If the light is different in the new location, then you have 'changed' the watering habits - less light, less water is needed (or ideally a repot with a lot of grit in the mix to help drain faster, plus never standing in drain water which can rot the roots). OR the white stuff you saw was the start of mealy bug, and less frequent watering plus a mild house plant fungicide in the first go round would be in order. Don't keep it anywhere near the nice rad - ficus (elastica) need humidity and rads are terribly drying. Don't spray it (that'll cause worse problems) but do sit the pot on a wide tray with high sides, full of stones. Do keep it full of water - but never as high as the stones so no water ever gets near the drain holes. That'll do a good job. A slightly cooler temp (even 65) with good air circ. and humidity, plus fast drainage (and no watering til a fair chunk of soil is dry) is better than stuffy dry air and the wrong light conditions. Elastica doesn't need as much direct sun as most other ficus, so keep that in mind.

Hi Lucy. Thank you for replying. Just a couple of questions if you do not mind. What is/are mealy bugs ? Also I have big stones at the bottom of the pot under the soil, which then sits on a wide tray as you suggest, so is this ok for drainage or should I still repot ? I will move it from near rad to a better location. Thanks. V

VJ, try to not re-pot until you wish the plant to be encouraged to grow. Usually this is prescribed for springtime.
You may wish to encourage such to happen though.

You changed the light...you don't say what kind of exposure the plant had been getting and what it is getting now....i.e. north, east, west or south.

At this time of season...the winter solstace has just occurred...so the light intensity is at its lowest.
For that then, try to give your plant as much ligth as you can...a southern, western or eastern if you must, exposure would be most helpful. Northern exposure just will not do...it is not strong enough.

About a possible pest...examine your plant for any sign of stickiness to the leaves or stems. Be sure to feel underneath the leaves where pests can hide.

There are four main culprits of houseplants that leave such tell-tale proof of their being there.
Aphids, whiteflies, mealybugs and scale insects.
They secrete what is known by the name "honeydew".
This honeydew leaves a sticky shiny surface which if left untreated can form black sooty mold.

Your mention of seeing specks of white appear on the leaves.
This could be a sign of "spider mites"...another common pest of houseplants. If you suspect this one, your first thing to do is to isolate the plant away from others because spider mites spread like wildfire.

The first remedy should be made with water....water from a spray..either at a sink, bathtub, shower or by a hand-held sprayer that can emit a powerful enough jet to knock bugs off.
Once off, they cant climb back.

But bugs have children...and they produce these in volume and in very short time. The soil too is where they put their children..eggs, which then comes to larvae and then adults. They then produce children...
well you get the idea.

Most plants can be initially treated with plain water before going to more extreme measures.
Most plants can be sprayed with a soap and water solution.
The soap coats them and causes them much distress.
Such solution can be made with 40 parts water, one part dishsoap and spray the plant top to bottom bottom to top make sure you soak all surfaces.
Wait ten minutes, then rinse with tepid water making sure to rinse off any and all signs of the soap.
If the water is given to the soil, just lean it so water runs off.

For mealybugs and scale insects it is suggested to add to the 40/1 solution...8 parts rubbing alcohol.
The alcohol eats through the tough membrane of the scale insect.
Any treatment you give must be repeated to break the cycle of egg/larvae/adult. This can usually be done by simply repeating the spraying every 5 days for 3 applications...over 15 days. If you read about the individual pest it might detail just how long their cycle is and you can then treat accordingly.

Or you can dip a Q-Tip into the alcohol and touch the scale with it effectively killing it.

There are other reasons why leaves yellow and drop.
The stones in the bottom of the pot can be very effective to keep soil out of the drainage holes and effects good drainage. Still, the pot must drain and water in the saucer must not be allowed to be drawn back up. So after the full drainage, dump the saucerful.

The ficus should be allowed to dry down between waterings and since the sun is so low now, the plant is not growing and needs much less water than usual.

Usually too, the ficus does well on good light....but not direct light....but at this time of season, with the sun so low, do give your plant as much sun as you can until round about the beginning of February whent he sun values begin to return. Then draw it back.

You put it close to a register...that could definitely cause such yellow and dropping of leaves.
Plants do not like abrupt changes to their environment.
Air circulation is vital...cool temperatures are what they like---especially at nighttime. High nighttime temperatures can cause just what your plant is experiencing.

Just by chance, is your home on a water softening system.
Such water given to plants can be very damaging. Salt buildup can be caused from such watering.
If this is possibly the case, you are encouraged to go offline...usually a tap outside is off the system.
Or use snow-melt. In any case, water should be allowed to gain room temperature before giving to plants.

I don't know whether I'd worry about giving your plant such high humidity at this time. A simple spraying from an atomizer can suffice and it can often defeat spdier mites.
Our homes are very dry at this time of season--usually in the range of 40 - 50 percent. Misting the plant can often raise such humidity around the room.

I encourage you to do a Google search on the individual pests that attack houseplants and will no doubt enlighten you on the many aspects of them and how to treat them separately.

Uhhh I don't believe an atomizer spray is effective at all, especially in centrally heated homes in winter and actually evaporates within a few minutes, whereas humidity trays are there all the time. Rocks in the bottom of pots are not a good idea - studies have been done to show that contrary to longstanding habits, they can in fact INcrease root rot, by not helping drainage at all. Drainage is effective when a lot of grit is mixed all through the soil (no layers) and the pot not allowed to sit in water at any time (just above it on the pebbles). Ficus can not only 'stand' direct light, but most of us who grow them (incidentally) as bonsai have expensive set ups with high intensity lighting just a few inches away - for 16 hrs a day! And no, ficus do NOT like cool temps at all. Jeannie, I hate to say it, but I still think you've been given a lot of bad advice and maybe you need to rethink some of it.

Lucy, I've done a little research myself and I cant find anywhere where it says that nighttime temperatures of 60 - 65 fahrenheit cant indeed help a maranta.
Most houseplants....and that means in the vast majority, prefer such lower temperatures. High nighttime temps can be the very reason why leaves yellow and drop.

As far as an atomizeer...that term was used to exclude the kinds of spray bottles often found in nurseries and garden centers that usually have only one spray volume...and that when given to plants often result in soaking the furniture as well as the plant and often a towel is called for to soak up the drops.
An atomizer....not quite the same as one we use for perfume, one that you can dial the effective sprays, is an ideal method to give humidity, without soaking.

At this time of season, most plants, when not being encouraged to grow, to flower, can get along famously without the extremes of putting the plant into a humdity tray....which I think is going overboard. That though is a personal choice. many homes just do not have the space to provide a proper tray sufficient to allow a potted plant to sit in properly.

If Lucy, you prefer to put your plant within 16" of it under strong artificial light....that is your choice.
Most of us who have a ficus, are content to have the plant do itself proud when the sunlight can be in on the subject.
The sun right now is at its lowest ebb...and I think plants, in general, those that are usually drawn back behind curtains and such, can be given as much light as is possible to offer. To that, a southern or western exposure is recommended.

As far as stones in the bottom of a pot, that is just one method to keep soil away from the drainage holes.
There are many others.....me, I prefer shards of clay...that is also a personal choice.
What we want to do is keep the soil from clogging up the drainage holes and effective good drainage.

It's most likely a combination of too much water and too little heat (or light). This might be somewhat unavoidable with the change of season: indoor plants just aren't going to be as well equipped to handle this, and Ficus species don't deal well with change as a rule anyway.

My guess is, additional humidity might be nice but it's probably not the main problem. More light, more heat, less water, for the time being.

I'm agnostic on the subject of adding a drainage layer: I think there have been cases where it's helped me to have one (including cases with a rubber plant), but that has more to do with the depth of the root ball than anything else: the more roots you have to work with, the less it matters if you have rocks or broken clay for drainage. A soil that can drain thoroughly in a relatively short period of time should be perfectly adequate, and the presence or absence of a drainage layer probably doesn't have much to do with it.

I don't think that it's so much a matter of you doing anything "wrong" as it is that there has been a change, and any change is going to be somewhat challenging to a Ficus, of whatever species. The important thing is not to panic.

Do what you can to increase the light and heat. If that happens to be nothing, then do nothing. The plant will catch up sooner or later. I'm a little concerned about the new leaves dropping, but I don't know that there's all that much to be done about that except trying to add some light to the arrangement: it's not unusual for Ficus to drop leaves if the light intensity decreases. If you're very concerned about the plant's survival, you can always try taking a cutting or two, though odds are that this won't be mandatory.

Mealybugs are insect pests which typically collect on the stem near new growth. They look sort of like a fluffy mass of white or gray wax in large numbers, and like single oval-shaped bugs in small numbers. They're not good, as insect pests go. It's hard to guess, without a picture, what pests, if any, might be causing your problem, but I personally tend to think that if you haven't had bug problems before this then you probably aren't having them now, either.

White or gray spots around the attachment of the leaf to the stem probably mean mealybugs; spots on the top of the leaf probably mean overwatering; spots underneath the leaf probably mean spider mites (which means too hot and dry). As much specific information (temperature/day, temperature/night, humidity percentage, photos, shapes, colors, etc.) as possible will help, even if it seems like it's irrelevant. Too much information can be sorted through; too little has to be guessed at.

It certainly doesn't sound like a lost cause. Something can still be done.

Hello All !

Firstly Happy Christmas. Secondly, thank you for all the comments. I have moved it to a brighter spot, where the window faces west and increased the heat, so will see if this helps. I will also keep an eye on the over watering.

The leaves I have do not seem to have any of the bugs you all describe, no fluffy white stuff or sticky mess on the leaves. It is more like a scaley feel on the top of the leaves, so maybe the light and watering are the cause here too.

Will keep you all posted on it's progress and try not to panic. Thank you all very much for coming to my aid, it is much appreciated. V