More Weeping Fig woes

Mikus Ficus · #1 November 30th, 2005, 05:06 PM

Hello,

I bought my first weeping fig not quite a year ago. I am a novice gardener and have since read many a web page dealing with the issue of leaf drop. Of course the initial move from the nursery to my house brought on the first and, until now, the greatest episode of leaf drop, and commenced my seemingly endless quest to keep it happy.

I purchased the tree in February and once spring hit, I repotted it in a peat based, easy draining soil mixture. Again it dropped leaves as expected, but began to come back quite nicely throughout the summer. Now I am again concerned because it has dropped about 90-95% of its leaves, the most it has ever dropped. This began promptly as the days became shorter.

My main questions are: How much should I be watering it now and on through the winter. I read that leaf drop is a seasonal and normal thing, but can it drop ALL of its leaves and survive? How will I know if it is dead??

I know that sounds bad, but I'm really pulling for this little guy. If you could give me any tips to help me keep it alive (or just reassure me that its not dying), I would really appreciate it. I had no idea that this thing was going to turn me into a worried parent, but thats what I've become. Its a beautiful tree when its thriving and I don't want to have to replace it with a plastic one. Any suggestions???
Thank You.
Michael Dawson.

**Ron B** · #2 December 1st, 2005, 08:43 PM

There shouldn't be that many falling off, something is haywire. May be impossible for anyone to say what that might be with even seeing the plant in person.

Mikus Ficus · #3 December 1st, 2005, 10:11 PM

All right, thanks Ron.
Just some added info that may be helpful: It is placed right by a window with an eastern exposure. The patch of remaining leaves, which look healthy for the most part, are on the ends of a couple branches which stretch out directly to the window. There is also a baseboard heat source on the floor less than a foot from the base of the pot. Could this be contributing to the problem? The heater is a permanent fixture but it seemed to do OK in the same spot last winter. I will try moving it away a little bit. I have also read that timed spot lights can be a helpful supplemental light source in the winter. I will try these ideas for lack of anything else to go off at the moment and get back with any results. In the meantime, if anyone else has any insight, I would be grateful.
Thank you!
Mike

**Ron B** · #4 December 1st, 2005, 10:15 PM

We've had one branching over a baseboard heater for years, so it can be done. Part of it is now so close to the west-facing window above the heater that it interferes with operating the blinds.

**Weekend Gardener** · #5 December 1st, 2005, 10:53 PM

I assume it's Ficus benjamina we are discusssing here.

"Ficus" is synonymous with "fickle", in my opinion! This is one of the most sensitive of plants. It reacts by dropping it's leaves at the drop of a hat. Any stress - overwatering, underwatering, drafts, lack of nitrogen, exxcessive swings in temperature and low light - will cause it to drop leaves. How much leaf drop depends on the degree of stress. The unsuspecting new owner of the plant will then react by moving it to another location, hoping that it might fare better. But little does he/she know that it reacts to any changes in environment by - you've guessed it - leaf drop! Changing it's location, repotting it, even using cold water to wash off dust from it's leaves will cause leaf drop. I discovered most of these in our 4 year struggle as owners of a rather ficus that looked luxuriant in the nursery, but was never the same again as soon as we brought it into the house. The best bet is to start from square one, repot into a size that will last the fig another 3-4 years, select it's permanent position in the house (and I mean "permanent"), then just leave it there underdisturbed except for watering and fertilising. Don't even think about turning it around! And, make sure it's not drafty - i.e. not near any vents or windows/doors that need to be opened or shut on a regular basis.

In spite of it's annoying habit of dropping it's leaves, it's actually a pretty tough plant. Ours had "returned from the dead" once - from almost completely bald, to alive again! Sadly, (or maybe, it's with a sigh of relieve) we could not live with it's fickleness anymore and we tossed it out last year.