I just mentioned on another forum that most hobby growers give all glory to the top of the plant, while it's the roots that serve as the plant's heart and do all the heavy lifting. As long as you don't have an insect infestation, we can prolly get your plant straightened out quickly, though it will take some guts on your part. Can you hang? ;o) If you're willing to do a full repot, which includes sawing off the bottom 1/3 of the roots, bare rooting, and then cutting off even more roots, concentrating on the largest, then adding all fresh soil, you can put your plant back on track. If that frightens you, or if for some reason you don't want to do that, the prognosis is a continued steady decline. Once plants become rootbound, it permanently and negatively affects growth, unless you take the initiative and correct the condition. Copy/pasted from one of my other posts: We know for certain that growth is negatively affected at about the time the soil/root mass can be lifted from the container intact. We also know that once the tree has reached this state of root congestion, growth is affected permanently, unless the root congestion is corrected. We know these things because tree growers have a vested interest in seeing that their trees put on caliper as quickly as possible. Dr Carl Whitcomb goes into some considerable detail about what the impact of being root bound has on growth. Practically speaking, after spending thousands of hours digging around in as many root balls, I can assure you his observations are accurate. You cannot expect a tree growing under root-bound conditions to grow to its genetic potential within the limits of other cultural factors, and it will not/cannot. When you regularly tend to root pruning and and replacement of collapsed soils, you offer your tree the opportunity to grow at as close to it's genetic potential as other cultural factors allow, but when you simply put a tree in a container & do nothing in the way of root maintenance, you deny that plant that same potential. On a scale of 0-10, with 0 being a dead tree and 10 being perfect vitality/growth, trees in containers are capable of somewhere around an 8. A scenario re the range of vitality: Trees that are repotted (includes soil change and root work) will vary over a 3 year period (between repots) and at some point soon after repotting will be capable of growing at a level of 8. They will decline to maybe a 5 as they become root bound. When you repot, they go right back to 8 again, so the trees can be maintained indefinitely at good vitality levels. Let's consider the tree that is NOT repotted. Some may feel that because they see a growth "spurt" after they pot up or scratch some fresh soil into the top few inches that all is well, but lets talk about that growth "spurt" It's not a spurt at all. It's simply a very stressed tree temporarily growing a little closer to it's potential, which has been misinterpreted as a spurt. *A tree starts at a vitality level of 8 and declines to a 5 over 3 years. * It's potted up and some of the vitality returns, but not all, so it's only growing at a level of 7. *Over 3 years, it declines to a 4; when potted up again, it can only muster a vitality level of 6. * It declines to a 3 and is potted up to a 5 * It declines to a 2, and is potted up to a 4 * It declines to a 1, and is potted up to a 3 * dead tree "What about the leaves? How can I get the leaves looking healthier?" The leaves only THINK they are in charge. Get the roots right & the leaves will follow. ;o) Al

Hey everyone ! So I need some help . I got this ficus lyrata bush about 2-3 weeks ago and it was perfectly green when I got it from homedepot . After a week I noticed some leafs turning brown on the edges and a bunch of tiny brown spots starting showing on the leafs . It gets a good amount of sunlight without being directly on it . I watered it maybe 1s a week when I top is dry but I don't think that's working too well . Only the bottoms leaves are turning brown . And one leaf towards the top starting curling . If I'm over watering it should I let the soul completely dry out before watering it again ? Should I remove the leaves on the bottom that are turning brown ? How can I tell if I'm over watering or under watering ?

Ah - it's good to see you smile, and it's good to be able to smile in the face of adversity. ;-) I'd just leave it be for now, and be very careful not to over-water (check with a wood dowel or skewer before you water) or let it go dry. It will take almost all of the tree's energy reserves to push a new flush of growth, and that will leave the tree vulnerable - especially to any additional loss of the foliage it's pushing now, which is why the watering is important - guards against a drought response and the shedding of leaves. It might be better to take a conservative approach, at least until you're sure the tree is well on the way to recovery. Where you live (?) will have a lot to do with what you can or should do, as far as any pruning goes. When you're sure your tree is recovering, we can take a closer look at how congested the roots are and maybe pot up or do some things that allow the plant to stay in the same pot, but with a little fresh soil to semi-rejuvenate it until you can get after some more serious root work next summer. How have you been fertilizing? How recently - with what - what strength? When you watered, were you watering so you were flushing the soil, or just watering in small sips to keep the soil damp? We'll get around to fertilizing as soon as you know your plant has turned around, but the answers to the questions above will help me determine if you should flush the soil thoroughly before you start fertilizing again. If your plant makes it through the next few weeks, there's little doubt that you can really make some big strides in restoring its vitality by this time next year. That seems like a long time to a grower, though it's naught but a blink to a tree. Putting yourself on tree time and resigning yourself to being patient enough that you can work with the tree's natural rhythms instead of against them will pay big dividends in the end. And what you learn along the way, you can apply to your other houseplants or other perennials you might one day keep containerized. We'll have you known as the plant whisperer among your friends/co-workers before you know it. ;-) Al

I have to disagree with your 55º assertion. That may be true in your climate, but here sans can go right down to freezing with no problems, they actually naturalize and can be very invasive. My others of this type (which are clones of the same original plant as the one that was damaged) have not suffered any damage through minor freezes, nor has my tall sans, nor my other mini birdsnest type. It may be because cold temperatures here are rare, usually last only a few hours, and occur during the dry season, and because the sans are relatively sheltered by the building. I'm hestitant to use cinnamon, as the good people in the orchid forum say that it's a great antibiotic, but also a root inhibitor. It's warmed up enough here that i'll be performing the surgery as soon as i get around to it.