Ficus help

[VAFisher]

Howdy tropical nuts. Looking for a little help here as I am not a tropical guy. A few weeks ago, I helped my Mom repot a big ficus that was very rootbound and becoming difficult to water. She keeps this plant indoors in a sunroom during winter and puts it outside on the deck during the summer. During the repot, I removed several really fat tuber roots and got fairly aggressive with it. It went back into the same pot with potting soil as a mix. It had been living happily in potting soil for years. Everything seemed fine afterwards until she sent me these pics today. Does this look like a root/water issue? These brown leaves are falling off but she says new growth is coming out. Thanks for the help.




Oh, she also mentioned that she checked for insects and didn't find anything.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Cut all the leaves off at the base of the leaf, leaving the petiole connected to the branch. In a month you'll have a whole new canopy.

 

[Hartinez]

Yeah I think I’d do what @Forsoothe! suggested. Leave all the healthy growth but remove the diseased stuff. They’d probably just pull right off pretty easily as well. Though it’s a different situation, my biggish ficus drops all of its indoor leaves when I put it outside and it flushes right out.

 

[luvinthemountains]

all the leaves

This could be misconstrued. I think @Forsoothe! meant cut all the damaged leaves off. Ficus benjamina respond unpredictably to total defoliation. It may come back, or it may not.

 

[Grovic]

Howdy tropical nuts. Looking for a little help here as I am not a tropical guy. A few weeks ago, I helped my Mom repot a big ficus that was very rootbound and becoming difficult to water. She keeps this plant indoors in a sunroom during winter and puts it outside on the deck during the summer. During the repot, I removed several really fat tuber roots and got fairly aggressive with it. It went back into the same pot with potting soil as a mix. It had been living happily in potting soil for years. Everything seemed fine afterwards until she sent me these pics today. Does this look like a root/water issue? These brown leaves are falling off but she says new growth is coming out. Thanks for the help.

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Oh, she also mentioned that she checked for insects and didn't find anything.

A lot of water evaporates from the leaves, that water is usually assimilated by the roots when you water, since you removed the roots, the tree is not able to absorb enough water to supply the leaves. From my experience, if you keep the leaves, they will remain in a state of agony until they drop, the thing is that before that happens they'll also dehydrate some branches and even trunk portions in their attempt to survive. They'll drop anyway, by cutting the leaves as previously suggested by other members you'll save some moisture that can be used for recovery. It will recover its foliage.

 

[Grovic]

A lot of water evaporates from the leaves, that water it is usually assimilated by the roots when you water, since you removed the roots, the tree is not able to absorb enough water to supply the leaves. From my experience, if you keep the leaves, they will remain in a state of agony until they drop, the thing is that before that happens they'll also dehydrate some branches and even trunk portions in their attempt to survive. They'll drop anyway, by cutting the leaves as previously suggested by other members you'll save some moisture that can be used for recovery. It will recover its foliage.

Also, my experience is with F. microcarpa, yours seems to be a wheeping fig or F. benjamina, maybe keep a few leaves if you want to be safe.

 

[VAFisher]

Thanks all. A root issue due to the repot was my thought. But figured I would run it by some people with actual tropical experience.

 

[sorce]

How closely did the Repot coincide with the move out this year?

Sorce

 

[VAFisher]

How closely did the Repot coincide with the move out this year?

Sorce

Several weeks later. I wanted to wait a little longer, but she wanted it done, and you aren't supposed to talk back to your Mom so...

 

[Carol 83]

you aren't supposed to talk back to your Mom so...

Tell my son that.

 

[sorce]

Several weeks later. I wanted to wait a little longer, but she wanted it done, and you aren't supposed to talk back to your Mom so...

Seems more sun than repotting. Perhaps just both.

I wouldn't worry much.

Sorce

 

[Gustavo Martins]

I agree that the tree is just adjusting to the ‘new’ balance between roots and leaves. Many people completely defoliate ficus when repotting. I have never done that and I usually do not loose many leaves. But then again, I only have F microcarpa and totally different climate. Although most say that tropicais should be reported in summer I repot mine back in March when the weather is still quite amenable. So there is not much demand for water then. This is my experience. Hope it helps

 

[Hartinez]

Tell my son that.

Took the words right out of my mouth!!

 

[VAFisher]

Tell my son that.

I'm 50, and she's 74, so I think we're long past the rebellious stage. Haha.

 

[Forsoothe!]

This could be misconstrued. I think @Forsoothe! meant cut all the damaged leaves off. Ficus benjamina respond unpredictably to total defoliation. It may come back, or it may not.

No, I mean all the leaves. This is the time of year to denude and get a whole new canopy. The existing leaves are not being supported by the roots anyway and not producing anything. Better that the whole canopy goes right now and the tree will refoliate as much as it can support, which means smaller foliage, too.

 

[LanceMac10]

If it's anything but new growth, discard with extreme prejudice....hell, just go to town.

Deed done Saturday...had a wicked scale infestation, worst I've seen. My neighbors tree, it was a glazed bush when brought out few weeks ago. Lil' buggers don't like cold apparently, so it looks pretty clean, at the moment.....



all ready bubbling up....



even yours being a benjii, I would still remove any old/damaged growth in light of a thorough re-pot.


...if you were wondering, leaf on this variety comes in displaying a nice red.....