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

... happens all the time, Susan. I often reply to old posts because I know others will come across the information at some later point in time while they are searching for information, so don't feel like you've wasted anyone's time, including your own. Unless your tree came into being as the product of a seed germinating, it doesn't really have a tap root/ primary root in the sense that a tap root is the first organ to appear after a seed germinates. Almost all ficus that you would buy at retail would be the product of propagation by cuttings or tissue culture, so all the roots produced by those methods would be considered to be of the adventitious type, which simply means roots that do not occur where they would normally grow. However - that information is provided for those who might be interested in that sort of stuff, and not meant to call into question what you said. For all intents and purposes, several of the plant's roots will have grown deep in the soil where they act as primary roots/ tap roots in that they serve as anchorage against toppling and as conductive plumbing for (primarily but not exclusively) water. Your tree's dependency on you for water will be nullified by new roots which will grow deep into the soil to take the place of those severed. Al

If the shop owner holds tight to the idea that his instructions were on target, I have to seriously question his expertise/judgment, regardless of his credentials or how long he has been selling plants. This is stuff that every hobby grower learns in Ficus 101, and he should know better. Scoot on over to the Houseplant Forum and ask about a watering regimen if you have reservations about accepting one person's (that would be me) ;o) assessment of your plight. I won't be offended. "Is root rot reversible?" I want to remain technically correct, so I have to say NO. Dead, rotted tissue is just that - DEAD. You cannot bring it back to life. Trees are not like people, in that they do not form new cells in old places - they are not regenerative. Trees are generative, which means that as they grow, they form new cells in new places. In order to correct the root rot, you'll need to depot the tree, remove the soil, and prune rotted tissues back to beyond the point where they are viable. Alternately, if you're not up to the root work, you can try depotting the plant & leaving it set on newspapers over night. This should dry the soil out & you can then return the plant to its container and begin watering appropriately as required, and hope. "Is it necessary to mist the plant daily?" NO There is plenty of scientific evidence to support the idea that misting is more apt to be harmful than beneficial (see my post) and refute the idea that it is necessary or even marginally effective. "The owner of the shop keeps all of his Ficus trees outside in full sun during the day. So, when I received my ficus, the lighting conditions drastically changed. The owner of the shop stated that my leaf loss was due to the fact that my ficus was adjusting to my new environment and lighting conditions. It can take at least 4 to 6 weeks (or longer) for it to acclimate and I should not worry. Is this true?" While it's true, as noted above, that a reduction in light levels between the outdoor conditions at the plant store and your home can cause the leaf abscission, it's NOT true that it's no cause for concern. Your plant should have more stored energy now than at any other point in the growth cycle. Instead, the tree's food-making ability has vanished with the leaves (so the tree is operating on stored energy), PLUS, the tree will have to expend nearly ALL of its energy reserves to push a new flush of growth. Your tree is much closer to needing intensive care than it is to a worry-free winter vacation. I'm not going to go into the insect/disease thing, other than to say that the leaf 'disease' is likely a product of oedema due to over-watering. Of course he's "surprised" your plant has an insect infestation. Based on his reluctance to step up to the plate so far, I wouldn't expect any other reaction, unless it was to blame the bugs on you. ;o) Forget the water meter. They don't measure moisture - they measure EC (electrical conductivity). To test this idea - stick the probe in a cup of distilled water and notice that it reads 'DRY'. Dissolve a tsp of salt in the water and it becomes 'WET'. It is better at measuring fertility levels (the level of dissolved solids [salts] in the soil solution) than moisture levels. Al

A dowel rod is a round piece of wood - like a pencil. You can get one at a hdwe store & sharpen it in a pencil sharpener. Alternately, us a 12" wooden skewer - they come pre-sharpened. * Move the plant to a spot where you can repeatedly and thoroughly flush the soil with water that hasn't passed through the softener. * Flush the soil up to 10 times with at least as much water as the volume of the container the plant is in. You cannot overdo it. * After flushing, tilt the container at a 45* angle and wait for the container to stop draining. This drains a considerable amount more water than allowing the container to rest on its bottom. * After draining has stopped, remove the plant from it's pot and set on newspapers to drain. If the plant is small, a few hours is fine - if large, allow it to rest on the papers over night. * With a utility knife, slash deep vertical cuts into the root mass and an 'X' on the bottom. Alternately, you can remove an inch or two of the roots/soil from the bottom. * Pot up into a slightly larger pot and fill in around the roots with a soil similar to what you currently have in the root mass. Use a wick in the bottom of the pot if you are going to be able to lift the pot above the collection saucer (best). Ideally, the wick will dancle 2-3" below the bottom of the pot w/o contacting the water in the collection saucer. (I know - a lot to ask) ;o) This wick will 'fool' the water into 'thinking' the pot is deeper than it is. Water will move down the wick 'looking' for the bottom of the pot, and droip off the end. This will go a long way toward eliminating the specter of root rot and allowing you to water copiously enough to flush the soil each time you water to help gurad against salt accumulation. * A few days after you've repotted, fertilize with 1/2 the recommended strength of Miracle-Gro 24-8-16 (granular/box), Miracle-Gro 12-4-8 (liquid/yellow jug), or Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 (best, but you'd probably need to order online) * Give it all the light you can, and try to keep soil temps @ 65-75* That's the standard plan for bringing Ficus back from the brink. I'm not sure how many it's worked for, but I know it's more than I can guess at .... lots. ;o) Best luck!! I'll be around if you still have questions. Al