Ficus leaf loss

[SaturnsPattern]

My ficus is losing jade, healthy looking leaves at an alarming rate. When I first got it roughly a month ago this wasn't a problem, but lately it's been losing roughly 5-6 good-looking leaves per day.

My main suspect is this: lack of humidity ???

I say for two reasons:
-I've never heard of a disease causing leaves to fall without turning a yellowy-brown first
-The tree is still growing beautifully

I water my tree only when the upper layer of the soil seems to start to dry, and I keep my fluorescent light lit for around 16 hours a day, when I'm not sleeping. I mist 1x per day. However, the tree is placed about 5 feet from a hot air vent, which is probably causing fairly dry conditions for the tree. I've just filled my drip pan with water as this may help stabilize the humidity.

The only other problem I can think of is my fertilization routine. I add a label-directed amount of 10-15-10 liquid fertilizer to my water every other week.

Can anyone help me? The tree is still very full looking right now, but I'd really rather it didn't go completely bald

Thanks for looking!

[arboricola]

Saturn;

All Ficus will drop leaves if overwatered. Let the soil dry out more than you have been. Check the soil with a bamboo skewer or a toothpick. When it comes out dry water the plant.

Everything else you're doing is fine. The hot air vent should not be a problem as long as the air is not blowing on the plant.

Phil...

[SaturnsPattern]

Overwatering never even crossed my mind, I'll give it a try Thank you

[Kenshin14435]

Ditto to what arboricola said. Overwatering may be the issue. Or, your tree could be getting rid of old leaves for new leaves? Just a possibility. I've never owned any ficus so I wouldnt know.


Arboricola,
What you said about using a toothpick or something like it would apply to my Braz. Raintree? I'm actually very, VERY cautious about watering. I stuck my finger in the soil about an inch in and it was almost dry so I watered it today.

Take Care

[bonsaiboy]

SaturnsPattern and Kenshin14435
One problem that may at first have similar effects to that of over watering is the use of improper soil. Because bonsai need well draining soil, it is a good idea to grow them in specialy made bonsai soil. If you guys are already doing this then it is probably just over watering. Just wanted to make sure.

[SaturnsPattern]

I'll have to look into the soil matter. How does a chopstick sound instead of a toothpick? That way I won't ever need to worry about having to replace it.

[bonsaiboy]

From my knowledge, both will work equaly as well.