Ficus dropping leaves - yellowish with black spots - please help!

[Storm_Lord]

Hi everyone,

I have been caring for a Ficus for a few years now. In the last week or so, it started dropping leaves. A few of these leaves are yellowish, while others have brown or black marks on them. I've attached a few photos.

The tree doesn't seem healthy, and I'm not sure how to fix things. Any help would be very much appreciated! This little tree is part of the family and we really don't want to lose it. Here are a few details:

- I live in the south of the United Kingdom.
- I water approximately once per weak by submerging the pot into water for a couple of minutes.
- I use a drop of bonsai feed mixed in with the water.
- I leave the tree by the window you can see in the photos. Sometimes this window is open, at other times it is not.
- I last repotted about 18 months ago.
- When I bought the tree, I was told that it was 25 years old, but that might not be true.

Thank you!!

 

[Paradox]

How often do you water this tree?

I have seen this on my own ficus, both when I didnt water enough and when I overwatered if you can believe thats possible with a ficus

The soil looks kind of crappy and honestly the pot isnt deep enough for this tree in my opinion

 

[penumbra]

I agree with the above at every point. But I also think the old leaves are being shed and the tee does not appear under any major stress. It must have done this before in the 3 years you have had it.

 

[Storm_Lord]

How often do you water this tree?

I have seen this on my own ficus, both when I didnt water enough and when I overwatered if you can believe thats possible with a ficus

The soil looks kind of crappy and honestly the pot isnt deep enough for this tree in my opinion

Hey, thanks for the reply. I water once per week, give or take. I was watering from the bottom, but that might be a bad idea...?

I agree that the soil looks poor. I was thinking of repotting, but this probably isn't the right time of year. Any advice would be great because I really don't know what I'm doing here.

 

[Storm_Lord]

I agree with the above at every point. But I also think the old leaves are being shed and the tee does not appear under any major stress. It must have done this before in the 3 years you have had it.

Thanks for the reply. It has shed leaves in the past, but never quite at this rate. That pile in the fifth photo are all from the last week or so. But maybe this is normal for a Ficus?

 

[penumbra]

Yes, re-pot it now while weather is still hot. Seriously, that is the way to do it. Get some bonsai soil. It makes a huge difference.

 

[Storm_Lord]

Okay. Repot in a bigger pot. Bonsai soil. Got it.

After repotting, should I be doing anything in particular? I'm mainly thinking about my watering regime. I've always watered from below, but someone recently told me that's a bad way to do things.

 

[Paradox]

Hey, thanks for the reply. I water once per week, give or take. I was watering from the bottom, but that might be a bad idea...?

I agree that the soil looks poor. I was thinking of repotting, but this probably isn't the right time of year. Any advice would be great because I really don't know what I'm doing here.

yes summer is the best time to repot a tropical.
I always repot mine around 4th of July but August is fine too since you will be keeping it inside over the winter

 

[Paradox]

Okay. Repot in a bigger pot. Bonsai soil. Got it.

After repotting, should I be doing anything in particular? I'm mainly thinking about my watering regime. I've always watered from below, but someone recently told me that's a bad way to do things.

You will probably need to water more often but you will have to monitor it and learn when it needs water.
I always water mine by pouring water from a cup onto the soil until the water runs out the bottom of the pot, making sure to cover all the surface of the pot. In the summer they are outside. Mine get watered every day during the summer when they are outside and when it is warm inside when I have them inside over the winter. Sometimes in the winter I might water them every other day if the soil is still damp.

Here is a pro tip to learn when your trees need water: Get a wooden chopstick and stick it in the soil and leave it there. Pull it out of the soil every day and look at it and feel it. Water your tree when it is almost dry but dont let it dry out completely. If it is still wet, dont water.
I had chopsticks in my pots for a couple of years until I learned how to recognize that the trees needed water with out it. Watering frequency will change throughout the year as temperatures change, and growth patterns change. My trees typically need less water when they are dormant or in the case of tropicals, when their growth slows down for a couple of months in the winter. Youll need to learn how your trees change over the year.

When my trees are inside for the winter, I keep them in trays and put the pots up on small tiles so they drain well and the tray underneath catches excess water.

Dont worry, you've come to the right place and there are lots of good people here that can help answer your questions
Welcome to the crazy that is bonsai and the crazy things we do for little trees in pots

 

[Guy Smiley]

I am a new guy so take my advice with some caution. As others have said the pot looks a little small and it appears the roots are pushing the tree out of the pot. The best time to repot a ficus is in the summer when the tree is outside and is getting a lot of sun and warm weather. If you are keeping the tree inside year around then there is less of an importance to the timing of repotting of the tree.

I would find a nice pot that is a little larger than your existing pot and go ahead and repot the tree now. I would break up the roots but not cut them back significantly and repot the tree in a nice free draining soil. Give the tree lots of sun or get some grow lights and it will respond with strong growth. If there are any Bonsai clubs local to you could likely fins someone to help you with repotting.

 

[rockm]

Hey, thanks for the reply. I water once per week, give or take. I was watering from the bottom, but that might be a bad idea...?

I agree that the soil looks poor. I was thinking of repotting, but this probably isn't the right time of year. Any advice would be great because I really don't know what I'm doing here.

It is the right time of year to repot tropicals, although the window to do so is closing. The heat of summer is when tropical such as ficus should be repotted. IT is their most active time of year. They recover quickly if left out in the open in sun. I wouldn't wait too much longer, that cruddy soil is keeping the roots too wet. It will complicate winter care.

Pull the tree out of the pot, take a water hose to the roots, wash the old soil out. Replace completely with decent bonsai soil, worked into the root mass as you put the tree back in the pot.

 

[karen82]

The yellow leaves really just look like the plant is dropping old leaves. The brown dried up ones just look like ones that dropped and dried up on the ground for a few days - or are they drying up like that on the plant itself? I've gotten used to my ficus shedding their old leaves a few each day all summer, they definitely lose a few more on the hotter/drier days, but it doesn't seem like the trees are stressed out. They are healthy and start putting on lots of new growth after a few weeks of warm weather. Anyway, your tree looks like it will benefit from repotting, but it doesn't seem unhealthy.

 

[sorce]

These trees are fully capable of living off their own death, new roots growing into dead mushed ones, dying again and repeating the cycle. The top growth looks indicative of this. Only new root tips working, only growth at the end of the branches.

I guess you have parts not wet enough and parts too wet, with a small "decent" zone if you're lucky.

Overwatering doesn't cause root rot to take hold, stagnant anaerobic conditions do. Which will likely be somewhere in that pot. So when you get it into new soil that drains, don't underwater. You should water every day. Preferably as "sprinkly" as you can under the faucet for as long as a duration as the water bill will allow. A head with an aerator is better, more penetrative, than a straight flow. See surface tension.

Muds make duds.

Sorce

 

[Storm_Lord]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. When I posted this, I was only expecting to get one or two suggestions, so I'm pleasantly surprised by all the comments — I'll have to visit these forums more often.

In terms of next steps, I'll be repotting the tree into a larger pot this weekend. Moving forward, I'll switch up my watering approach, following some of these suggestions. Hopefully the tree will start flourishing again, and will forgive me for my prior mistakes.

 

[Paradox]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. When I posted this, I was only expecting to get one or two suggestions, so I'm pleasantly surprised by all the comments — I'll have to visit these forums more often.

In terms of next steps, I'll be repotting the tree into a larger pot this weekend. Moving forward, I'll switch up my watering approach, following some of these suggestions. Hopefully the tree will start flourishing again, and will forgive me for my prior mistakes.

It should. Looking at the pictures, it's not in bad shape but showing some decline with those leaves. You did good by noticing. Observation of our trees regularly is key to picking up potential problems early when we have the best chance to do something about it.

Be warned, we can be a cantankerous bunch, rather passionate and opinionated at times. Don't let that scare you.