Help me save this 40 year old ficus benjamina!
Hi everyone,
This tree was a gift to my mother on the day of my birth and so I'm very invested in its survival.
Short version:
The tree has been neglected. It is losing foliage and weakening gradually over the years. If the trend continues it will eventually die. What should I do? See photos below.
Full history:
The tree hasn't grown much in 35 years and has been potted up once, if at all, maybe 25 years ago so the soil quality is very low and the plant is completely root-bound. For the last few years I've been giving it 20-20-20 fertilizer in the spring and early summer which it seems to appreciate.
Lighting conditions for the last 6 years haven't been ideal: 2 hours direct sunlight in the winter, 4 hours in the summer. A few years ago, I tried putting it outside in the summer for more sunlight and by the next day it was completely infested with aphids. I treated it with insecticidal soap, brought it back inside and it barely survived.
I've noticed that every year, for a 2-3 month period in late winter / early spring, some leaves will turn yellow and drop and the tree will lose maybe 20% of its leaves. Then in summer some new leaves will grow, but not quite enough to make up for the loss. Oddly enough, it started producing fruit for the first time about 5 years ago despite looking weaker and weaker. Every year it now gives me 6-10 small green fruit :)
My concern is that over the last 6 to 8 years, new growth has slowed resulting in the tree becoming less and less bushy over the years. If the trend continues it'll be in trouble.
I know the tree needs a potting up at a minimum and that re-potting would probably be better long term. But it is weak and I'm concerned it might just drop all of it's leaves and die if I do anything drastic.
At the moment, the tree is almost done losing leaves and should start growing new ones soon. This is about as sparse as it's going to get this year.
I would be super grateful for your input if you have experience with these plants.
Farby
Montreal Canada
Comments (9)
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Comments (21)... happens all the time, Susan. I often reply to old posts because I know others will come across the information at some later point in time while they are searching for information, so don't feel like you've wasted anyone's time, including your own. Unless your tree came into being as the product of a seed germinating, it doesn't really have a tap root/ primary root in the sense that a tap root is the first organ to appear after a seed germinates. Almost all ficus that you would buy at retail would be the product of propagation by cuttings or tissue culture, so all the roots produced by those methods would be considered to be of the adventitious type, which simply means roots that do not occur where they would normally grow. However - that information is provided for those who might be interested in that sort of stuff, and not meant to call into question what you said. For all intents and purposes, several of the plant's roots will have grown deep in the soil where they act as primary roots/ tap roots in that they serve as anchorage against toppling and as conductive plumbing for (primarily but not exclusively) water. Your tree's dependency on you for water will be nullified by new roots which will grow deep into the soil to take the place of those severed. Al...See MoreFicus Benjamina losing all leaves! Help!
Comments (61)What kind of soil is it in? Virtually all containerized houseplants need regular nutritional supplementation; so YES, you should have a good fertilizer on hand and have a strategy in place that includes regular fertilizing that is adjusted in relation to the changes in growth habit as the plant makes it's way through the growth cycle. No one can tell you how to fertilize w/o knowing something about your soil and your watering habits, because those factors determine how much you use and how often you use it. If I guessed you were just getting interested in learning how to best provide for your plants' cultural needs, would I be right? In most cases, the manner in which a person addresses the issues for which you seek guidance will depend on your level of experience. I use, as do many others, and highly recommend Dyna-Gro's Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 fertilizer. There are a number of reasons for this, and I can direct you to a thread that lays out those reasons if you have interest. Your plant probably shouldn't be fertilized until you see signs of new growth. My guess is, the soil has been kept overly wet, which accounts for a very high % of the problems for which folks eventually arrive here in search of resolution. Once all the leaves fall, the amount of water your plant uses will be minuscule, so make sure you do not over-water. If you don't know how to use a wooden dowel/skewer as a tell, and want to, just ask. Many folks here use or have used that method with good results. It doesn't lie and will tell you when your plant does/doesn't need water. Al...See MoreNeed Help w/ Ficus Benjamina that had Dead Middle Branches
Comments (7)Sounds good. I'm glad the thread I started helped you. Al (Tapla), has incredible knowledge about these trees any many others. If you read thoroughly through that thread where he was offering me advice, you should definitely get a feel for pruning. In the right conditions, these trees grow insanely fast! chop it back a bit and stick it outside in direct sunlight when the weather warms up again next year. Leave it there all summer. You may notice leaves turn white and fall off, but when the new growth comes out, it'll be thicker and fuller than ever. You could have a great looking tree by the end of next summer! when in direct sunlight, you will need to water more often. repot in June and use 5 parts pine bark mulch, 1 part peat and 1 part perlite. Al's gritty mix is also a great option, or so I've read from many. You may need to prune some roots too. Since you've had that tree 9 years, the root system has to be hindering its ability to grow and take up nutrients as the roots are probably all strangling each other at this point. just make sure you don't over water it right now. You could also elevate the pot and add some wicks to help remove some of the perched water in the soil. I've done that and it works wonders. Do you water in sips, or do you water till it starts coming out the drain hole at the bottom? The skewer method works pretty well. Stick it in, it it comes out with dirt sticking to it, the soil is still wet. If it comes out clean / with very little soil sticking to it, it's time to water....See MoreFicus benjamina has lost over 60% of its leaves since September. Help!
Comments (5)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....See More
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