ficus leaves yellowing + falling off

[ducreamious]

I got a ginseng ficus a little over a month ago, and ever since I got it's been losing leaves. fast.
a few every day. the leaves yellow and then fall off. They don't curl up and are even mostly green when they fall off. They do not go limp either. I know they lose leaves easily from condition changes but it's losing a lot of leaves and it's been a while. It's thinning out leaves in the middle (I'm assuming because of less light) but I have it at a west facing window which isn't too bad. I just got a mirror today in hopes of adding more light.
2 weeks after I got it, I repotted it to put it in a pot with drainage because I thought that might be it. that's not it. I water it about every week.
I tried changing humidity but thats not it either.
There are also tiny white bugs in the new soil. It's odd because the soil was brand new. There are also a few fungal gnats but I squish them when I see them (there's not too many).
What should I do? Do I not change anything and just hope it recovers by itself?

 

[ShadyStump]

It looks like normal potting soil, which will do, but can sometimes be tricky keeping moisture levels right. Try the chopstick trick. Jab a wooden or bamboo chopstick or skewer or similar into the soil all the way to the bottom, and leave it there. Use as a dipstick to check the soil moisture, and only water when the stick is all but dry.
That should manage fungus gnats or the like, and avoid root rot. I can't tell any bugs in the soil, but if it's soft bodied like aphids or mealybugs then neem oil will help. Spray the whole tree, but get the soil as well.

That issue with leaf drop after changing environments can really be worrisome, but it's not uncommon, and most trees recover just fine. I had my first serious issue with it this year when I moved my tropicals inside for the winter. Some were completely bare, but came back fine. Just took a while.

 

[Shibui]

Not enough info to pick one possible cause.
Trees lose leaves when conditions change. Like when it comes from a warm, well lit nursery to your cold, dark house. Even small changes that you can't see can do it. No problem. The tree will adjust to the new conditions in a few weeks.
Old leaves die when they reach the end of useful life - 2-3 years depending on species. No problem as new leaves are always growing.
Leaves die prematurely if the tree gets too dry. provided it gets water soon new shoots and new leaves will grow.
Not enough light can cause leaves to yellow and die.
Constantly wet soil can cause root rot. Less active roots means the tree can't take up water even though the soil is wet then leaves start to yellow and drop. Recovery is possible if the infection has not gone too far. Need to change watering habits. Possibly repot and root prune to remove infected roots. Change soil to allow roots to grow again. Root fungicide may help. Do not water by calendar. Only water when the soil is quite dry - not just the surface. Needs to dry out deep down where roots are. Ficus can cope with very dry soil for a few days so very easy to water too much but harder to water too little. Drier is better in most cases.
Fungal infection can cause ficus leaves to yellow and drop. Usually worse when soil is wet and temps are low - winter, spring.

White grubs are fungus gnat larvae. Fungus gnats are usually associated with wet soil, especially indoors. They can start and breed up very quickly. Can come from other nearby plants, from adult gnats flying in or from eggs already in the soil mix.

Fungus gnats point to overwatering even though you believe it is not that.
Lack of light is second choice. Even bright rooms (to us) are still dark caves to plants. Most indoor growers find grow lights to be a big help through winter.

 

[ducreamious]

It looks like normal potting soil, which will do, but can sometimes be tricky keeping moisture levels right. Try the chopstick trick. Jab a wooden or bamboo chopstick or skewer or similar into the soil all the way to the bottom, and leave it there. Use as a dipstick to check the soil moisture, and only water when the stick is all but dry.
That should manage fungus gnats or the like, and avoid root rot. I can't tell any bugs in the soil, but if it's soft bodied like aphids or mealybugs then neem oil will help. Spray the whole tree, but get the soil as well.

That issue with leaf drop after changing environments can really be worrisome, but it's not uncommon, and most trees recover just fine. I had my first serious issue with it this year when I moved my tropicals inside for the winter. Some were completely bare, but came back fine. Just took a while.

Thanks! I will buy a chopstick to help with watering. The bugs are not visible in the soil unless I move it around and then I will see 1 or 2 scurry away. They are probably a mm or less. I will try to capture one to inspect it further.

 

[ducreamious]

Not enough info to pick one possible cause.
Trees lose leaves when conditions change. Like when it comes from a warm, well lit nursery to your cold, dark house. Even small changes that you can't see can do it. No problem. The tree will adjust to the new conditions in a few weeks.
Old leaves die when they reach the end of useful life - 2-3 years depending on species. No problem as new leaves are always growing.
Leaves die prematurely if the tree gets too dry. provided it gets water soon new shoots and new leaves will grow.
Not enough light can cause leaves to yellow and die.
Constantly wet soil can cause root rot. Less active roots means the tree can't take up water even though the soil is wet then leaves start to yellow and drop. Recovery is possible if the infection has not gone too far. Need to change watering habits. Possibly repot and root prune to remove infected roots. Change soil to allow roots to grow again. Root fungicide may help. Do not water by calendar. Only water when the soil is quite dry - not just the surface. Needs to dry out deep down where roots are. Ficus can cope with very dry soil for a few days so very easy to water too much but harder to water too little. Drier is better in most cases.
Fungal infection can cause ficus leaves to yellow and drop. Usually worse when soil is wet and temps are low - winter, spring.

White grubs are fungus gnat larvae. Fungus gnats are usually associated with wet soil, especially indoors. They can start and breed up very quickly. Can come from other nearby plants, from adult gnats flying in or from eggs already in the soil mix.

Fungus gnats point to overwatering even though you believe it is not that.
Lack of light is second choice. Even bright rooms (to us) are still dark caves to plants. Most indoor growers find grow lights to be a big help through winter.

Sounds good. To check moisture someone else said to use a chopstick, I will try that. The mirror I got should reflect some extra light, so I will update of it works.

 

[coachspinks]

Along with what everyone else said, a couple of things that will help keep ficus alive indoors. I keep mine in an unused room that is cooler but whose air is not as dry due to the furnace. It sits in front of a window that has several hours of sunlight each day. There is also a good deal of air circulation in the room because of a ceiling fan and a fan sitting on a night stand. This setup works well for over wintering.
Ficus adapt well to an indoor environment but they dislike constantly wet soil, lack of air circulation and super dry heated air.

 

[ducreamious]

Thanks you. I will see what I can do to improve the circulation.

 

[ducreamious]

Thanks! I will buy a chopstick to help with watering. The bugs are not visible in the soil unless I move it around and then I will see 1 or 2 scurry away. They are probably a mm or less. I will try to capture one to inspect it further.

I have successfully captured one. The one I captured is less than a mm. It has 8 "limbs" the front 2 are long look like antenna that it uses to feel. the back 2 are longer than the middle ones. it is white and glossy, in a way that photo flash tends to reflect off of its body. They are so small that I could not get a good photo that's not just a white blob. I have it in a plastic bag so feel free to ask questions about it to further pinpoint what it is. Also, I snagged it when it was near the top of the soil, not near the roots which is weird.

 

[ShadyStump]

I have successfully captured one. The one I captured is less than a mm. It has 8 "limbs" the front 2 are long look like antenna that it uses to feel. the back 2 are longer than the middle ones. it is white and glossy, in a way that photo flash tends to reflect off of its body. They are so small that I could not get a good photo that's not just a white blob. I have it in a plastic bag so feel free to ask questions about it to further pinpoint what it is. Also, I snagged it when it was near the top of the soil, not near the roots which is weird.

Color?
If you can't get a good pic, maybe a sketch?

 

[ducreamious]

White.
I can't get close enough to see I detail so here is a very rudimentary drawing.

 

[ducreamious]

I also captured a short video where you can somewhat see the bug.
it kind of looks like a mix between
stratiolaelaps scimitus
and white root aphids

 

[ShadyStump]

Fast moving little bugger.
Doesn't appear to be mealybugs.

Try some neem oil on the tree and spray the soil at well. Could be harmless, but could not be harmless as well.
Maybe someone else will have a better idea. No shortage of people smarter than I around here.
If you don't have access to neem oil, I've had decent luck with a tobacco tea. The nicotine will kill just about anything with a nervous system, including beneficial bugs, so I don't recommend using it outdoors. It can also discolor flowers.

 

[ducreamious]

Fast moving little bugger.
Doesn't appear to be mealybugs.

Try some neem oil on the tree and spray the soil at well. Could be harmless, but could not be harmless as well.
Maybe someone else will have a better idea. No shortage of people smarter than I around here.
If you don't have access to neem oil, I've had decent luck with a tobacco tea. The nicotine will kill just about anything with a nervous system, including beneficial bugs, so I don't recommend using it outdoors. It can also discolor flowers.

It's been a while since this post, but I confirmed they are soil mites. They aren't really harming the plant (I know this because a houseplant of mine recently had a big infection with them but it didn't stop growing at all, I cured that by repotting) so I am letting them be for now. I don't want to repot the plant to get rid of them because I think that that will stress it out too much.
The ficus did finally stop losing leaves about a week ago. It lost probably about half the leaves in total. My theory on why this happened is because of the stress from coming from a well lit greenhouse to a west facing window. I believe that the ficus just took a while to adapt to the new lighting and soil/pot. But it is a huge release that it's finally looking better!

 

[ShadyStump]

Glad to hear.
Yeah, with having lost so much foliage it's safest to let it recover for a season. If the bugs do get any worse, though, repotting is still an option. Just be gentle about it, and wait until it's growing strong.