ratios (I remember 90-10, though I could be misremembering.) if they have to. So it may not actually be necessary as far as the plant is concerned. If it's necessary to *you*, for cosmetic reasons or whatever, I would be inclined to say go ahead and repot now, because it's going to be kind of low on food reserves by spring and will handle a repotting better now. Also, if you repot now, you only risk one tantrum, whereas if you wait, you potentially get one now and another one in spring.

Regardless of what you do and when you do it, things will level off within a few months. I have brought a Ficus home from the greenhouse in the middle of winter with only a few leaves lost, and I've had Ficuses that pouted for months after I brought them home. But in both cases, they did eventually get over it, and yours will too, assuming that it gets proper care in the meantime. Get as close as you can to:

-bright indirect light or filtered sun
-let the top few inches of soil get dry before watering
-temperatures at least 55-60 degrees at all times, and keep it out of drafts

Mr. Subjunctive and Rhizo,

Thank you so much! I love all of this info... To follow up:

It is in a 14 inch "Home Depot" plastic pot. So I think the 16 inch sounds like it will be okay? Cosmetically, I don't really care. It's a beautiful pot, but I have the plastic one sitting in it, so it looks the same anyway. I have bought a big bag of Scotts indoor potting soil, a gigantic jug of Vitamin B-1, and a bag of potting rocks.

All of this to repot it with. I figured it would like all of this stuff better than sitting in the plastic pot, but maybe not...?

Also, it is sitting in a corner between two gigantic windows that get indirect sunlight, and direct sunlight between 5 and 6 pm. I have kept my window open at all times, will the draft get to it? I figured it would like the fresh air, because I live in Santa Monica, California. But perhaps the night air will be too cold for it? It's usually 60 at night and 70 ish during the day. I also have a rotating ionizer air purifier that blows the room, perhaps I should move this in the bedroom? How finicky IS the draft issue?

And I say it is beautiful, but it is highly pruned with a foot or two of foliage on the top. Not quite plush. It's leaning in one direction, so I set it up facing the lean away from the windows to see if I can straighten it out.

So for now my gameplan is to let it stay in the plastic pot and dust and water every 7-10 days. No repotting, nor moving. I guess I just don't know what to do with this gigantic bag of soil and rocks...

I am so anxious to see new leaves, I cannot stand it!

By the way, within 48 hours every single leaf on the ficus is curling. Still green, but curling on the edges... does this mean that they are all about to go bye bye?

It means either that humidity is too low in that room, or you have an instant case of spider mites (the former is far more likely!). You need to rig a wide and high sided (1-2") tray of water full of stones holding up the pot, but the water should never ever be high enough to touch the pot or roots will rot after wicking the water. Don't keep it near A/C or heaters, either. Do give it every ounce of the brightest light you have for the most hours a day you can find, but don't move it around (back and forth) - better to buy a fluorescent fixture with full spectrum bulbs (T5's are good) and hang it 6 inches or less above the plant for 15 hrs/day.

Re: the draft issue --

I think if the temperature is consistently in the 60s at night and 70s during the day, you should be okay to leave the window open, though if it's going to get colder later on, to where you would have to move it away from the window, you're probably best to move it now and get it over with: it'd like the air circulation and humidity, but it'd probably like to stay in one place more.

Leaf curl *might not* mean the leaves are going to drop, but probably they will. There are worse things. Be strong.

Meanwhile, you can read up between sweepings.

This thread is one of the Garden Web granddaddies: "Ficus benjamina (& most other commonly grown tropical Ficus)." It goes off-topic in spots, but there's a lot of good information in there. Pay particular attention to anything mentioning your plant specifically (F. benjamina), or anything written by tapla.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/houseplt/msg082242071778.html

And here's a smaller thread about leaf drop in F. benjamina that can (maybe) break it to you gently that some people have to clean up leaves on a seasonal basis:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/houseplt/msg101333374199.html

This thread is good for me, too!

I recently brought home a 7 ft ficus that is a 4th generation tree (from cuttings). It is very full, very healthy, and currently sitting in a 20" pot next to an East window so it will get morning sun and then just light, not direct, the rest of the day.

We have well water and softned water. The well water is 8.6 pH and high in soluable iron and high in alkaline. The softned water is, well, soft but does contain some salt as a result. It does not contain iron or high alkaline levels.

Should I use the well or soft water? i have drops which we use in the hot tub to remove the minerals (Metal Out) but not sure if the tree would like this (or care about the iron levels). I can provide actual levels of metals and salt if this is important. I had the two tested recently.

I should add that I know that high levels of alkalinity in water will make it hard for plants to absorb the dissolved iron (leading to chlorosis) so I think some type of iron supplementation is necessary.

Yikes, that spider mites pot really freaked me out...

Is it possible that I have an instant case? The leaves weren't curled when I purchased the ficus, and I've never had a plant in my home. My house is impeccably clean (I just painted every wall, and pin sol'd the floors), could I really have instant spider mites that jumped on my ficus? The leaves are still there, it hasn't dropped a single one yet...

I will now spend the rest of the day reading up on spider mites...

And thanks again, Mr. Subjunctive. I think it will love the daylight in the spot I have it in, I've just taken to closing the window now, to create more humidity. Even in the winter here, it's pretty consistently 60 to 70 degrees.

As I said, mites are highly unlikely unless they were already on the plant. DG MARIE - never use softened water (the salt will kill the plants) unless you have a reverse osmosis (expensive) system. What you could do is what my husband did for me - get someone to put in a 'take-off' (little valve) on the well water line before it reaches the softener, and attach a spout there, where you'll then be able to get your water 'straight from the well'.

We have a bypass system in place. But the well water is also problematic--high iron, high alk, high ph

Really don't mean to keep this post going... I've been reading the threads that were linked and they are VERY informative. Thank you Mr. Subjunctive. It's coming up on time to water soon, and I am very worried about over watering. It's currently sitting in a 14 inch plastic pot, inside of a 16 inch. I have no idea how much to water. I know how the soil should feel before I water, and after... but if I'm supposed to water until it comes out of the holes, it's making me worry. I think the plastic pot will cover up the holes in the ceramic one... perhaps I should take it out. But if I have to do this everytime I water, I might just repot it because it is so heavy.

And are we talking a gallon? less maybe? ballpark? Anyone have a 14 inch ficus tree?

Thanks! I love this forum...

You can water easily (and quickly) til it comes out the holes, but only if you have the right soil mix, i.e. one that's as much grit as anything - and a lot less 'potting' soil (which is so much peat that holds water forever). Find some coarse loamy type soil with large particles and mix that with lots of grit. Water THEN (when the new mix is in place) whenever 1/2-1/3 of the mix is dry - guage it with an unvarnished chopstick). The point is that none of the soil should feel wet, or heavy a few hours after watering, so even adding lots of perlite to a coarser-than-potting-soil mix is good.

Generally speaking, with any plant you should water thoroughly, until the soil is saturated and runs out freely. I personally put my plants (even the 5 1/2 foot tall cacti, which is always a fun time) in the shower and spray them down, let them drain, and then bring them back out, so I have no idea what a ballpark figure would be.

I'd say you're probably better off to move the plastic pot back and forth, because if you think it's heavy *now*, wait until you try to lift a 16-inch clay pot full of wet soil.

That said, people do manage, sometimes, to water without moving their plant all over creation. Not sure how to advise on this one, because it depends on how blocked the drainage holes are, the season, the type of soil you have in the pot, how wet the plant is now, the temperature, etc.

Also, to go back a few topics:

Spider mites are possible, but not likely to affect the whole tree all at once within a few days of bringing it home. I would do a google search for pictures, so you'll know them if you see them, but I wouldn't worry about them either.

dgmarie: I would think that neither the alkalinity nor the iron content of the well water is likely to be that big of a deal. Or at least, I would assume that the salt content of the softened water is a much bigger deal. I wouldn't worry about adding supplemental iron: it's probably not necessary.

What an informative and timely thread (even thou it is nearly 3 years old!) Today, I too bought a nearly 6 foot tall Ficus benjamina from Home Depot. It has a trunk that is 2 1/2 inches thick at the base and a healthy, dense clump of foliage (about 2'X 2'). Couldn't believe it was only $39.98!!

After reading this thread, my game plan is to move it to it's final location now (in front of an east facing picture window that gets direct morning sun (we have no filtered sunny spots).

When should I transplant it? It is in a flimsy black 12 inch plastic nursery container. It has one 1" root growing on top of the soil as well as multiple 1/4 roots on top of the soil. Should I water it now? Soil seems minimally damp to dry.

Thanks for any advice. I will continue to read other Ficus
threads. Kathy