Ficus Microcarpa - Browning Leaves (help?)

[Rbonsai2]

Hello!

I recently repotted my Ficus Microcarpa and after 3 weeks in a more indirectly lit spot, I officially moved the tree back to its original west-facing window that gets a lot of sunlight. I have noticed a few things since repotting and I am hoping to get some opinions.

First, a tiny whitish/yellowish/transparent insect was spotted in the soil (not observed underneath any leaves or the trunk area). I have had this tree for 4 years, and have seen TINY black insects in the soil before, and they were harmless, but these transparent ones are new to me and I'm wondering if there is a problem with them?

Second, I noticed a few beads of a golden "sweat" on the bottom of some leaves for the past two days. I say "sweat" because when I rub the beads off, they are liquid. I attached a photo for reference. I've never noticed this before either, and I wonder if it is due to overwatering or if it could be due to bug infestations?

Third, just today I started seeing browning on the leaves. Please see photos as well. Again, not sure if this is related to the bugs, water, new window-sill location, or the fact that I recently cleaned the leaves with a damped cloth?

I would love to get some opinions, as I am still quite new with caring for bonsais and have never experienced problems with this tree in the past.

Thank you so very much in advance.


This is tree.

These are what the beads of "sweat" look like.

Finally, here are the browning spots. I'm seeing more and more coming in...

 

[Housguy]

What kind of soil do you have, is it just rocks? You have had it four years inside? Inside is not terrible by a window with strong light, but outside it would be happier. I wonder if the browning on the leaves is some type of fungus, have you sprayed or treated your tree for any fungal or pest problems?

 

[Shibui]

Have you had some hot, sunny days? My guess is sunburn. The marks don't have the defined edges of fungal problem or pest damage and I have never heard of a reaction to wiping the leaves.
If the tree has been sheltered for a few weeks that is probably long enough for the leaves to lose some sun hardiness. Sudden shift into direct sun can then cause sunburn - similar principle to us going out without sunscreen after winter.
Long ago I noticed that trees took a few weeks to adjust to any change of position. Now I try to keep them in the same spot as much as possible, even after root pruning.
Figs are tough though. It should survive this. Any new leaves will be sun hardy

 

[Rbonsai2]

Thank you! I've heard that figs are tough so I'm hopeful it will recover... but I want to make sure that there aren't any deeper problems first.

The soil is a special "bonsai mix" that I bought from my local nursery. I had this tree for 4 years in the same soil that I got it, so this is the first time that it got root pruning and new soil with me. It is also the first time it is in a bonsai pot (it came in a metal pot).

I suppose it could also be just a sunburn as well, but it has only been sitting on the windowsill for two days now and they have both been quite cloudy. I also find it strange that I have been seeing those brown "beads of sweat" under the leaves. It is a lot of different strange things happening to the leaves and I don't want to risk letting it recover for a sunburn when in fact it could be fungal/bug problems.

I haven't treated it for anything yet (neither fungus nor bugs) since I don't know where to start. What do you guys suggest?

 

[Forsoothe!]

Start with something basic, like washing the tree in soapy water. You can buy a 1 quart/liter spray bottle and disperse some dishwashing liquid soap like Dawn in water with causing foaming and squirt that on all the side of the tree and leaves and rinse that off with clear water. That will get rid of the golden drops and potentially some bugs. The next level of action might be to spray the whole plant and drench the soil with 1 to 2% horticultural oil like Pyola (there are many). That makes the leaf surfaces unfriendly to insects and kills eggs and larva in the soil. Another step may be to treat with a systemic like Bayer insecticides, again, there are many variations with and without fungicides and/or fertilizers for roses and shrubs and trees. They all work for bonsai, too.

It would be instructive for you to flesh out the narrative as a whole story rather than dribbling pieces of the history of the plant and your care. For instance, you didn't mention repotting for the first time in four years until after some discussion of symptoms moving it to different light exposures. The plant, its history, your changes, and possible sources of bugs and disease pathogens is a whole, and all the moving parts should be stated in chronological order so that the geniuses here can zero in on the diagnosis and solution(s). This is not a complaint or criticism of you. Maybe we need a standardized form for new people to fill out...

 

[Daniel son STL]

Well that little brown insect on the edge of the leaf is scale. If you see 1 there’s most likely going to be more. A lot of fungicides have insecticides mixed in and often lust scale on the bottle.

Get rid of the rocks, unless your into fairy gardens that is

 

[Forsoothe!]

Keep the rocks unless you are subservient to what other people think is their right to set your standards, likes and dislikes, in which case you will be at the mercy of 5,743,891 different opinions by every type of control freak on God's green earth.

 

[Rbonsai2]

Hi Daniel! I don't believe those are scales per se, because when I dab at the brown droplet with a tissue, it quickly gets absorbed as liquid (and it is also not sticky).

But I do believe that as you all mentioned, there might be a fungal/insect problem. I will try to use soapy water and then horticultural oil as Forsoothe suggested. Do you have any suggestions as to how long I should wait after using the soapy water to then do the horticultural treatment?

I'll also try to be more thorough moving forward with my descriptions as well. Thanks for pointing that out

 

[Daniel son STL]

Wouldn’t be scale then, although I’ve seen scale that exact shade of brown.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Hi Daniel! I don't believe those are scales per se, because when I dab at the brown droplet with a tissue, it quickly gets absorbed as liquid (and it is also not sticky).

But I do believe that as you all mentioned, there might be a fungal/insect problem. I will try to use soapy water and then horticultural oil as Forsoothe suggested. Do you have any suggestions as to how long I should wait after using the soapy water to then do the horticultural treatment?

I'll also try to be more thorough moving forward with my descriptions as well. Thanks for pointing that out

Do the soap, then later the hort oil if you see one bug or anything unexplainable. The systemic is a preventive measure.