Life is too short to spend even a moment to reconsider an initial decision to discard what you've decided to discard, for whatever the reason may be. Do everything once but not more.

Sometimes we just have to throw in the towel and admit defeat, especially with such things as critter-laden plants. And some people just aren't cut out for caring for plants. And those gnats can get into your house and invade your drains and kitchen, not good. There's a possibility that it might turn the corner and even thrive if transplanted outside in fresh soil and air but I wouldn't want to infect other plants out there if it were me. I've had plants that developed those waxy scale insects and they are almost impossible to get rid of and they always seem to invade houseplants the most.

You can try spraying it with some dawn detergent and water that will usually kill the critters. Or set it on the curb, then someone else may be interested in taking on the plant.

Just chuck it. If it isn’t making you happy, you don’t need it.

I get it. I always feel guilty over half dead plants. It's like they're saying, "nooooo, don't toss me. I want to live..." Like plants have some sort of self awareness or can feel pain or something. Heck, maybe they do/can.

But, yea. Sometimes a person just has to harden their heart and let these things go.

Throw it out. Out of sight, out of mind. Once it's gone, you'll forget you ever had it.

"Or set it on the curb, then someone else may be interested in taking on the plant."

And by doing so pass along gnats and mites to someone else's yard? That's hardly thoughtful or an act of generosity.

Better to cut it into pieces (if large) and put it and the dirt into a securely closed garbage bag, before putting it into the trash.

I'd get rid of it, as in, throw it away. For one I would be afraid to treat it with anything that might harm my health; and two, as was already said, life is too short for bugs on your plants.

I love ficus plants; if you think you would replace it with a new ficus, this is what I would do:

I would haul it out to a low spot in the lawn away from the house/ other potted plants, unpot it and hose all the soil off the roots. Trim the roots, cut back the top growth & anything dead and repot it new soil. (Sterilize the pot if re-using it w/ bleach & a good scrub.) Give it a drench of water w/ 3% hydrogen peroxide solution (1 part hydrogen peroxide: 3 parts water.) Haul it to shady spot outdoors, preferably undercover so it doesn't get too wet from rain, allow the soil to mostly dry out & then feed it half strength fertilizer & water. Keep it in quarantine until you're satisfied the gnat problem has been eliminated.

Ficus are really, really hard to kill--probably why I like them so much. :-)

You do not want an infested plant to infect other plants.

It is illegal to plant ficus trees in the ground in Los Angeles, as they have aggressive roots and damage sewers, sidewalks, and streets. We had a huge rubber tree at the apartment complex where I lived in Culver City, and its roots were very invasive. It was a beautiful tree with huge leaves but should never have been planted. My balcony was on the second level (a two story complex), and the tree towered above it and made nice shade, and so I do miss it a bit, but I would never plant one.

Your plant probably wanted a bigger pot. If you had it for 15 years, that is long enough!

If you want to try and save it remove it from the pot and was the whole thing in Dawn scrubbing the roots. Use a new pot and potting mix. Those gnats are probably fungus gnats and the larva along with eggs are in the soil.

Cilantro, I've done exactly what you described (except the hydrogen peroxide). The plant did grow after that brutal treatment. But I'm mostly with others here, unless you really want to try to save it, let it go.

Yeah, I know you feel guilty. I toss out lots of succulent cuttings and feel bad but it would be impossible to pot them all up. I do pot some and put curbside with a free sign. People do take them.

Edited to add: I've never kept one inside, always outside.

I have no advice because I've (inadvertantly) killed every ficus unlucky enough to join our household.

They're not white flies are they? Just wondering since our ficus trees have had them and they're pretty easy to deal with. However, I wouldn't feel bad at all about getting rid of it.

Buying new soil, taking the ficus out of its pot, trimming any circling roots, replanting in a loose well draining soil, spraying, and you'll have what amounts to a new plant that will be happy and perform beautifully. Do the replant and trim annually.

Dont feel bad. I felt horrible guilt for having some asian jasmine removed in my garden at work. I never did anything to it except try to fight it into submission. I felt guilty because the plants were bought for me by my former boss, who died suddenly a few years ago. She was such an incredibly sweet lady. I struggled for years with the decision,every year just deciding to suck it up and fight on. It was so invasive it killed a lot of my other plants and then finally this year I had had enough. I dont even like jasmine. It stinks, the blooms are short lived and not that pretty and the vines were impossible to control. So I asked some very kind men in another department to help me get them out. They went and got a forklift, hooked chains to them and they were gone. Then I felt extra guilt because there was a certain cat out here who liked to hide in those plants and it was none to happy to see them go. But now, I am over all of that and planted some hardy hibiscus in their place.

Throw it away if you dont wanna fool with it.

I'd feel guilty, but, hell, I feel guilty throwing away an avocado seed.

;)

If it were me, I would try to salvage due to the longevity. The plant has made it this far! Try the advice given and see what happens. If you can’t get rid of then you have your answer.

Sometimes it's necessary to pull out the big girl panties. Not just for you but for the others whose comments suggest they need them too.

It's overdue to be tossed. It's old and struggling, it's infested, and you risk infesting other plants. Its future is for the dumpster without a second thought.

Toss it. Not everyone wants to be a plant caretaker. I like plants fine when they are outside, but don't want to deal with them inside at all. If someone gives me cut flowers, wonderful. But gift me with a potted plant and I feel like you are putting a burden on me. This is probably an unpopular view, given that this is Gardenweb. But then again, gardens are outside, where plants are supposed to be.

Life is too short to spend even a moment to reconsider an initial decision to discard what you've decided to discard, for whatever the reason may be. Do everything once but not more. Elmer, I might add that to the “good advice” thread. And take it to heart. Thanks!

That pearl of wisdom was an adapted takeaway from a time management class I took eons ago when I was just a puppy. The essence of the advice was that if sometime later you mentally revisit decisions you've made, you're wasting time needlessly. Assess by whatever process and steps are appropriate for the subject matter, decide, and move on.

Questioning decisions after the fact is also a sign of a lack of self confidence and resolve so using a once and not more strategy helps with that problem too.

Perhaps some people are different. I tend to be flexible and to put thought into decisions, but sometimes new information comes up or sometimes I just see a new perspective that I had not seen before. I know some when I was younger would always say to 'sleep on it' before deciding on something that one continued to think about.

In this case, Always says she is a bad plant mom and really, it takes a small but continuing effort to grow plants well. Should she reconsider? That's up to her. It would be perfectly OK to just not want to deal with the plant any more. Should she feel guilty? Feelings are personal, I don't know that it is fruitful to tell a person how she 'should' feel. I know that when we start penning the perennial decluttering threads the choices are not all cut and dried, the size 5 jeans can happily be donated without guilt but some personal items may require more consideration to make sure one is ready.

I wish I could adopt her plant but obviously, I am different in that it would make me very happy to have a nice big ficus that I had 'fixed up', much like what Marilyn might feel when she rescues horses from a kill pen (although horses' lives are much more important).

It's overdue to be tossed. It's old and struggling

I'm old and struggling too, but not ready to be tossed just yet:)

Anylou, this ficus came from my ex's aunt after she passed before selling their house...I think is part of the holding on to it but Im about 90% ready to toss it. I also have another plant (indoor) that I had sent in an arrangement when my old boss passed...we had in the office for a while till it needed to be replanted to a larger pot at which time I took it home to replant...I think it's been 12 years for that plant...doing well but I think it may be ready for a pot size upgrade again. I purposely sent an arrangement with a plant so it would last.

It's just a plant, and one that is replaceable too.

If it were some rare thing, or of deep sentimental value, then I could see trying to save it, but it's not.

Definitely bag it up - so as not to spread the infestation, & maybe also cut it up before trashing, so as not to tempt someone to rescue it from the trash and do the same.

FWIW