Willow ficus hit with frost

[tangotango]

brand new to the site looking for some knowledge and experience to advise me regarding a 28 yr old willow ficus which was gifted to me a few years ago by a landscape architect whom I crossed paths with while fulfilling an internship in beautiful Beaufort, SC. I've learned a lot from keeping her alive but haven't done any major pruning or other cultural practices since taking ownership.

Currently residing in Cincinnati, Ohio I irresponsibly allowed the ficus to get hit with a major frost a couple weeks ago. I usually bring her in when temps get in the 40's. She is currently in the house without a single leaf, all dropped soon after the frost. The branches are extremely dried out and breaking.

Humidity in the house is low but temps remain 72. Not sure what to do or if it's too late. I do have indoor lights that I supplement other plants throughout the winter that I could utilize.

Any advice is appreciated.

Semper Fi

 

[sorce]

Damn...

Welcome to Crazy!

I would just leave it out of drafts with as much light as possible.

Messing with trying to change humidity with tents and all that jazz could lead to the the dead tips to start rotting and blah.

But someone might have a more scientific understanding of what it's doing, if that's what you're looking for!

Sorce

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Keep it at room temps (don't go crazy and try to overheat it), though it enjoys humidity wherever you can provide it. Give it as much light as you can.

You should see new buds in a couple of weeks - assuming the roots didn't freeze. I completely defoliate my ficus at least once a year... your tree looks just like mine when I do so.

It is really important you DON'T let the new buds die because a ficus can throw a second growth in a season without too much trouble... but a third growth can be really taxing and will weaken the tree tremendously, with likely branch loss and/or die back if not outright death.

I should also add... don't do ANYTHING else. Don't prune, fertilize, repot... wait until it pops new growth.

And if the roots froze and the tree is dead... there is nothing else that can be said However I like to think positively

 

[AZbonsai]

I would wait it out until it starts to bud back and then see how low you might have to trim it back....watch the over watering. I have had ficus frosted so bad the bark came off but they came back....a little shorter

 

[Random User]

"a little shorter "

That actually made me laugh out loud...

 

[Bonsai Nut]

watch the over watering

Yes! I should have said this, but if a ficus doesn't have leaves, water transpiration is next to nothing. Don't water until the soil is dry at the surface and only "moist" throughout. Make sure you don't rot out the roots by having them sit in wet soil 24/7.

 

[tangotango]

Thanks to all for the quick responses. Seems like a nice to little community to be a part of. I'll be sure to let y'all know how everything goes.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

If you're ever uncertain if the tree is still alive or not, scratch the bark. If it's green underneath it's still alive. If it's brown it's a gonner unfortunately.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I have a Ficus from Mexico, looks like a willow leaf, but it is somewhat different. Mine can sit for as much as 3 or 4 months, totally leafless, and then it will suddenly wake up and start growing. So give your ficus time. Don't assume it is dead until it has had 4 or more months without leaves.

Avoid over watering. Don't do anything else, no repotting, no fertilizer, just water, light and hope for the best.

There is a very good chance it will recover.

 

[namnhi]

From the photo, this one looks dead. The limbs look like they are about to peeled. I would do the scratch test to see which part still alive and which are dead.

 

[Mellow Mullet]

If the trunk froze, it is dead; but if there is something down low that survived, it will come back out. I did the same thing a couple of years ago. Check out this thread: http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/woe-is-me-old-man-winter-1-john-zero.17699/page-2

 

[tangotango]

Good news....but yes, much shorter...lol

 

[_#1_]

There's something very satisfying seeing new buds popping out and greens growing

Good save on this one!

 

[Potawatomi13]

A lesson learned but survived. Congratulations.

 

[sorce]

Nice!

Thanks for the update!

Sorce

 

[tangotango]

She's busting at the seams....suggestions on choosing new leaders or should I trim all growth and wait for it find its own dominant leader?
Any suggestions, ideas or past experience is greatly appreciated.

 

[tangotango]

The new and improved yet much shorter structure.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Let it be for now. Wait until the shoots extend a bit more, then cut each cluster back to one shoot each. Then let them grow until the tree has recovered. It needs all the growth it can get to get healthy again.

 

[ConorDash]

I want someone to comment on that gnarly nebari.. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like that before.
It could be really attractive or really ugly, I just don't know! Someone tell me lol.

 

[LanceMac10]

If I wanted to keep this fig, I wouldn't even show it a set of scissors until 2020.....sawzall to the roots this summer, yes.....but no snippy-snippy.