ficus dropping leaves

Hi....I picked up a ficus at Lowes the other day. I repotted it immediately with potting mix and tried not to stress it out too much. It's starting to drop leaves and a few are turning brown and yellow. What should I do? Thanks!

This is normal. ;o) Ficus *hate* change of any kind. Find a permanet place for it, and don't move it. It will adjust to it's new surroundings, and be just fine.

If it looses too many leaves and you are not happy with it, you can cut it back (I chopped the whole top 1/2 of mine off), and it will have new growth in about 2 weeks. Mine has filled in so much fuller and nice. But give it a chance first....it just needs to get used to it's new home. Good luck! Jenny

Thanks Jenny! I was hoping that was it.

How much water should I giving it during this "transitional period?"

Angie

hmmm. That I'm not sure about. But don't let it dry out. I would say moderate water. Do you have a saucer under it.....and drainage holes?

I agree. I inherited a lovely ficus tree when my hubbie and I got married 4 years ago. She was on the brink of death from severe neglect (his parents' house!!!) But a lot of babying paid off and she leafed out again quite nicely. Then, we moved, again(!) Leaves *everywhere* (though she didn't go completely bald thankfully). Two years in roughly the same place, then she was beautiful again. *THEN* I got the bright idea to move her upstairs to our daughter's bedroom because there's a great plant window up there and I needed room for the Christmas tree. By the way, lugging a 6'Hx3'W Ficus up the steps and down the hall and through a doorway isn't an easy task by any means and I definately would discourage anyone from doing it!!! Anyhow, about a month ago she came back down (leaf-city in my daughter's bedroom!!!) and now she's losing *A LOT* of leaves again. This time I made HUBBY move her, though going down steps is easier than going up! So, due to my apparent stupidity, I now have all these leaves to clean up every other day. Oi vey. So when you find a good stable place for yours, DON'T MOVE HER (more than 6 feet away) from that spot! ;) Still I love my (not-so) little 'Willomena' (hubby's name for her and I don't think he even knew at the time he started calling her that that her little scientific name was 'Bejamina' which is waaay scarily coincidental!) and cleaning up leaves is a small labor of love I can live with to have such a beautiful TREE in my parlor. So much nicer than those fake ones with the silk leaves you can buy at Wal-Mart(!) :)

My 15 yr old tree loses her leaves if I so much as trun the pot around....very touchy prissy little beauties these ficus. But I love her just the same.
I braided several of the smaller branches to the main trunk some 10 years ago now, and the effect is pretty cool.

Rikerbear! Neat idea!! Do you have a pic of your braided ficus? I'd love to see it!

Jenny

I'll try and get a good pic tomorrow when there's some better lighting. :-)

Yep, I have drainage for her. I think I'll just leave her alone and let her adapt. Mine is braided also, it does give it a nice effect. Thanks everyone for the replies.

Ooh, yes RikerBear, I would like to see that, too. I just tried that with a small tree of mine and my husband was afraid I was going to break it! Maybe if he can see the picture he'll realize what I was trying to do. :)

AKelley,

I may sound like a recording on this subject, BUT!

When you repotted your plant, did you, by any chance, add extra soil on top of the plant from the way it was growing? Like--if you had an 8" pot and you put it in a 10" pot, it would also be 2" deeper. One must NEVER add any more than a sprinkling of soil on top of the level the plant was used to growing at. Always make up the difference in depth by putting the extra 2" on the bottom. If you just put your Ficus in the new pot and filled it up with soil, it WILL kill your plant!

I know Ficuses do not like to be moved and streesed out in any way. Like a temperamental child, it will rebel and drop a bunch of leaves. BUT--if you DID add all this soil in top, the plant may never recover. Take it back out and add the extra 2" at the bottom and then set your plant in the middle and just fill up around the sides. Firm down gwntly, water in and let it BE for a month or so. It needs to "recover" from this trauma!

Don't forget to mist your Ficus--keep it clean, shower it off now and then, and do not ovewrwater. Good drainage is a MUST! If it has too much of all that "twiggy" growth, prune all that small stuff away and leave a nice framework of the main branches. In time, it will look beautiful! Gitagal

Hi Gitagal,

Nope, I didn't put any soil on top. It was a bigger pot, but I put new soil in the bottom. She's growing at the same depth she's used to., just has a new home. I think the leaf dropping is stopping.....either that or my dogs are eating the leaves. : )

Thank you for all this advice, everyone. I had a ficus die several years ago, and now I'm trying again with a small starter-size plant. It's doing very well so far, and now I think I know what I need to in order to keep it doing well! I really love the looks of them, and I'm determined to succeed this time. :)

I have had Ficus trees (yep, they are that big) for 20+ years; given to me when a college student left town. Although I am oddly allergic to the sap, I dearly love my three trees. I have pruned out tiny scrubby growth and branches which greatly contributes to their tree-like shape. Currently indoors, they love a semi-shaded western porch and an occasional spray with a garden hose. It won't be long before temperatures get above 60 at night here and they will make the trek to the outdoor porch. I have learned that because they are a deciduous plant, loss of leaves is not a death sentence. They are adjusting to a change, generally in light and/or temperature. I had a co-worker bring me what she termed "a totally dead twig" and with some water and strong light, it returned from the dead.

I've never had a large benjamina because as soon as they get to a decent size, my daughter will have just moved and "needs" one...sigh. Or I give it as a present to someone who really admires it (and then usually kills it-needless to say, I've stopped doing that). I started another one last summer, and I turn it every time I water it, and it never loses leaves - none of the ones I had ever did. is that wierd, or do they just get tempermental as they get older and larger? Thanks.

Hmm, I have read that, although some Ficus species are deciduous, the F. benjamina is an evergreen. In that case, ceedub, you must have a green thumb and keep you plants happy. :)