Rehabitate an old ficus benjamina?

My weeping fig is close to 30 years old. In that time, it has gradually moved up in pot size and now is a large tree about 12' tall and 8' wide in a great big pot. The problem is that it's not looking very good now. The leaves are sparse and it has internal sections of dead branches. It is also dominating the living room. I live in a cold climate, so it can't go outside; I think it would really like to retire to Florida, but that's not in the cards.

Is there a way to rehabilitate potted trees like this? How would you approach it? Could it just be near the end of its life?

You can prune out the old dead growth with no ill effects.

If you're feeling real brave and brawny (LOL) you could even unpot, root prune and re-pot into fresh soil in the same pot.

Al's the ficus expert 'round here....hopefully he'll see this.

Sounds like an impressive specimen!
Do you have a photo?

Poor baby has been lovely in the past, but not at the top of its game now, I'm afraid. I'll post a pic when the morning calms down a bit. This tree was given to me as a graduation gift a hundred years or so ago, and I would hate to lose it. It has moved all over the country with us in hanging garment boxes. I don't think it appreciates the dry conditions here in the CO mountains---there is plenty of light, but the humidity is quite low despite running a humidifier under it (and for my orchids) in the winter.

I know that what it needs is repotted--but right now the task looks like repotting a giant sequoia. I suppose my husband and I would tackle it if we knew just what to do. I'm hoping for advice on the repotting process and on how to trim back the top growth. Thanks!

Oh, my.....it is still quite impressive!!

I can see your point, comparing it's re-potting to that of a sequoia!!! LOL!

We'll just have to try to find Al......I'd prefer that he give you advice on this one.
I'll see what I can do.

I would give anything for windows such as yours!

Hi, Mehera - and thanks Nan, for the kind words & vote of confidence.

As is typical in old containerized trees, soil in the original rootball calcifies and turns (literally) as hard as stone. This has the effect of the largest roots growing in concrete, with no room for additional layers of cells to be laid down. The tree is being girdled, just as surely as if you wrapped a wire around the roots. The only difference between appropriate treatment of bonsai trees that are passed from generation to generation, and the treatment your tree is receiving is attention to rootage. Bonsai roots are tended to regularly. The largest roots are removed to create room for the only important roots in container culture - the fine, feeder roots. At the same time, old soil that creates risk of soil collapse (lack of air & too much water) and the calcification I mentioned, is removed and replaced with fresh soil.

The first symptoms of this hardening or compacting of the root mass is diminished branch extension (you can see this effect by noting the decreasing distance between leaf bundle scars on branches), usually accompanied by the death of individual branches. In some trees, water moves upward in a near vertical path. In these trees, the death of individual branches is very pronounced, as roots tend to "supply" individual branches. In other trees, water is better able to move diagonally in the tree as it travels upward. These trees show a less pronounced effect on individual branches from root constriction. Ficus b. is about in the middle, so when it begins to show individual branch dieback, the problem is usually advanced or severe.

Are you gutsy? Nan wants to know. lolol Want to save your tree? You need to decide now, because w/o intervention, you'll likely see continued decline in vitality and uncontrollable insect infestations as the trees energy reserves are depleted. Most of the compounds that "fight insects off" are by-products of photosynthesis and plant metabolism. Slowing of these processes means decreasing resistance to insects and pathogens.

Your tree is a nice specimen, but it could be substantially reduced & look better than it does now. The ideal window for reducing your tree substantially is closing quickly. It should be done before the middle of Aug in your zone to allow the tree to recover enough energy to make it through the winter. How to proceed? Unpot the tree. Saw off the bottom half of the roots. Remove all the soil from the roots. Then, remove another 50% of the remaining roots, concentrating on only the largest. Repot in a soil that drains freely (I can help here, depending on how serious you are about this tree) and that will retain it's structure for several years. I would avoid any soil with a substantial peat component. As you work on the roots, keep them misted so they don't dry. When repotting, work soil into the roots to eliminate air pockets. You will have other questions if you decide to complete the work, if so, I can help with additional instructions.

IMO, the tree is attractive and well worth saving.

Good luck - whatever your decision.

Al

Thank you very much Al; this is exactly what I wanted to know. I think we will do pretty much what we need to to give the tree a new lease on life.

Can you pot terrestrial trees with some of the inert ingredients from orchid mixes to maintain the structure of the soil over time? The other thing is the top structure: if you do the root ball surgery as you describe, isn't it necessary to do extensive pruning up top as well? I would love to end up with a reinvigorated, smaller tree.

Hi mehera1

IMO, this is not just any old tree. It is a priceless personal heirloom and you should consider a second opinion. I am a professional interior plantscaper (supposedly retired). Among other things, I used to run one of the leading interior plantscape companies in L.A. I’m very interested in exploring better ways of using the web and digital imagery to diagnose and present remedies for plants in buildings problems. You did a better job than most in posting your photo.

I have a lot on my plate right now but I will post my recommendations if you are interested. A few questions are; Is the planter real terracotta or faux? How long has the tree been in this specific location? How often do you give it water and can you estimate how much. I see it's in a drainage saucer (yuk). What is the window direction? Can you estimate roughly how many leaves have dropped and over what period of time? All yellow? You are about 2 hrs from Denver, correct? I'm curious...what is your elevation?

I spent a lot of time in Boulder during my IBM days. I was an east coaster back then. You live in a beautiful state and I have very fond memories of my time in Boulder and some wonderful driving tours in the Rockies exploring old mining towns. .

The photo below will give you some idea of how Ben might look after pruning. The photo is grade school quality but I think you can get a general idea. I am not a graphic designer.

BTW, I’ve seen Ficus benjamina trees that looked far worse than yours. This tree will be around for a long time…probably someday a joyful memory of you for those close to you.

Just Google Greenscaper for more information about me.

Well, you'll hear that Rx often: "Prune the canopy commensurately with the amount of root reduction." However, it makes better sense to leave the canopy intact & shelter the tree from direct sun and drying wind. The growth regulator auxin is primarily produced in the apical meristems (growing tips of branches). Auxin flows to the roots where it stimulates root generation and division. Pruning the canopy eliminates a large portion of auxin production, which has the effect of retarding root development.

It's very late here, so I'll be back tomorrow to talk a little about soil choice. In the meantime, if you want an article I wrote about Ficus b. culture, send an e-mail & I'll forward it. I also had an article published in this months edition of "The American Bonsai Society Journal" that gives a somewhat technical overview of container soils and how water behaves in soils. If you're interested in that, I can forward as well. It should be very helpful in understanding container culture.

Al

This is the soil I use for tropical trees. It's a mix of equal parts of a high-fired clay granule (Turface), crushed granite (grower grit), and screened pine bark (I now use fir bark in most woody plant soils. This soil will remain structurally sound for longer than what would be an appropriate interval between repots, and will hold water and nutrients well, at the same time as offering ample assurance that over-watering will not be an issue.

You should be able to find these ingredients easily if you want to make this soil, or you could substitute something for what you don't have. From the articles I sent, you can easily see how important air in the soil is to o/a plant vitality, and how this plant, in particular, appreciates a well-aerated soil.

Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

Al

Thank you Al for the well written articles and for this soil photo. I'm surprised to see how much it is like orchid mix, except the particle size is smaller. I'm imagining that such a mix would necessitate more frequent watering than we have been doing because it is more open. We will definitely look into this and when we do the big repot, I'll post photos and you can all cross your fingers for me!

Hi mehera1,

You don’t need to be a master of anything other than your own mind to do what I’m going to recommend. Your specimen Ficus tree is anything but a bonsai and not a typical “house plant” either. It does not live outdoors for 40-50% of the year and only live indoors over the winter. It’s a **full time** 24/7, 365 days/year indoor live piece of fine furniture.

The first thing to do is buy a soil probe http://www.insideplantslive.org/archives/000327.php if you don’t have one. Here’s one available in your home state in Greeley, CO.
http://www.ci.greeley.co.us/cog/PageNewsDetails.asp?fkOrgID=41&pkNewsDetailsID=636
It is a hollow core type of probe and would be useful to rehab the soil in the planter. The photo below shows the 2 types of probe I use regularly. The red one is for tabletop plants and the ½” diameter solid metal one for floor plants. They are far superior to finger poking and should be more widely available at retail.

Using a probe, you will learn more about your tree **before** you remove it from the planter. I have a hunch and it’s only a hunch, based on experience that it’s not getting enough water. You can determine a lot about the soil using a probe. It may be that the tree has consumed most of it. BTW, don’t worry about hurting the roots. Just be forceful but gentle and twist the probe to unhook it from any roots you might snag.

Assuming you use a 1” hollow core probe, fill each hole with potting mix. I recommend Supersoil, which is available in the western states. Tamp it down with a wood or bamboo dowel.

Unpotting it (without probing the soil) and performing radical root surgery is akin to my doctor immediately recommending prostate surgery based on an elevated PSA test.

Step 2 would be to unpot it if the probe does not bring up soil samples and you realize you are just probing air pockets. By adding Supersoil (or professional equivalent) to the probe holes, you will be doing a certain amount of root system rehabilitation without removing the tree from the planter. Messing around with “special soil” mixes is treating the symptom rather than the cause, which is top watering. Fast draining mixes are only necessary as an attempted remedy for the faults of top watering.

If you do step 1, I don’t think you’ll need to do anything further until next spring. I’ll post my recommendations about step 2 and the benefits of converting to sub-irrigation in another post in the next couple of days. This post is already too long.

There is no way I’d top water a tree like this. Unfortunately, the lay public poorly understands sub-irrigation. It is also much maligned when known incorrectly as so-called “self-watering.” There’s no such thing.

Greenscaper…just Google

Well, Mehera, two totally different points of view!

FWIW, I'll tell you what I did for my F. ben which had grown too long in a small pot with peat-based mix. The mix and roots were compacted and hard as a rock.

I unpotted the plant, then with a large serrated kitchen knife I sawed 1-2" of the root ball off of the bottom and all sides. Then I removed any circling roots, washed the soil off of the outside of what was left of the root ball, and then repotted in a mix of 4:1:1 pine bark:peat: perlite (plus some Osmocote). I pruned lightly up top, maybe about 10%, largely for shape.

It has been over a month and the tree lost all of one leaf. Tons of shiny new growth.

SB

SB, Thanks for sharing your experience. I must admit to a little confusion because two experts had such different prescriptions. I have been thinking about it, and had about decided to compromise and do about what you did. Hubby didn't want to have to order in a bunch of stuff for the project and the window is closing here in the mountains on the time when it is safe to do it before cold weather.

Don't be mad at me guys; I truly appreciate your help and expertise, and it really helped me think about issues I wouldn't have thought of on my own. In the future, I definitely would like to look into sub surface irrigation, as that would be so nice with this large plant, and I know it works wonders on my orchids--but just not ready to make the leap right now.

Thank you, all! And I will post pictures as the results come in.