Ficus binnendijkii 'Alii' prefers bright, indirect sun; moist, but not soaked soil; extra humidity can be provided by a humidifier or a tray of pebbles beneath the pot, but don't let the pot sit in the water as the soil will wick the water and root rot is fatal. The dark patches may be "sunburn" from getting too bright sun or from lack of extra humidity or a combination of the two. Keep spraying those stinking spider mites! Those stinkin' bugs...I too have an infestation now. Good luck!

D - is the tree now largely defoliated, other than the newly emerged small branching shown above - can we get a look at the rest of the canopy? Where do you live? I'm looking for some reference to a large city near you or something that will indicate what your weather patterns are likely to be for the next 2 months. You're probably going to have to unpot and inspect the roots. I can say that if the tree is already largely defoliated, I'd strongly encourage you to get after the roots and reset the clock back to the point where your tree again has at least the opportunity to grow at near it's genetic potential. If you leave the plant/roots to their own devices, you actually ensure a slow and steady decline. It's important to realize that the growth and vitality of plants are negatively affected by root congestion at about the point where the root/soil mass can be lifted from the pot intact. Once the planting has reached that stage, potting up has less and less rejuvenating effect on the plant. Here is a copy/paste job that uses a sliding scale to illustrate the difference between what happens to trees/plants left to their own devices (no root work - only potting-up) vs trees where root maintenance is a regular part of the maintenance program. You can read the full thread here, but here is the part I referred to: In plants that are potted-up, rootage becomes entangled. As root diameters increase, portions of roots constrict flow of water and nutrients through other roots, much the same as in the case of girdling or encircling roots on trees grown in-ground. The ratio of fine, feeder roots to more lignified and perennial roots becomes skewed to favor the larger, (practically speaking) useless roots. Initial symptoms of poor root conditions are progressive diminishing of branch extension and reduced vitality. As rootage becomes continually compressed and restricted, branch extension stops and individual branches might die as water/nutrient translocation is further compromised. Foliage quality may not (important to understand) indicate the tree is struggling until the condition is severe, but if you observe your trees carefully, you will find them increasingly unable to cope with stressful conditions - too much/little water, heat, sun, etc. Trees that are operating under conditions of stress that has progressed to strain, will usually be diagnosed in the end as suffering from attack by insects or other bio-agents while the underlying cause goes unnoticed. I want to mention that I draw distinct delineation between simply potting up and repotting. Potting up temporarily offers room for fine rootage to grow and do the necessary work of water/nutrient uptake, but these new roots soon lignify, while rootage in the old root mass continues to grow and become increasingly restrictive. The larger and larger containers required for potting-up & the difficulty in handling them also makes us increasingly reluctant to undertake even potting-up, let alone undertake the task of repotting/root-pruning which grows increasingly difficult with each up-potting. So we are clear on terminology, potting up simply involves moving the plant with its root mass and soil intact, or nearly so, to a larger container and filling in around the root/soil mass with additional soil. Repotting, on the other hand, includes the removal of all or part of the soil and the pruning of roots, with an eye to removing the largest roots, as well as those that would be considered defective. Examples are roots that are dead, those growing back toward the center of the root mass, encircling, girdling or j-hooked roots, and otherwise damaged roots. I often explain the effects of repotting vs potting up like this: Let's rate growth/vitality potential on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best. We're going to say that trees in containers can only achieve a growth/vitality rating of 9, due to the somewhat limiting effects of container culture. Lets also imagine that for every year a tree goes w/o repotting or potting up, its measure of growth/vitality slips by 1 number, That is to say you pot a tree and the first year it grows at a level of 9, the next year, an 8, the next year a 7. Lets also imagine we're going to go 3 years between repotting or potting up. Here's what happens to the tree you repot/root prune: year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 repot year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 repot year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 You can see that a full repotting and root pruning returns the plant to its full potential within the limits of other cultural influences for as long as you care to repot/root prune. Looking now at how woody plants respond to only potting up: year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 pot up year 1: 8 year 2: 7 year 3: 6 pot up year 1: 7 year 2: 6 year 3: 5 pot up year 1: 6 year 2: 5 year 3: 4 pot up year 1: 5 year 2: 4 year 3: 3 pot up year 1: 4 year 2: 3 year 3: 2 pot up year 1: 3 year 2: 2 year 3: 1 This is a fairly accurate illustration of the influence tight roots have on a woody plant's growth/vitality. You might think of it for a moment in the context of the longevity of bonsai trees vs the life expectancy of most trees grown as houseplants, the difference between 4 years and 400 years, lying primarily in how the roots are treated. There is also a thread on this forum that addresses the care and cultural preferences of Ficus trees in containers that you may or may not have seen. I hope you find it helpful and that you reply with additional questions or concerns in addition to the info I inquired about. Thank you for the kind words, Karen. Al

All trees shed leaves (or needles)just like humans shed their hair. It is natural for leaves to drop off. But ANOTHER cause of leaves dying and dropping is insufficient nutrients. The older foliage is sacrificed for the health of the newer growth. Fertilizer is needed and with Ficus trees, a mild solution of fertilizer should be given every one to two weeks.

Roots were kept moist throughout. Cleared off every bit of soil we could and untangled roots, then removed lower portion. I did recognize that it was more like regular soil and have been letting it dry fully (2.5 weeks before 2nd watering). I check by digging my finger in as low as I can. For the first year I was watering every 2-3 weeks. I would not be surprised to hear that I overpotted. The pot used to contain the plastic one that the tree came in for the first year, and I moved into the containing pot instead when repotting since the plastic one was a mess and cracking.