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This braided ficus plant has lost a LOT of leaves over the winter. It is actually doing fine now, not dropping leaves, and has grown a LOT of new leaves (full-sized leaves appeared in about 3 days time, don't ask me how!). The problem is 50 or 60% of the plant's branches are not growing any leaves at all. This to me indicates the tips or branches are dead, and not supplying the "magic stuff" that makes new shoots. What do I do to get the plant back to its former array of leaves? Prune these branches? If so, how and where do I cut them?
I have found that leaf drop is very common with Ficus. Have you pruned any branches to see if there is soft wood? Maybe just snip a branch or two to see if the branch is dead. Now is the time plants are beginning to come out of dormancy and put on new growth. You could try giving it a little fertilizer to help the new growth along.
Ficus are not hard to grow at all but they seem to like to be located in one spot and not moved. At least that's what I've found over the years with growing Ficus 'benjamina' as well as a few other Ficus. I only have two Ficus trees now, one 'Alii' and one variegated 'benjamina' that stay out outside on our pool deck all year and get covered with old blankets if we have a cold night or two during the winter. I have had Ficus trees (especially benjamina) go totally bare in the winter with change of temperature, but also when I move them from one location to another, even if it's a few feet, they start raining leaves! They seem to hate being moved. I have also found that my Ficus love water, they can't seem to get enough down here in this heat of Florida.
My large Ficus 'Alii' (Synonym binnendijkii) is so rootbound, there's not much soil left in the pot at all, so I have to water it quite often to keep it from being stressed and dropping a lot of leaves.
Skyla: I haven't repotted yet because I don't have a pot large enough. I could just remove it from the old black plastic pot it's been in for a few years, do some root pruning and put it back in the same pot with fresh soil, but I'm hoping to finally purchase a nicer looking pot! I will get around to either repotting in a larger pot in the next couple of months, I just seem to never remember to go out and buy a new pot for this tree!
Many plants do suffer and show signs of stress when root bound but this one seems happy! It's been in this same location for the past few years and I guess it's getting enough nutrients when I fertilize and enough water because we've been having a lot of rain the past few weeks.
oh yeah thats cool. Well as long as its doing well then there isnt really an urgent rush to buy a new pot.
I wasnt critisising by the way i was just asking and being curious :)
Glad your plant id doing so well :)
Skyla, I didn't take your questioning as criticism at all. I love this website. Since becoming a subscriber to Dave's Garden, I have had a few plants correctly identified for me and learned about so many different kinds of plants, many that I'd never heard of before. My subscription to this site is the best money I've ever spent!
I love this website too! I can across in by accident after typing a question into google, its the best website ever, everyone is so friendly on here and always so so happy to help. Glad you didnt take my last comment as critisism :)
