Thank you all SO MUCH for helping me out. As far as the leaves changing color, they became a little more yellow than normal, and just began falling. It was almost overnight and it was bare. I did notice today that there is a bit of new growth near the top!!! =) So if it is dropping older leaves, will this happen each year? Should I prune it almost to the ground? I pruned it about half in size this year (the previous owners had never pruned at all according to a neighbor) should I do it more next year? About the rain, it rained more in late May and early June: I never imagined I could have watered it to much. My perenials in that bed havent suffered (keeping my fingers crossed) except for a hydrangea that also has yellow leaves. Again, thank you all for your help. I am taking all suggestions.

as long as there is green .. and the plants are otherwise well kept ... which it sounds like you are finally doing.. except for the fertilizer .. which is never recommended on conifers .... conifers will re establish new leaders .. and eventually fill in ... how long??? who knows ...could be years .... a picture would really help for more precise diagnosis ... if you have a warranty .. and you can get replacements.. due to the faulty info .. perhaps that is the way to go ... otherwise.. killing an otherwise living tree .. simply for your aesthetic ... is not really necessary .. unless money and back breaking labor doesn't matter.. IMHO .. to many people want a row of perfectly uniform trees .. and i really don't understand that ... variation on thickness and height, in my eyes, is much more interesting than uniformity .. IF IT WERE ME .... i would give them a year or two .. and even if they irritated me in a few years .. i would plant smaller replacements for more variety in height .... in 2000 i planted a line of 50 GG .... 6 inchers including the peat pot ... they now vary from 4 to 20 feet ... i think it looks great ... good luck ken

You should put the tree right in front of the large southern facing window. Light coming through the window, even a few feet away is much less intense than right in front of it. I'd place the tree right next to that wooden chair so the leaves are a few inches from that window. Rotate the tree 1/4 turns weekly. as far as pruning, all you're doing here is cutting off the dead parts. scratch a small amount of bark, if it's dead, follow the branch back and keep scratching every inch or so till you see green. Cut the obvious dead branches off. roots should be firm and white to tan. If they are dark and mushy, they've rotted. Bottom line, three tree has been over watered. It may be in too large of a pot so that the soil doesn't dry enough. Remove it from the pot and check to see how wet the soil is at the bottom. Ficus seem to be able to handle drought much better then being over watered. this may give you an idea about their light requirements. Mine, pictured below, is right in front of a southern window with the addition of five 250w lights above and it still could use much more light. I place mine outside in full direct sun from Memorial Day until mid September when temps start to drop. That's the only time it thrives. The rest of the year is just tolerates. I've cut it back pretty heavily since September when it came inside. Outside last summer it was MUCH fuller: the tree above was not much larger than yours prior to being placed outside for the summer. It literally grew a few feet in every direction and produced probably 1000 extra leaves.

As stated above if the current owner hates it, they will do as they want, but As far as removing things that have grown into the tree's one branch or 2. The tree has dealt with it years ago. Trees have encapsulated bicycles, ropes and who knows what else, the main trunk is most important and they could likely deal with that stuff. If the owner got rid of the trees canopy above and saved the fern, the fern would die without that canopy ( I strongly believe) that the ferns ( because most ferns need shade) would die. If I were the owner I would maybe water deeply infrequently, but, you don't want to change things too drastically. I would've never thought a Southern Mag w/ Staghorn fern would be in a dry area in Cali. That's rare. I saw one large Staghorn fern in my life in Florida. It was in a large container on a tree trunk. It had some sun, but, most ferns, I have about 6-8 and they all want shade, so I would not get rid of that canopy and plan on keeping that Stag, fern. Plus that tree is very nice and rare, but, it's the owners choice overall. There have been pics years ago posted of bikes and other weird things leant against trees and never moved, and the trees just grew around these things. The trees will never be harmed by these objects unless someone tries to take them out. Maybe a rope for a swing only partially grown into the tree then used by a heavy adult would be worrisome. But, well, lets hope that wont happen.