Burtt Davi yellow leaves

[remist17]

I have a burtt davi ficus that has a few yellow leaves. I noticed seveal roots out of the pot and at closer insepction was not totally root bond but close. The soil was not wet but damp. What could have caused these yellow leaves?

 

[jk_lewis]

'Tis the season. All leaves get old and die, and toward the end of winter . . .

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Being root bound wouldn't cause the leaf drop. You give little to no background information. How often do you water? How much light do they get? Do you feed them? If it's only a few leaves don't worry about it.

 

[remist17]

I water when the soil starts to dry out. They get southern window exposion of sun from 8 to 3 and then Artificial light from 3 to 10pm/ I fertilize them once every 2 weeks using mirco grow.

 

[edprocoat]

I have several types of Ficus, but not the Burtt davi. The times I see yellow leaves appear is either when they are wet for too long or they are not getting enough light. Another sign in Ficus of too much moisture can be the leaves curling up or closing, I have seen that too but leaves turning yellow usually means either too wet or not enough light. Its a good idea to allow them to dry out at least once a week, this has always worked for me. When I have seen yellow leaves I remove them, when there are a lot of roots they retain moisture longer believe it or not, its like they either hold water or the air can not dry them out as easily with the extra roots. I had an old banyan ficus that was really rootbound in a small pot, it seemed to like it, when several leaves turned yellow I let it dry for two days and turned the pot over and tapped it while holding the trunk area to remove it from the pot to see about trimming the roots, the bottom of the roots were still very wet after two days outside with no water. I put a layer of green aquarium gravel I had at the time on the bottom of the pot maybe a quarter of an inch thick and replaced the plant as the roots were nearly a solid mass and I did not know where or even if I should cut them. This worked like a charm and the plant did not show any yellow leaves for the next year and a half until it walked away one day.

ed

 

[JudyB]

Remist, I'm no ficus expert, only have one willow leaf. But if the tree is otherwise healthy, and no big changes have taken place, then I would echo what JKL said. Mine is yellowing and dropping this week....

 

[remist17]

seems to have at most 4 leaves yellow at one time. I pick them off.
I will try and pick up a timer to use the lights with. I will increase the lights by 3hours. Water could be a issue. I try and let them dry out. I have a old icepop stick I leave in the soil. I figure that works like a chop stick. I pull it out every other day to see if the stick is dry. When its dry I water. Maybe a good idea maybe not

 

[JudyB]

I use a skewer, but it's all the same thing. Popsicle stick is just a big chopstick. I think it's just shedding old leaves...

 

[daytona1911]

I have around 20 + different types of ficus I grow at shop, and I can tell you the Burtt Davyi seems to be the touchiest to not only leaf drop but also root rot if re potted out of season :IE when its colder then 50 at night. I wouldn't worry about it leaf drop so long as buds are swelling at the base of the leaves that already fell off. Its getting established to its new light/humidity/watering schedule. Make sure its warm if you repot and the tree is established and growing. Healthy growth means active healthy roots able to tolerate trimming. If it doesnt have leaves its going to not dry out as fast. Make sure you don't overwater while it is getting established. Letting it get fairly dry ( not bone dry) between waterings is a good rule till it starts to grow good again, then you can kick up watering more, so long as the soil is drying out, indicating that the roots are pulling moisture from the soil.
Hope this helps.

 

[linlaoboo]

I have several types of Ficus, but not the Burtt davi. The times I see yellow leaves appear is either when they are wet for too long or they are not getting enough light. Another sign in Ficus of too much moisture can be the leaves curling up or closing, I have seen that too but leaves turning yellow usually means either too wet or not enough light. Its a good idea to allow them to dry out at least once a week, this has always worked for me. When I have seen yellow leaves I remove them, when there are a lot of roots they retain moisture longer believe it or not, its like they either hold water or the air can not dry them out as easily with the extra roots. I had an old banyan ficus that was really rootbound in a small pot, it seemed to like it, when several leaves turned yellow I let it dry for two days and turned the pot over and tapped it while holding the trunk area to remove it from the pot to see about trimming the roots, the bottom of the roots were still very wet after two days outside with no water. I put a layer of green aquarium gravel I had at the time on the bottom of the pot maybe a quarter of an inch thick and replaced the plant as the roots were nearly a solid mass and I did not know where or even if I should cut them. This worked like a charm and the plant did not show any yellow leaves for the next year and a half until it walked away one day.

Ed

walked away? how