Leafless Willow Leaf Ficus

Mkinback

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About a month ago I was given a willow leaf ficus that had been loosing its leaves. It was in very damp soil, figuring that was the issue, I repotted the tree in a larger pot using a well draining “tropical” mix recommended by the bonsai shop near me.

Since then the tree has continued to loose what leaves were left and the distal part of the branches turned brown and frail. I read that I should cut the dying branches back to where they are white and healthier in order to encourage new growth, but nothing has seemed to happen yet and I am left with a skeleton of a tree with only three main branches.

The tree is in by my bedroom window and I run a humidifier almost everyday for a good 4-5 hours. I love plants but am new to the art of bonsai so I was wondering if anyone thinks there is any hope! I’m planning on holding out and seeing what the summer brings, but I would appreciate any advice or opinions on the matter!
 

Shibui

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Willow leaf fig is less cold hardy than some others and will drop leaves if it gets cold. As mentioned they usually grow again when it gets warmer.
Your fig may be getting a little cool close to the window or it may have been cold before you got it. Make sure it is in a warm place and continue care through winter. Hopefully it will sprout again when it is more comfortable.
 

just.wing.it

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I know lots of people that have problems with tropical plants near windows in winter....its too cold right next to the window.
It'll likely bounce back in summer unless the roots rotted.

Hey man, uhh, also.....there's some weird thing hanging off of the side of your head in your avatar pic....might wanna think about having that looked at.
 

Bonsai Nut

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About a month ago I was given a willow leaf ficus that had been loosing its leaves.
Welcome to the site!

When I kept a willow leaf fig in Chicago, it was all I could do to keep a few leaves on it over the winter - even indoors in a sunny window. Don't panic, and resist the urge to mess with it too much because the tree is probably dormant right now and doesn't have the ability to respond to changes in its environment. Getting it out of swampy soil is a good move... but otherwise keep it warm, sunny and humid (but not wet) and wait for spring.
 

Mkinback

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where are you located? my willow leaves have been known to shed all their leaves in winter, just to grow back in spring.
where are you located? my willow leaves have been known to shed all their leaves in winter, just to grow back in spring.
I live in North Eastern Pennsylvania, definitely not the sunniest place so it here is a good chance that’s the issue.
 
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Mkinback

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Thanks for all the advice everyone! Ill make sure it’s not too cold by the widow and move if need be. Other than that I’ll keep doing what I’ve been doing and see what the growing season brings! Thanks for the encouragement! I’ll post pictures if it come back haha
 
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Michael P

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This is a very common problem with willow leaf ficus kept indoors over the winter in cold climates. With a little luck, it will recover when you move it outside in the spring. To be safe, wait until night time lows do not go below 60F.
 

Carol 83

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Mine drops it's leaves inside every winter, even with good light. It freaked me out the first year, but now I know that's just what it's going to do. It starts growing again when it's back outside in the spring. Be careful not to overwater while it has no leaves.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Willow leaf Ficus comes from an area of the "Wet-Dry" tropics. There are no seasons as we in the USA think of. There is the rainy season, and the dry season, and the two seasons in between where it is not quite wet, and not quite dry.

Key is, when the dry season starts, there are no clouds in the sky at night, meaning nights get cooler as the dry season starts. Cold will tell the tree that it is time to drop leaves and get ready for a drought.

In practice, this means willow leaf ficus tend to drop leaves in autumn, when grown in temperate climates. While the tree is near leafless it is important to avoid overwatering. I have a willow leaf, that I accidentally forgot about. It was in the way when moving trees around, I set it on the attic stairs, a cool unheated attic. I remembered 2 months later. The tree was totally leafless. I set it in front of a window, gave it a good watering, and it sent out new growth everywhere. Not the preferred method, small trees probably would not tolerate the long drought, but this was a willow leaf with a 3 inch diameter trunk, it survived just fine.

So while it has few leaves, let the soil get dry, wait a day or two while dry, then water again. Do not keep the soil constantly wet.

When weather warms, you will see new buds sprouting, then it is time to increase water frequency.

If you bring it indoors in autumn before nights get much below 60 F, it will keep growing all winter.

My indoor lights set up is crowded. I save space by keeping my ficus semi-dormant for the winter. By running it dry and on the cool side, it does not have to take the brightest spot under the lights.
 

Forsoothe!

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Leo is right, there is no reason why anyone should expect all over-wintered tropicals should grow as though there is no quiet season. There are very few places on Earth where such a climate exists. Moisture travels mostly on the winds and in most places the winds shift between passing over bodies of water and bringing rain in one season and passing over dry lands and bringing very little moisture in the alternative season. Plants can adapt to indoor only conditions of even moisture the entire year for years and years and settle into evergreen and slow growth with only very slight growth spurts as sun increases in spring. That is a recipe for slow growth. We in bonsai usually want better growth and put our plants out in high growth conditions in summer, so when we subject them to the substantial differences the plants experience between northern winter protection inside and a nice summer outside, we can expect them to adjust to that and not be evergreen. Their response is normal.
 
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