Ficus Ginseng - root drying and shrivelling

[Gnome]

lottka,

Hello and welcome.

its been in the same place and dormant for entire winter.

Are you saying that it has been leafless for months? Ficus do not have a dormant period as deciduous trees do. Mine enter a period of slow growth over the winter but this is likely due to my not providing strong enough light to sustain vigorous growth.

Did you, by any chance, allow it to dry out excessively? Perhaps this occurred prior to the "dormant" period you mentioned. This past fall I inadvertently allowed one of mine to dry too much and noted the same shriveled appearance on the lower trunk. I was able to save it by enclosing it in a humidity chamber thereby allowing it to re-hydrate and push some new growth.

Norm

[kdodds]

Agree with Norm, it sounds dead, and now the roots are rotting.

[manIK]

My wife went through something similar a few years ago. We got our Ficus' at the same time. One day she asked me to take a look at hers and the trunk was all squishy. I'm not sure if she under watered or over watered it but at the point I took a look at it, it was clear she was drowning the thing as the squishy truck was very moist.

I tried my best to revive it but it was gone.

I'm not sure what to suggest here. If you can post a picture it might go a long way to seeing if some quick surgery can stave off any rot propagation. The last thing you want to have happen [if it's a possibility it's not too late] is to have a portion of decaying wood propagate into what is still [although I'm just guessing] alive.

I mean it's one thing for a branch to be dried and dead, it's something else to have a tuberous root sharing the same soil with living roots and soaking up water and decaying alongside them.