ficus microcarpa ginseng dieing? anything I can do?

[juz]

hi all,

I have a ficus microcarpa ginseng bought from ikea around 18 months ago which is kept indoors.

it dropped about 25% of it's leaves when I first brought it home but then had been thriving ever since.
I monitor soil moisture and water when required, adding plant feed approx 1 in 2 water cycles during summer and 1 in 4 during winter.

it survived the previous winter absolutely fine, but this time around 2 weeks ago it began to drop a considerable amount of leaves, many of them drying out and turning yellow/brown before dropping. I think around the time this happened the soil may have dried out a bit more than I usually allow it to do but as soon as I realised this I got the soil and moisture back as it should be.

however since then it has just continued to drop more and more leaves, to the point now where ever all of the bright green leaves are extremely delicate and fall of with just a slightest movement.

does this sound terminal? is there anything in particular I could try to save it?

thanks

[Gnome]

juz,

I only grow one species of Ficus but I have found mine to be remarkably drought tolerant, in some ways reminding me of succulants. This leads me to suspect that something else is going on here.

I lost a plant this past summer due to lack of timely re-potting. I wonder what the root-ball looks like. Are you comfortable removing the plant from its pot? Check for tie wires first and note the condition of the soil. Make sure to get some photos while you are at it.

Norm

[juz]

thanks for your help norm. we have removed the plant and repotted it into some new compost. the majority of the roots look healthy, I'm not an expert but my father helped me with this and he felt that the roots are alive. there was however one large section of trunky-root beneath the soil that had rotten and fallen off. I don't know whether this has happened recently perhaps since I watered it last and the soil stayed wet as the tree didn't seem to take up the water as quickly as usual, or whether it might have occurred over a longer period of time? I've attached some photos below and would appreciate your opinion on this and whether we ought to try anything else besides the new compost? thanks

[Gnome]

juz,

I believe that it took a while for that root to decompose, so it's not your fault for a minor dry spell. I did not mean to imply that you should re-pot and I apologize if I was not clear. I only wanted to have a look.

A free draining, open soil is preferred for potted trees. Even using these types of media the root-ball will eventually become compacted and require re-potting. See this thread for information about bonsai soils. https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... =36&t=3422

What type of soil did you use when re-potting? I assume that you trimmed the rotten portions away, is this correct?

I know that Ficus are often noted as easy to grow indoors, and I do so with mine when necessary, but they really like to spend the summers outside. While inside supplemental lighting will really help.

Norm

[imafan26]

Ficus are pretty forgiving. Most potted plants bonsai or otherwise should be repotted every one-two years anyway. The roots start decomposing and the soil gets sour. I should know this and I am still guilty of waiting too long.