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Abnormal growth on base of Ficus Benjamina

7 years ago

I've had this F. Benjamina for a few years now and it's always been a slow grower. I recently put it in gritty mix last summer and it had been doing well. It seemed to have been two cuttings fused together with out of control roots and a weird lumpy mass growing on the base of the one plant. One day about a month ago I decided to find out what the odd growth was and started breaking it off and it was almost like a walnut shell. I unpotted the plant (I know its not the time to be unpotting plants) and was able to separate the two and one root seemed to be strangling the mass to the point it left an indentation. Part of the root mass was dying and dried out so I cut as much off as I could. I guess my question is, how can get rid of this weird mass and any ideas what it may be from?

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Comments (9)

Jean
7 years ago
Growers often plant multiple cuttings as if they are one. The result is a big plant in minimal time.

The ugly mass may be crown gall. If so, it's best to discard that portion/stem. No guarantee about the other stem remaining healthy.

Might be time to consider starting over with a new plant.
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years ago
...... agree with the 'crown gall' ID. It is contagious, so I'd pitch it and sterilize or discard the pot.

Al
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I only see the picture you posted on 8/18, that shows a plant rising vertically from the soil. I'm talking about making the tree lean in the pot at a 30-45* angle so the heavy branches appear pendulous. The tree is begging for that to occur. ;-) The ballast wouldn't be used primarily as a counterweight, though you might need it to serve dual duty as such. I was talking about using ballast to reduce the amount of soil in the part of the pot that holds perched water, since you're concerned about soil saturation. Note how ballast reduces the volume of PW a pot can hold by observing D in the first image and the far right pot with the ballast in the lower image. Can you see that by NEARLY filling the bottom of the pot with ballast you can reduce the amount of soil capable of holding PW to nearly nil? Al
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Josh
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Thanks Jean and Al. I just googled 'crown gall' and that appears to be exactly what it is. I read that it causes stunted growth, so maybe thats why this plant has always been a runt. As I mentioned before, I separated the two plants but I repotted them both in the same pot. The other plant doesn't seem to have any crown gall so do I need to discard that one too just in case?

I was planning on chopping the one of the right way back this summer, but maybe I'll just start looking for another one now...
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years ago
That's for you to decide, but it IS a bacterial infection that can be transmitted by a number of vectors - insects, tools, hands, plant debris, ........

Al
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Josh
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks Al I'll have to think about that one. Not really upset about this one coming down with the old crown gall, but if it infects one of my more favorable plants I'd be pretty disappointed. On a somewhat related note, when pruning, do you have to leave at least 2 leaves on a branch for it to survive or could you prune a branch back to 1-2 internodes with no leaves and it will still produce buds.
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Embothrium
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
You also apparently had the galled one sitting up too high in the pot, with the upper part of the root system exposed to air. Which might have had an effect on the amount of top growth being made as well.
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Josh
Original Author
7 years ago
Do you think that caused the gall?
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years ago
No, the gall was probably something that existed in a formative stage when you acquired it.

Raising a plant so a fairly significant part of the root system is exposed above the soil line isn't something that would have a notable impact on top growth, and any impact it did have would be very short lived. The gall itself had a significant impact on the plant's vasculature, so look to that as the cause of a suppressed growth rate.

Ficus benjamina ^^^

"...... when pruning, do you have to leave at least 2 leaves on a branch for it
to survive or could you prune a branch back to 1-2 internodes with no
leaves and it will still produce buds." That varies by species, timing, geography, the tree's state of vitality, and even by where the branch you're pruning is located on the tree.

Some trees are inherently VERY reluctant to back-bud if you remove all the foliage from a branch; but for the most part, most species of Ficus can be taken back to bare wood in the summer if they're in good health. Ficus b is one of the most 'iffy' of the genus though, and the variegated varieties are least dependable because they're weaker due to a limited amount of chlorophyll that limits their ability to carry on photosynthesis as efficiently as their all green counterparts, so I wouldn't press my luck unless the benjamina was F benjamina 'Too Little'. That cultivar is a profuse back-budder and can be cut back hard if it's in good health.

Al
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Paul MI
7 years ago
All things considered, I'd suggest you just get rid of the entire (both parts) thing. F. benjamina is typically an easily obtainable plant -- common at many BBSs -- and usually very inexpensive. In addition, diseases often gain entry into a new host via wounds. The very act of separating the two trees will have created wounds on some of the roots as well as the point of separation. Therefore the other section could already now be infected. Considering it is not a particularly rare or valuable plant, why take the risk?
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