Direct sunlight would be outside in direct sun. The sun coming through your windows is already going to be filtered light. It would be very good for your tree to repot into a container with drainage, use something like the 5:1:1 mix and place it right up in front of a southern facing window where it recieves as much light as possible. I grow quite a few ficus benjaminas. They have the same general needs as your tree. Naturally, these trees want as much light as possible. Anything that says they don't like direct light is false. It's just that indoor grown leaves can't handle full outdoor sun unless acclimated. In the winter months, I keep the tree in front of a southern facing window with the addition of grow lights. I have five 55w (250w equivalent) 5500k grow lights above the tree. In the summer, I acclimate the tree over a span on a couple weeks and then place it in full direct sun all summer. That is when it puts out the most growth. Literally grows a couple feet every summer. the tree is 7 feet all and was under 4 feet tall when I got it a year and a half ago. Currently in an 18" terra cotta pot in Al's 5:1:1 mix.

Yeah that sounds like a good idea Sheila...I never thought of something like that? How do those work exactly? And Seil I didn't plant in cardboard as in 'packaging the Rose came in' I mean I had moving style boxes I broke down and then I wet them down really good to put under mulch along the slope to deter weeds. I made sure to leave about 5" or so around each plant bare with a little mulch. I did however leave the soil on it when I planted, I didn't try to make bareroot? You think that could've caused it? I just want to know how to save these ...also it rained last night...not sure how hard because it ended at least an hour or two before I woke up so when I stuck finger in soil down so deep that I had no finger left! It felt pretty moist all the way down...but idk how much rain feel so idk if that could happen from the rain we just had overnight? And today has been overcast with next to no sun all day..so sun wasn't out to dry it out.

Pictures would help a lot; include the whole plant and one of the pot and soil. What did you do when you put it in the 17 inch pot? Put the existing rootball in the pot and surround it with fresh soil or remove the old soil and replace it? What kind of soil was it in and what kind of fresh soil was it? Was it rootbound? It's possible the new pot is too big, making the soil stay very wet for too long, causing roots to suffocate for lack of air to pull oxygen from. If so, the easiest remedy would be to put it back in the old pot and wait until June to repot in a faster draining highly aerated soil that would be harder to overwater. Meanwhile, check out the posts upthread about watering, using a dowel to check soil moisture, and the kinds of soil and light conditions lyratas do best in, and start to water only when the soil at the bottom is the pot is dry. Lenore

Thank you so much for responding (and for talking me off the ledge!) Sorry I wasn't being clear...I have not yet repotted and was waiting until June to do so. I haven't examined the soil closely, but once when I was lifting/transporting the tree to water it, the pot just fell off the plant onto to the ground. it did make some mess but the potting medium pretty much held together in the shape of the pot. So, I'd say at least "old" if not "bad" soil? Should I look at the roots more closely and if so, what am I looking for? (And what would I do if I found it?) If this guy does survive, I will summon up the courage to repot hopefully in Al's 5:1:1 in June if I can manage to find all the right ingredients (been working on that for some time.) Very nervous to repot something this size. I did spray all the other bigger plants in the house and will now do the rest of them (and this one) once a week...thank you! I knew they traveled from plant to plant....but, hitch a ride on me? I might never sleep again knowing that...lol. Also, I haven't fertilized at all--I know I've read somewhere on this Forum that it's good to do a weaker Foliage Pro all year(?) but I wasn't sure if I should just initiate that at this time of year--even at a weaker strength, much less when the plant is stressed? I'm thinking I should wait for new growth to start fertilizing? Thank you, thank you for taking the time to help!!!!