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

"The leaves need to be cleaned----how and with what???" Cover the soil with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Add a 1/2 tsp of Murphy's Oil Soap or dishsoap to a quart spritzer and fill with warm water. (you can also add 1/2 water & 1/2 alcohol if you prefer. Both the soap and the alcohol make the water wetter and more effective at removing dust. The alcohol will provide some knock-down of insect populations should they be there. In the shower, spritz the plant thoroughly & wipe leaves if you like. Rinse with cool water (room temp) and remove the plastic wrap tin foil. You might wish to flush the soil several times by allowing water to drip through the foliage while it's in the shower. This will help flush any accumulating salts from the soil. Can I prune the tree to even it out?? I wish you had included where you live in your user info. It's much easier to give specific advise if your geo-location is known. You can start the tree back on the road to fullness if you prune every growing branch tip off now. If a main branch has several secondary and then tertiary branches - they ALL get the tip removed. This will immediately stop the trees ability to extend branches and force it to back-bud behind the pruning cuts. Later in the year, when the tree has gained considerable energy, you can do a more radical pruning that will further help to restore an attractive shape. ... what kind of sunlight will it take? The answer is species dependent and in some part, depends on where you live. ... (I'm) afraid I will kill it if I try repotting. If you wait until summer to repot, and come back for some pointers, it's VERY unlikely you'll do your plant any serious harm. I've posted some pictures on the forum of some very radical rejuvenation efforts in which both the top AND the roots were simultaneously cut back hard, and the plants recovered quickly. Not all plants will tolerate such indignities, but most Ficus are sufficiently genetically vigorous that they hardly miss a beat. Place your plant in bright light with the bare side toward the source. If the plant was in a dim location previously, be careful to introduce the plant to the brighter light incrementally to avoid sunburn. Don't be tempted to over-nurture with water/fertilizer. If you do flush the soil, fertilize the next day with (preferably a 3-1-2 ratio fertilizer like MG 24-8-16 or 12-4-8, at 1/4 recommended strength. The above are all simple operations. After completed, just wait & watch the tree start on its way to filling in again. ;o) 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.

F triangularis and deltoidea (mistletoe fig) look very much alike, but the leaf midvein of triangularis runs the full length of the leaf, which confirms your tree as triangularis. It's much more likely the chlorotic foliage was from over-watering than under-watering because neither triangularis nor deltoidea tolerate wet feet well. In fact, I have deltoidea and it's the only plant I grow in gritty mix that I really can't water on a schedule. I need to know the plant is almost dry before I can water, or else I'll have shedding and chlorosis to deal with. So, if you're going to leave it in that big pot, you'll need to use a 'tell' to determine what moisture levels are deep in the pot if you want to keep it happy. You definitely will not be able to rely on your finger to tell you when it's time to water. In fact, the finger thing is almost always harmful advice unless the pot is 5" deep or less. Other than liking it on the dry side, cultural wants are pretty much the same as the rest of the genus. Warm, sunny, avoid wet feet, fertilize regularly during periods of robust growth. BTW - it doesn't have to be grown as a vine with a number of runners. The trunk will thicken and you can grow it as in tree form. "Moving a plant stresses it" is a horticultural myth - moving it to less favorable cultural conditions is what causes stress. Moving it to more favorable conditions causes a positive response. Whether or not the plant will tolerate full sun depends on what light level it's acclimated to currently. Genetically, the plant is capable of tolerating full sun once acclimated. Repotting is a stress, but it's a short-lived stress, unlike root congestion which is forever, or at least until a pair of hands actually gets into the middle of the root mass to correct the congestion and roots with potential to become problems. Al