Hi everyone, I’m located in New York City and I’m looking for a cutting from Ficus Audrey aka Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis ‘Audrey’). In return, I can offer a 2" Pilea peperomioides (aka Friendship plant aka Chinese Money Plant) baby (see picture) they grow fast. I suppose that's the most desirable plant I have, although also have two potted cuttings from my Jade plant (Crassula ovata) one 2.5" already well rooted and is 4" slightly behind in the rooting process (2 weeks). Alternatively could do a fresh cutting from any of the following plants: Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica) Fiddle Leaf Fig (Ficus lyrata) Swiss Cheese Plant (Monstera deliciosa) Swiss Cheese Vine (Monstera Adansonii) Fabian Aralia Stump (Polyscias scutellaria) Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata)

Take the aluminum wrap off the pot to ensure water can escape through the drain hole. The affected leaves show localized parts of the upper layer of the leaf's superior (top) surface which have been destroyed by photo-oxidation (sunburn). Too much light causes release of a hydrogen atom which joins with a water molecule to form the oxidase H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide), the same chemical compound used to bleach hair and disinfect wounds. H2O2 is a powerful oxidizer which attacks the first organic molecule it comes in contact with, in this case, t was the pigment chlorophyll. The leaves first turned a silver/gray color before desiccation became a player and turned the surface brown. The plant has chemical messengers that will inform plant central when the affected leaves move from being net producers of energy (via photosynthesis) to net USERS of energy. When the plant recognizes the leaves as a liability as opposed to assets, it will start adsorbing mobile nutrients and other compounds from the leaf for use elsewhere in the plant. That means they are still an advantage to the plant; however, the plant appears healthy enough that removing them for aesthetic reasons wouldn't be a significant setback as the leaves are already about 25% compromised insofar as their ability to produce food/energy. Your call. If you decide to remove them, only cut through the petiole (leaf stem) with a pair o scissors an inch or two away from the leaf's attachment point - especially the top leaf. If you cut the top leaf too far back, you could remove the apical meristem at the stem end where all extension growth occurs. Do this, and the trunk will never be able to extend. Instead, a new branch will occur from the new top leaf and take over as the new leader. The problem with that is, it will likely grow in a direction other than up for several feet unless you train it to grow upward as soon as the new branch appears. If you have questions, I can offer guidance as I have many bonsai Ficus and am very familiar with how you can expect them to respond. Al

The leaves could be mite damage, especially if where it was previously sited was a low humidity environment. You might need a loupe or magnifying glass to see them; or, you could do the paper test. Any sign of stress, any time the plant presents symptoms, is a call to action. Stress symptoms are visual proof the plant is dealing with cultural conditions at or beyond the limits Mother Nature programmed it to tolerate. The grower's only job is to identify the source(s) of stressful conditions and remedy those conditions to the best of his/her ability or to whatever extreme that grower deems appropriate. Any advice to repot 'in spring' should be qualified. Early spring is a terrible time (worst part of the growth cycle) to repot Ficus and most other trees (other than citrus and other fruiting trees) commonly grown indoors. The reason is, during winter these trees normally have great difficulty producing enough food (plants make their own food [sugar/ glucose] during photosynthesis) to keep up with the rate at which they burn the food during the dark phase/ respiration. After a long winter of low light conditions, your tree will likely have depleted nearly all it's stored energy reserves and will be 'running on empty'. That is not a good time to ask your tree to tolerate the stress of a repot. Your tree will have regained considerable energy reserves and will be approaching the peak of it's ability to make food (longest days/ brightest light) just before the summer solstice (June 21). That is the best time to repot Ficus other than the hardy fig, F carica. An early spring repot ensures a very long recovery period during which the plant will be most vulnerable to insect predation and disease pathogens; whereas a mid-June repot normally ensures shortest recovery and best ability to deal with insect herbivory and disease. Not only that, you'll enjoy the satisfaction of making allowances for your plant's weak periods and taking advantage of the most robust part of its growth cycle. That a plant is stressed is not sufficient to withhold fertilizer. If it needs fertilizer, it needs it. You'll find plenty of anecdotal advice not to fertilize a weak or sick plant, but you'll find that advice nowhere in scientific literature. It's a horticultural myth. I've been practicing bonsai for about 40 years, and have many Ficus in my collection (40 or more), so I'm intimately aware of their wants/ needs and quirks. If you want to make a plan and get your fertilizing/ pruning/ pinching/ repotting planned out in advance, I'd be happy to help if you like. None of it will be difficult, I promise. I also have some reading you can do (here at GW/ Houzz) if you like. Ficus benjamina forest planting, all from cuttings from the same parent tree. I'm waiting for the most recent cuttings I started to grow another 6" or so Al

The leaves to be removed will be found directly below the point where the branch is attached to the next lower order branch. In this case, they will be found attached to the central leader immediately below where the two branches are attached to the central leader. Should I wait for that bud to do more before removing the leaf next to it? The little leaf remains. The leaf to remove is at the other end of the short branch. You can remove the growing tip of the short branch now, or wait until 1-2 more leaves have been added to the branch. Normally, the formula for pinching is to wait until the 3rd leaf on any given branch is starting to open, then pinch the branch back to 2 leaves. As a branch grows/ extends, it will produce a series of leaves. Those first leaves can never be replaced and new leaves can never be grown in the same position. When a leaf falls off, it's gone for good and can never be coaxed to grow another in its place. Only new branches will grow from the leaf axil or from immediately above the scar leaf when a leaf was shed. You can see that by examining your tree. Only 2 branches have grown from a node where a leaf was/ is still attached. Al