Ficus Tree Care - Winter Leaf Loss

Question: Every year when winter rolls around my Ficus benjamina loses a bunch of leaves. First they turn yellow and then drop. Why is my Ficus doing this? Kaye, Minnesota.

Answer: Most people know Ficus benjamina as the weeping fig and for years it continues to be one of the most popular trees grown for indoor use - even though it does drop leaves when you first bring it home and during the winter. By the way check out of Ficus Tree Care Guide…

Leaf loss on Ficus usually comes down to 3 possibilities.

• Change in environment
• Over or under watering
• Insect or pests

Losing leaves is a normal process for Ficus trees while caring for them. It is not uncommon for a Ficus tree to lose 20% of its foliage (leaves) as it acclimates to its new environment.

If your plant has enjoyed the summer outdoors, dropping leaves as it goes into its new surrounding can be expected. If the plant has been inside all along then the change can also come from reduced light and drier conditions indoors from heat.

Place your Ficus in your brightest window, they love light and helps with a multitude of Ficus problems.

Ficus benjamina comes from a region with distinct seasons. The Ficus sheds its leaves during the dry season and when the rainy season returns, new growth fills out and the canopy.

As a general rule of thumb - water more when the plant gets lots of light and less s when less light is available. Why? Less light means less growth and water need. Ficus have aggressive root systems and can quickly fill a pot with roots making watering difficult. Check to make sure they are not rootbound, if so your Ficus may need repotting into slightly larger pot. In general keep the soil your Ficus moist, but never soggy wet.

A happy, well grown Ficus tree rarely has many insect problems, but yellowing leaves can be caused by the common insects of scale, mealybug and spider mites.

Once a Ficus tree is stable and actively growing care is minimal, usually all that is needed will be a weekly check of the soil moisture and watering if needed. Over time as the Ficus tree grows, pruning and shaping may be required, typically every spring, depending on its speed of growth.

A well maintained ficus tree can be a stunning addition to any home for years. For more information on Ficus tree care visit FicusCare.com

Ficus Tree - Pruning Time

Ficus trees have a tendency to freak people out… It seems like as soon as the tree comes home, leaves start dropping. The last thing a Ficus tree owner was to think about is pruning. There are too many visions of leaves dropping in their mind.

Before I get too far I need to really get something off my chest relating to Ficus and Ficus growers. I’m sure “hate” mail will soon be following.

Ficus continues to be a major crop for indoor use. At one point in my foliage growing career I grew over 125,000 plus Ficus trees per year. The issue I have with SOME, not all, Ficus growers is with pruning!

Economics being what they are, its financially cheaper to prune a Ficus with hedge clippers. Just get out the clippers and make all the plants the same height. That’s the problem - using hedge clippers is NOT the correct way to prune Ficus trees.

Plants much like people and none of these Ficus growers would dare to have their hair cut the same way they “trim” their Ficus crop! If you want the right results you need the correct method.

I’ve always hand pruned my Ficus crops all 125,000 plus of them. I’ll admit I tried the shear method and all it does is promote a disease called Phomopsis. What Phomopsis causes is twig dieback and under indoor conditions it can get very severe.

GROWERS if you are not going to prune Ficus trees correctly - please quit selling them to the public. You’re only creating headaches! I feel better now…

Here’s what happens. You’ll notice on a Ficus tiny “branches” with a node between them. If you just randomly cut between these nodes (this happens when you shear), the twig dies Phomopsis.

A correctly pruned Ficus won’t miss a beat. It may have lost some foliage but it will immediately begin to sprout out and grow. Next time you’re in the local garden center take a good look at the Ficus and see if you can find what I’m describing.

Let’s cover some pruning basics.

Reasons For Pruning

Pruning when done correctly can extend the useful life of indoor plants. It helps:

• Control or maintain shape and size
• Promote growth
• Allow more light and air to the plant
• Remove dead, diseased or pest infested foliage

Let’s assume your Ficus has out grown the space and you need to reshape it.

Start by removing all the dead twigs on the tree. Ficus are lovers of light. As some of the smaller inner branches are shaded out they just die - this is natural. These twigs will generally be very small about the size of a #2 pencil lead.

Remember - Ficus are lovers of light. It’s important to get light on the foliage where the stronger branches are. Remove any weak growth in the center of the plant.

Now it’s time to start pruning the outer growth. Remove about one-third of the canopy all the way around the tree. What you will be doing is reducing the size of the canopy and promoting new growth and a fuller tree.

Sometimes you’ll get a “wild” branch that heads for the light and just changes the shape of the tree. Selectively prune this branch or branches back toward the center of the tree. This will force new growth back into the center.

Pruning Basics

• Always cut back to a healthy branch, leaving as small a wound as possible.
• Always make complete, smooth cuts; never rip or tear a branch. This leaves the plant open disease or infection.
• Never cut too far above a bud; this results in a dead stub. It looks bad and can rot back (Phomopsis) into and or past the new growth.
• Remember the tips (terminal bud) of a branch or stem grow much stronger and faster than lower buds on the branch (lateral bud). When you remove the terminal bud the strongest lateral bud takes its place.

Have more questions on Ficus Tree care? Check out of Ficus Tree Care Guide

Plant Roots - Basics For Houseplants, Landscape or Lawns

Plant Roots - I’m going to beat on that drum again! The roots of plants - unfortunately - are many times the most neglected and least maintained part of the plant. Yet they are probably the most vital.

Instead of considering a root is a root, let’s look a little farther. I know we in general all roots being equal what their basic functions they are.

One area I find many homeowners caring for:

• House Plants
• Landscape plants in the garden
• Potted Plants on the Patio or Deck area
• Grass - that plant which makes up our lawns

They assume all plants must have a vigorous root system. Don’t assume (myself included) that a newly purchased plant has a container full of roots. Stop and take a look at the root system before jumping into any regular maintenance routine.

Some plants don’t have a vigorous root system or deep root system. Probably the most widely grown indoor plant is the pothos or golden pothos. That “philodendron looking” plant with gold coloring on it. The pothos is a shallow-root plant. Many times I’ll see a basket or pot of pothos with the center completely rotted out.

The plant vines around and hangs over the edge of the pot, but the center looks pretty sad.

Why does this happen?

What is this person caring for? Roots or Soil?

Most likely what happens is they watch and water the soil - not the roots. The dirt doesn’t Grow!

Does this sound like you? Not all plants need a thorough soaking, but would prefer a light watering - depending on the plant and root system. Also most of the water is probably being poured right into the center of the plant and not around the pot.

Yes, roots may reach the bottom of the pot, but will most likely be found at the outer edges of the pot and not the center. The outer edges allow the soil to drain off, leaving the soil moist and not wet. This is one reason I like sub-irrigation - watering from the bottom up!

Another place we may find a shallow rooted plant is in new plant arrivals. These plants have been in transit and had their root systems knocked around. They need time to slowly repair themselves and become efficient again. In the case of an under rooted plant, it may need time to fill out it’s growing media in its new surrounding.

A plant in a 10 inch pot may only have the developed root system of an 8 inch pot. The bottom soil may take a long time to dry out. It may be necessary to allow the plant(s) to dry down halfway before watering again.

That being said, take a look at your plants and plant watering techniques.

Are you pouring your water right in one spot? Are you watering a plant with a shallow root system or undeveloped root system?

Take some time to look at the roots of your plants. Don’t forget plants in lower light levels probably aren’t going to use as much water. Learn to water the roots and not the soil.

Your plants like it much more and has less chance to create plant root problems.

Oldest Potted Plant in the World

Going through and organizing images on my computer recently I ran across these few I wanted to share.

Here are pictures of one of the oldest potted plants in the world - Encephalartos altensteinii - which lives in the Palm House at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.

What struck me while looking at these pictures:

• How the plant has survived 200 plus years?
• What type of plant care does this plant receive?
• How often does it get repotted?
• Could I if asked to care for it - keep this Cycad alive?

Although I cannot answer the questions directly, they made me think of you who enjoy plants and want to provide the best care possible.

• How long do you keep plants alive?
• What house plant(s) do you think you could care for and enjoy for the next 20 years?

I’m sure many of us know someone in their 70’s or 80’s that has always kept an African Violet perched in their kitchen window. I’ve had many an email from readers over the years who have carried their Dracaena with them on every move across town or across the country. Some of these span 25 years. Their plants are older than their kids.

Even though these “house plant experts” do a great job in caring for their plants and have for years they want to make sure they do not slip up and cause any harm or make sure - everything seems normal. They invested in learning more and improving their plant knowledge and ordered our Dracaena Care Guide for example.

Too many times as I watch people stroll through the garden center and look at plants for their home without putting much thought into learning how to care for them and keep them healthy for years and decades.

When I look at the Encephalartos altensteinii at Kew I’m so thankful to the people back in 1775 who took the time to collect the cycad, plant it, care for the plant, share the care knowledge with others so many more people decades and centuries later could experience their work and passion for plants.

How about you? What plant care knowledge do you need to learn or discover for your plants to be enjoyed by others decades from now. The Dracaena is a great one to start with!

How Often Should Orchids be Watered?

Depending on the season orchids may need to be watered every 4 to 7 days. The media they are grown in also plays a part.

Let your orchid reach a “point of dryness” but not completely bone dry. One good method (for orchids and house plants) is to thoroughly water your plant and gauge its weight, then when it is time to water gauge the weight again. How much time has passed between waterings?

Whatever you do DO NOT allow your orchid to sit in water, make sure all water drains thoroughly!

Beware that orchids when in flower may require more water as the flowers do pull some moisture and energy. Orchids when not actively growing will require less water which is usually during the winter months.

In the the growing season during the spring and summer months orchids do require more water, but more water will not make up for a weak or poor root system. Roots need to be plump and alive.

Orchids with softer, thinner foliage in general require more water than varieties with “harder” leaves. Dendrobiums and Cattleyas for example need to dry out more than Phalaenopsis varieties before watering.

Orchids are not any more difficult to care for than other house plants. Phalaenopsis – the Moth Orchid – can hold flowers for 3 to 4 months.

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