Aarrzzddmm
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Golden Gate Ficus - HELP ME PLEASE

I received a beautiful 10 year old golden gate Ficus last May. I am located in New Hampshire, US. The past two weeks the leaves have been dropping like crazy and I worry the tree is near death. When I discovered the soil was VERY dry, after a watering the humidity tray was full and it didn't seem like anything was getting absorbed from the try for a day or two. It had been receiving adequate light however I fear it was above a heating vent and that was detrimental. However, it had been there since September and was doing well. It seems like this has all happened in roughly two weeks. The past two days I have been watering with Bonsai-Pro liquid plant food and today I moved it to a new window away from the vent - however it seems like leaves just keep dropping. Today I pruned very dry branches off and removed all dead leaves so it is looking especially sad. Am I a lost cause?
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rainbowgardener
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Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

The humidity tray is NOT for watering! The tray should have pebbles in it. The pot sits on the pebbles above the water; the water should not be high enough to touch the soil. The humidity tray is just for adding a little humidity to the air around the leaves. If you had the pot sitting in water in the tray, your tree could well have gotten root rot.

I think you need to inspect the roots. Slide the whole root ball out of the pot (sometimes they are wired in and you might have to undo some wires). Gently wash the soil off and check the roots. They should be firm and white(ish) and have no odor. If they are grey/brown, mushy, and/or smell bad, they are rotten.

If there are any rotten roots, but there are still some healthy ones, trim all the rotten roots off. Trim the roots to fit back in the pot better and add fresh bonsai soil. Here's a thread with a lot of info about bonsai soil and about root pruning and with tons of links to other articles: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... =36&t=3422

Be sure your tree is not near a heat vent. Be sure it is getting enough light. The direction of the light changes through the seasons, so a window that had enough sun in winter may not in spring. Do NOT fertilize until it is starting to grow new leaves again. Fertilizing a struggling tree is just another stress on it.

Here's some more bonsai growing tips including how to properly water it. https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... =36&t=1479

Best wishes! Ficus easily drop their leaves, which means they can often grow them back.



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