Advice? Ficus Lyrata about to drop all its healthy-looking leaves :(
Andrea V
7 years ago
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litterbuggy (z7b, Utah)
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Input on cause of ficus lyrata leaf drop
Comments (39)Any tree "will drop it's leaves" for a healthy number of reasons ..... it's what they're genetically programmed to do as a survival mechanism. Whether or not leaf loss is a minor or lethal problem depends on two factors - the % of leaves lost and the plant's state of vitality when the setback occurs. A few leaves lost from a healthy plant - no big deal; a high % of leaves lost from a plant that had been enjoying good health is a significant setback; a high % of leaves lost from a plant already in decline can be a lethal setback because the plant may not have enough energy reserves to push a new flush of foliage - which carries with it an extremely high probability of collapse. I'm actually grateful for the opportunities you provide others to turn the sweeping statements you make without qualifying them into perfect learning opportunities. Explaining why those statements cannot be broadly applied doesn't take much time and many people benefit from what others say in disagreement with you. Similarly, explaining why many of the offerings you leave are simply erroneous provides additional opportunities to consider more reasoned points of view. Al...See MoreWhite spots on ficus lyrata leaves
Comments (0)Hi all, I have three ficus lyrata plants which I have had outside all summer, and moved indoors for the cool season about a week and a half ago. Two are a bush shape in my living room, and one is a tree in my kitchen. Last week, on a plant in the living room; I noticed small holes in the leaves, some minuscule webbing near the stems/trunks, and upon removing it from its rolling stand to water, noticed whitish, almost invisible insects on the rolling tray (spider mites?) I used Safer insecticidal soap concentrate to spray the leaves, did a soil drench with a bit of concentrate mixed into the watering can, then gave it a shower in the tub. Just now while checking out the tree in my kitchen, I've noticed these white patches on the leaves (both tops and undersides), and some brown spots on the undersides as well. The brown spots could be oedema from when I first got it about a year ago. I brought it home with some on quite a few leaves. There is none on any of the new growth since I've had it. But it's the the white patches that are concerning me! It appears healthy otherwise. I began cleaning the leaves off with a damp cloth, and then thought to post here. There aren't any holes in the leaves, just these white patches. What could it be? I just gave it a shower a few days ago (these plants are like my third, fourth and fifth children, obviously) and so I'm hesitant to do another soil drench, as it won't need another soaking for about a week and a half. thoughts?...See MoreFicus Lyrata dropping leaves after root prune/ repot
Comments (8)Roots were kept moist throughout. Cleared off every bit of soil we could and untangled roots, then removed lower portion. I did recognize that it was more like regular soil and have been letting it dry fully (2.5 weeks before 2nd watering). I check by digging my finger in as low as I can. For the first year I was watering every 2-3 weeks. I would not be surprised to hear that I overpotted. The pot used to contain the plastic one that the tree came in for the first year, and I moved into the containing pot instead when repotting since the plastic one was a mess and cracking....See MoreFicus lyrata advice
Comments (0)Hello! I'm a beginner, this is my first houseplant! While flipping through an old houseplant guide that my mother had given me, I saw the ficus lyrata in the "showy foliage plants" section. I thought it was lovely and after reading a bit I decided I just had to have one. I did some research before purchasing, although now that I have read through a good portion of the FLF threads on this forum I am worried I only scratched the surface. I'll admit, I probably didn't buy the healthiest plant but it was the only one that I found! It was already almost 4 feet tall. I live in Tehachapi, California at around 4000ft hot/dry in the summer and cold in the winter where nighttime temps can drop to freezing. I knew it would need to be kept inside. I purchased my plant in early July and refrained from watering for about a week. When I did water, it seemed to go strait through the bottom of the pot. I pulled it out of the pot, there seemed to be more roots than soil! It looked like the roots had grown around the bottom of the pot. (Plastic pot it came in) I had not planned on repotting so soon but it seemed necessary. I loosened the roots as best I could but I did not cut them. I then potted in a plastic pot (a few inches bigger) with drainage holes and a tray, put about an inch of rock at the bottom and used standard all purpose potting soil. Then I took it to the bathtub and flushed it, mostly because I wanted to make sure it drained well and I didn't have pockets in the soil. I then stuck in in a bright window. (Keep in mind I did this all BEFORE reading this communities knowledgeable threads.) I did this mid July and a couple weeks ago I was rewarded with new growth! There are two leaves at the bottom that don't look too healthy, a couple black spots on each. One of the upper leaves has a hole on it. The plant was like this when I purchased it. All the other leaves are the usual dark green and seem healthy and firm as far as I can tell with my experience. The trunk is much stronger than when I first brought it home. Another concern is that there is something that looks like mold to me on the surface of the soil...is it mold? Weird. :( As we are approaching fall I'm thinking to next spring/summer and I definitely want to try to cut for propogation and future branching. I'm am eager student so if you have advice, bring it on! sorry for the novel :) also for the lighting in my photos....See Moretapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years agolitterbuggy (z7b, Utah)
7 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years agoAndrea V
7 years agoAndrea V
7 years agolitterbuggy (z7b, Utah)
7 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years ago
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litterbuggy (z7b, Utah)