Hi All,

I am new to this forum and new to Ficus care. I have read lots of advice posts on here regarding this tree species and have tried diagnosis of my trees problems, but i lack sufficient experience to really know what is going on with my poor tree. i am hoping for some expert advice. I have tried to upload photos, but i can email photos if they don't post successfully on this message. I will try to be as specific as i can be:

1) I have no prior knowledge/experience of caring for Ficus
2) I live in the NW of England, UK.
3) The tree is situated in a corner of a room, which is adjacent to a large sunny bay window.
4) The tree gets good amounts of light, but not crazy direct sunlight.
5) There is a radiator under the bay window, that has a sofa in front of it (The radiator is some 4ft away from the tree)
6) The tree is dropping between 5 - 10 leaves per day - all ages and sizes
7) The tree has lots of new leaves/shoots growing in the top 2 thirds in recent weeks.
8) Tree appears healthy generally.
9) Tree is approx 11 years old

I purchased this tree from an unknown household some 5 months ago via ebay. It looked very healthy, although i noticed two things that bothered me. 1. The bark at the bottom of the trunk has a lighter ring around it, which begins at soil level (see photo) Is this a sign of root rot? T2. he soil seemed very, very indurated (hard and compacted). The previous owner told me they watered it a little every two weeks and added feed to the water. The tree started losing around 5 -10 leaves every day since i got it home, and this continues, even though i am doing my best to help (No surprise given that it moved position/house).

I am an environmental scientist and have some specialist knowledge of plant biology/nutrient uptake, etc. I have been doing a lot of research online and have found out the following:

The watering regime used by the previous owners was all wrong, they fed every two weeks, only a little water and always with plant feed. After much research i removed the tree from the pot to allow the soil to air dry. It was very wet throughout, and i suspect it had been like this for some time. The soil has now dried out and i am moving the tree to a much larger pot, as it seems very pot bound. I intend to water thoroughly, as per the advice given on this forum, then water as required. I also discovered that the entire soil is very compacted and hard. I have used a skewer to prod many holes through the entire volume of soil in the hope of getting oxygen and water to the roots better. I need to add more soil for the bigger pot, i am intending to buy a well draining soil with lots of organic matter, it this the best option?

Now for the leaf loss. There seem to be two 'types' of loss. 1). Leaves containing green chlorophyll gradually turn from green to pale yellow, then pale red/brown, then either drop off, or dry out, crinkle and then drop (almost like Autumn leaf loss on braodleaved deciduous trees in UK). 2). Healthy leaves gradually develop small brown 'dried' areas that 'spread' over the entire leaf, which dries out the entire leaf, they crinkle then drop off.

Some of the lower branches of my tree are now completely bare - again not surprising, given that this species puts most energy into top half of canopy. I am guessing that the tree could do with a good top pruning, but i am unsure when to do this. The tree has just entered into a growth phase (Just entering Spring in UK) so is now the best time to prune? Seems logical, but i want to check before i go ahead.

I am considering completely flushing out the soil when i repot, because i suspect there was been a salt buildup over many years. Is this advisable?

I would appreciate any advise anyone can offer. I really love this tree and want to do all i can to keep it healthy and thriving.

Kind Regards,

Mike