Tiger Bark Yellowing leaves, black dots on leaves, drooping

[abean]

Hi! So I’ve had my tiger bark for about 5 months now and this is the first time I’m experiencing this excessive dropping and yellowing leaves. I’ve had a few yellow leaves in the past, like one or two, but I noticed recently that my tree has a lot of yellowing leaves and they have these little black dots on the leaves. Some of them fall right off if you touch them, some fell off naturally but I’m not sure what’s happening. I don’t have a really special set up for my tree either. It gets plenty of light and has friends all around it.
I water my tree once the soil is dry, perhaps I’m letting it get too dry? The bulk of the yellow leaves are right in the “center” of the tree. The leaves around the outskirts are dark green. There’s still new growth on all the branches but the drooping leaves and the yellowing to brown is disturbing me. Not sure what to do.
I’d also like to mention I live in NYS and we just had a big snow storm so I’ve been running my heater alot more. I also noticed a bit of a clear crystallization on one leaf, but when I touched it, it crumbled/cracked right off.
One more thing, when I received the tree, there was a silver wire around the base of the tree. I never removed it. Should I cut that off? Or is it too late, I should leave it? I will attach pictures too. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Snorlax99]

I'm no expert, but the black dots look like thrips to me. I had them on my ficus microcarpa. My solution was to remove every leaf with spots and it went away

Saving a Ficus With a Thrips Infestation

Ficus is a genus that includes various species of evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs,...

homeguides.sfgate.com

 

[Carol 83]

water my tree once the soil is dry, perhaps I’m letting it get too dry?

Probably. Ficus are very tolerant but shouldn't be left to dry out completely. And indoors, give it as much light as you can. The wire you see is probably the wire used to wire it into the pot.

 

[ShadyStump]

If the wire isn't cutting into the tree yet that shouldn't be the issue. It looks like it could be biting a bit a bit, but I can't tell. If it is, it could be cutting off sap flow up the tree, strangling it of nutrients. Had that problem with a couple benjaminas of mine; the roots grew much faster than I realized, and the wire cut into them necessitating emergency out of season root work.
I'm not positive that's what is happening judging by the leaves. Others would know better than I.

 

[Shibui]

I often get yellow leaves on ficus in winter. Mostly affects older leaves similar to yours. I suspect it is fungal which I had attributed to the soil being too wet and cold for too long.
More affected leaves in the interior could point to lack of airt circulation aggravating any fungal problems.
Ficus do not like cold. Check min temps, especially if the tree is near windows at night.
Ficus are relatively tolerant of low light levels but indoors in winter without extra light source can be too much dark. Consider extra lighting for indoor plants in winter.
Ficus are quite tolerant of dry conditions but still suffer if they get too dry. Indoor heating can dry soil quicker than we expect. Partly dry is good. Completely dry could be too much.

Black dots are not clear enough in the photos. Some pests are tiny and black. Check if they move. Some scale insects make black shelters. Check if the black dots come lose to reveal an even tinier bug under. Black dots can also be sooty mould caused by sugary excretions from other pests. Look for brown scales or aphids, both of which love indoor conditions.

I also suspect the silver wire is holding the tree into the pot. Check underneath to see if it comes out the drain holes. Tie wires like this are not usually a problem and are normally left in place until the tree is repotted in a few years. Check that it is not cutting into the roots or trunk. If you suspect any problem just cut the wire and move it out of the way or pull it out from underneath.

Most ficus are tough enough to bounce back when conditions improve so while you still have green tips it should be OK.