Nita - I linked you to the overview in an attempt to help you understand 2 things. Growing well means that you have know where the "sweet spot" is. We can't provide some conditions that would be considered favorable and some that aren't, because it will always be the least favorable condition that limits growth and vitality. If everything is perfect but for 1 factor, that will be the troublemaker. Fortunately, most houseplants do very well with only minor variances in their cultural wants. Other than cacti, if you can keep 90% of your plants in a soil that can be kept moist w/o a significant amount of perched water (soggy layer at the bottom - more about that in the next link), at about 70*, at a favorable light level, and using an appropriate fertilizer, your job becomes remarkably easy. I'll try to answer your questions in order. 1) If you read the link below, you'll discover that it isn't so much what you "put in" your soil as it is the size and physical characteristics of what you use. Basically, you want to start with a very large fraction of coarse material - say 75-80%. It might be fine pine bark pieces or other inorganic particles. It doesn't matter, as long as it allows you to keep a favorable ratio water and air in the root zone. Too much water is primarily what you need to guard against if you want your plants to have the opportunity to grow as close as possible to their genetic potential. I have found that an extremely high % of problems folks come here seeking remediation for are able to be traced back to a poor soil as causal. Spoiled foliage, rotted roots and diseases, and insect infestations are most common, and soil choice is usually the underlying cause. The link explains how water behaves in soils and offers a couple of recipes to build on. Understanding the concept has changed the way a large number of people approach growing in containers. 2) If the root system is still viable, the plant should recover, even though it will likely shed the leaves as a drought response. Remember, it can't effectively take up water w/o adequate air in the soil. Ideally, soil should only be about as damp as a well wrung sponge. If it was my plant, I would take it out of the pot and inspect the root system for dead roots. If you find slimy roots or a sour-smelling soil, you might need to do an emergency repot. If the roots seem ok, you can unpot the plant and set it on a mat of newspapers, paper bags, clean rags ..... for an hour or two. This will wick the excess water from the soil, which in turn allows more air to make its way into the root zone. I'll wait for a report from you before we go on to the next step. 3) It might be appropriate to return the plant to the container it was formerly in. Having the plant a little root bound in a container small enough that it doesn't remain soggy for extended periods is much better than the inverse of that condition. 4) Cuttings from a struggling/stressed plant are very low % bets. Getting a cutting to strike is a race. The plant needs to grow roots and make a vascular connection to the top of the plant before fungal problems rot the plumbing. The more stored energy the cutting has the faster it makes roots and the less likely it is that rot organisms will spoil the outcome of the race. You'd do better to try to bring the plant back to good health, and then take your cuttings, but you can try if you like. You'll need a very airy rooting medium and a warm, bright spot. Kitty - I wouldn't use a fungicide on the soil if I were you. Your plant forms all sorts of relationships with other living organisms in your soil, some of which actually help the plant absorb water and nutrients. Any fungicide you select would probably be unselective, and likely to do more harm than good. The exception would be if you were having fungal issues with the foliage, in which case some sort of anti-fungal remedy might be more appropriate. Plus, what Tiffany said. Al Here is a link that might be useful: I'm about soils. Please click me then read me.

In an extremely high % of cases, necrotic leaf tips and margins are caused by over-watering, an excessively high level of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil solution, or some combination of the two. High root temperatures, nutritional imbalances, ammonium toxicity, and phytotoxicities (things poisonous to plants) like air pollution can also cause or contribute to the physiological disorder causing the symptoms. In most cases, the greatest amount of traction is to be gained from making sure your watering appropriately and flushing the soil of accumulating salts when you water. If you can't water appropriately w/o limiting normal root function or root health, you might want to take a look at the soil you're using. In any case, getting to the point where you can water to beyond the point of total soil saturation, so you're flushing the soil when you water, without having to worry the soil will remain saturated for an extended period, represents something of a breakthrough for the grower. When you find yourself at that point, it is much, much easier to consistently maintain your plants in a state of high vitality, which means you don't have the unsightly symptoms to remind you that the plant is being asked to tolerate something it's not genetically programmed to deal with. I'd start using a 'tell' to 'tell' you when it's time to water (see more below). I'd also keep learning more about how much impact soil choice has on your potential for consistent success. A General Overview (click me) 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

Hi, Jay. Sorry for the lack of reply, but my business has been requiring an inordinate amount of time, which means that I have much less time for the fun stuff, like spending time here. The clump consists of 7 trees and then there's the 8th tree off to the side (which you advised I eliminate - do you mean take this one out from the pot entirely?) Yes, but you don't have to do it immediately. You can leave it grow or cut it back, then remove it the next time you repot and can get a look at the underground connections. If you can separate it from the rest of the clump with some roots attached, the odds of survival are extremly high. Within the clump, the thickest 2 trees are the tallest and both somewhat in the center, but they lean outwards. These two also lost the most amount of leaves. I am thinking one of these should be the main/leader. How much should I prune the leader back? If you want the planting to be taller, don't prune the stem you choose as dominant. If it's as tall as or taller than you want it to be, cut it back to about 2/3 as tall as you want it to be, which leaves 1/3 of the finished ht for the developing canopy. If you can envision a more attractive arrangement if you removed 2 or 4 of the 7 trees, you can do that, too. Odd numbers look best in grove/clump arrangements. I will prune other trees at different heights, shorter than the leader, as you suggested. What is the minimum number of leaves I should leave on a tree for it to photosynthesize to have enough strength to back bud? Your tree looks very healthy, so you could cut back far enough that there is no foliage on any given stem and it will still back-bud - especially if you can get it outdoors in bright light & air movement. Elastica is a reliable back-budder, like most Ficus. Benjamina is somewhat iffy unless it's a very healthy tree and/or you live in the fairly deep south - Fl, GA, MS, TX, SoCal, AL, AZ, etc. Will secondary branches form from all the nodes (where leaves fell from)? Possibly. It depends on a number of factors, the most important of which are when you cut it back, how much reserve energy the plant(s) has/have, nutrition (make sure it's being fertilized in the luxury range. You might flush the soil and fertilize immediately after with an appropriate fertilizer. Trees need to be well fertilized if you want to maximize the back-budding response. What's the best way to minimize/control bleeding (the white liquid that seeps out from the tree)? It's of no concern insofar as the tree's physiology is concerned. Fill a spritzer with tap water and spray the sap after you make the cuts. Wait 2 days and then seal the wounds with a waterproof wood glue. The stubs will die back to the leaf immediately proximal to the pruning cut. After several months or a year, you'll see that the live/growing tissues will start to form a collar around the dead stub. When you can see the collar, cut back to the collar and seal. Should I put the pot outside so it gets maximum sun? I live in zone 7A so it's warm enough outside until probably early October or at least mid September. If the tree could vote, it would definitely be a yea, and w/o question it will demonstrate it's appreciation. It would even be helpful if you held off pruning for a couple of weeks after moving it outdoors. Sorry to bombard you with questions. I don't mind. I enjoy both the back & forth between 'plant people', and the feeling that I might be helping someone increase the personal satisfaction they get from growing; so, not an imposition. Al

Hi Jesse, I’m wondering if you water thoroughly and fully. I would not bother with distilled water with this plant, but they do need a thorough watering when being watered—like gushing out the drainage hole like a heavy rainstorm would bring. I’d also agree—misting is completely unnecessary. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more arid area than Nevada and mine aren’t bothered by the dryness at all, despite their “tropical” origin. The bigger concern would be that your soil is *probably* not porous enough to properly (and rapidly) dry after a massive drenching. I’m attaching a photo here of one of my Ficus plants that I pulled up just to change out the pot I didn’t like. This is about 30 minutes after watering/draining. You can see that the soil is void of total wetness/sogginess but lightly damp throughout. The soil itself is good, but the additional perlite (pumice) aids in that a lot.