There are a lot of mixed signals in your post. That's not to say that your post isn't easy to understand, just that the symptoms indicate there are probably more than one thing going on. That the growth was stalled in Aug, when the plant should be growing most robustly, is troubling and probably indicates a chronic issue. When you repotted, did you do anything to facilitate the new roots colonization of the new soil? Root-bound plants usually display a lack of branch extension & loss of leaves on the lower part and interior of the plant, so tufts of leaves at the ends of branches are common. A build-up of soluble salts may have been the problem or contributing to the problem, so hopefully you've flushed thoroughly and repeatedly. I should ask if you had been fertilizing the plant regularly, and with what? what dose? how often? The pinkness usually indicates a build-up of a red/purple pigment (anthocyanin), which can be caused by a number of issues. This may not interest you, but it may give you helpful hints if you want to keep searching. One of the most common cause of purple leaves is a deficiency of phosphorus (p)(which is why I asked about your fertilizing program) because P is required to make ATP and ATP is needed to turn sugars to starch and to load sugar into the phloem for transport. So - no P - no ATP - no move sugars/starches - anthocyanin (purple pigment) builds up - plant parts turn pink/red/purple. A P deficiency is not the only suspect cause of purple leaves. Nearly any environmental condition that puts the brakes on growth and the accompanying use of sugars, but does not limit sugar production (photosynthesis) can cause anthocyanin buildup and purple leaves. Stalled growth due to tight roots is a suspect because it inhibits growth while photosynthesis (sugar making) continues. If only the outer edges of the leaves show purple/pink ....., it may be a K or Mg deficiency. If the center of the leaves also show purple, it could be too much Ca in the soil or the result of too much water in the soil blocking uptake of P and Mg. The spots sound like still another issue. Can you describe them? Are there rings or halos around the spots? Do the spots stop at leaf veins or cross them? There is no need to mist this plant. It's leaves have layers of cells rich in cuticular wax to help conserve moisture during dry periods, though it would be happiest at RH levels higher than 40%. You can read the link I'm going to leave you with below. Maybe with some more information and dialog, we can figure something out. Al Here is a link that might be useful: More about Ficus in containers

Would someone mind sharing if there is a way to get my flf back to the condition that it was in when I first brought it home? For the most part its been doing well, does not appear to be growing. When reduced to its elemental form, elevating your tree to a higher state of vitality is going to be a function of how good you are at providing cultural conditions in the plant's sweet spot, instead of close to or beyond the limits it's (genetically) programmed to tolerate. So, it can be done fairly easily, but you'll need to make some adjustments if the decline is to be reversed. If a plant is truly not growing, it is not making more energy than it's using, and that's a bad place to be ..... for a plant. When I brought it home in September it was much fuller near the base of each secondary branch. I have a good handle on watering and it is in a well draining mix from a greenhouse. When it was deemed time to water I would do so and then within a day or two it would drop a few leaves. This trend continued until I started adding foliage pro to each watering. I’m really annoyed by that because I was assured that the tree had plenty of fertilizer in the pot, I can even see the little green balls all over in the growing medium. I am thinking that I could have avoided it losing the ~30 leave it lost slowly after each watering before introducing foliage pro, back in December. Since using foliage pro I have had zero leaves drop. Some nutrients, like nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and magnesium are mobile in the plant. That is to say the plant can "steal" these nutrients from existing foliage and move it to where it's needed to support branch extension and growth of new leaves. Other nutrients, like calcium and several micronutrients are regarded as immobile in tissues and must be in the nutrient stream at all times in order for normal growth to occur. If the FP fertilizer curbed leaf loss, it's a good bet the leaves were being exploited for their nutrients and other bio-compounds prior to being shed. I would like to know the best time and if someone could also give me an idea on where to make the cuts for the hard prune that would be great too. I live in Chicago and all posts I’ve read say that late June would be best for a hard prune. I’m willing to do a hard prune, I’m excited to do it and see the rewards. I just need more information on how to do it properly. Good to see you come pre-armed with some knowledge of how to work with the plant's natural rhythms in order to help the plant recover faster from any extensive work you might do - primarily repotting and hard pruning. I think we're gradually changing minds with regard to the idea that a plant's foliage is sacred and not to be cut off under any circumstances. Growth is often viewed as so special that the plants appearance is sacrificed on its altar. I would do the pruning around Father's Day/ Summer Solstice. As soon as the plant starts to back-bud - you can repot (if it needs it, and it probably does). The pruning will be really easy and possibly done in 2 stages, depending on how close to the trunk the foliage is on each branch. Why not send a set of 4 images of the tree, rotating the tree 90* for each subsequent image in early June. Basically, you'll choose the leader, then prune all second order branches back to 1 or 2 leaves. The leader will be one node higher than the second order branches. A hard pruning represents a setback for the plant because you're removing growth that's been paid for. Living in CHI, you'll want to let your tree grow wild (unpruned or pinched) from Sep 1 to at least Jun 1. Then, pinch religiously from Jun 1 to Sep 1, such that when ANY branch shows a 3rd leaf that's open and moving toward maturity, pinch that branch back to 2 leaves. Soon, you'll be removing branches to let light and air movement into the canopy because it's too full. I have to do that to ALL of my trees older than a couple of years for health and to slow growth. BTW - your tree appears to have a very good basic structure to build on - so, good choice. Al

The larger holes/damage in the small leaf you're holding look like mechanical injury - what would be akin to a bruise to a human. The spots on the underside of the leaf are oedema. I've written about that & I'll leave something about it at the end of my post. Usually the driving cause behind its occurrence is over-watering, but there are several cultural contributes that can also cause or exacerbate the malady. Using a "tell" to tell you when it's time to water will help you determine what moisture conditions are deeper in the pot. I'll also leave something about that, below. If you have interest, there are some other things that can help alleviate the impact of excess water, which causes a dearth of air in the soil, which causes limited root function and poor root health. Just ask if you have interest. FWIW, I'd guess that over-watering is directly or indirectly responsible for the overwhelming % of requests for help on all fora with strong connections to container growing. Oedema Oedema is a physiological disorder that can affect all plants. It occurs when the plant takes up more water than it can rid itself of via the process of transpiration. The word itself means 'swelling', which is usually the first symptom, and comes in the form of pale blisters or water-filled bumps on foliage. Under a variety of circumstances/cultural conditions, a plant's internal water pressure (turgidity) can become so high that some leaf cells rupture and leak their contents into inter-cellular spaces in leaf tissue, creating wet or weepy areas. Symptoms vary by plant, but as the malady progresses, areas of the leaf turn yellow, brown, brown with reddish overtones or even black, with older damage appearing as corky/ scaly/ ridged patches, or wart/gall-like bumpy growth. Symptoms are seen more frequently in plants that are fleshy, are usually more pronounced on the underside of leaves, and older/lower leaves are more likely to be affected than younger/upper leaves. Oedema is most common in houseplants during the winter/early spring months, is driven primarily by excessive water retention in the soil, and can be intensified via several additional cultural influences. Cool temperatures, high humidity levels, low light conditions, or partial defoliation can individually or collectively act to intensify the problem, as can anything else that slows transpiration. Nutritional deficiencies of Ca and Mg are also known contributors to the malady. Some things that can help you prevent oedema: * Increase light levels and temperature * Monitor water needs carefully – avoid over-watering. I'd heartily recommend a soil with drainage so sharp (fast) that when you to water to beyond the saturation point you needn't worry about prolonged periods of soil saturation wrecking root health/function. Your soil choice should be a key that unlocks the solutions to many potential problems. * Avoid misting or getting water on foliage. It slows transpiration and increases turgidity. * Water as soon as you get up in the AM. When stomata close in preparation for the dark cycle, turgidity builds. If you water early in the day, it gives the plant an opportunity to remove (for its own needs) some of the excess water in the soil. * Put a fan in the room or otherwise increase air flow/circulation. Avoid over-crowding your plants. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support good root health, which is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to a build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al

Black leaves is a defiinite sign of overwatering. Watering as you do, on a schedule, every Saturday is giving the plant far more water than it can use. You haven't said whether it drains well. The saucer below I assume is rather large as well and what do you do with the drained water there--does it sit in there for extended times. it should be dumped within minutes after allwing for a full drain. If left there too long, it invites such water to be drawn back up to the roots that have just rid itself of. Fertilizer: do you fertilize your ficus and how often. By watering as you do, every week, chances are the soil never gets to dry down between waterings. You may notice the soil is not wet.....but I suspect the roots are very wet and if, as I suspect as well, this watering method has built up water around the roots to the extent they are drowning and beginning...maybe in the late stages of rotting. When the process of rotting begins, the roots, surrounded by water, stops being able to take up nourishment. Even when surrounded by water, no water is being drawn up to the plant's tissue. The leaves soon die and turn black. Sixty-two degrees poses no problem...it would rather like such temperature as long as the leaves do not touch the cold window glass. The blackening of leaves would not appear so abruptly if it were ...say...near a window or door that is constantly being opened and closed. If the majority of your plant's leaves are ...as you say...then I am afraid there is not enough time to reverse the damage. I don't know how you feel about tackling the job of unearthing it, inspecting the roots for damage. This involves moving the plant to a place where it can be removed from the container. Many newspapers spread out or a plastic dropsheet might be used. The first sign of rotting will come from the smell. If this is the case, then you have no choice but to cut back as you have to to retain healthy roots. Soil there is undoubtedly soggy and must be replaced. Then you can examine whether the bottom of the container has what will keep the soil up away from the drainage holes when you water. Shards of clay works well. A little bit of "No Damp" a fungicide,added to water will help kill any bacteria which is adding to the rotting of the roots. Follow directions on bottle. It is recommended that when using, warm water be used. Standard potting mix is OK to replace soil with. Back into the room that can provide good light. Usually Ficus likes bright light, no direct sun, but at this time of season it should be put in such direct light to achieve some sort of intensity. A southern or western exposure would be your best bet.