Ficus leaves

[nurvbonsai]

Hello, I am inquiring about the normalcy of ficus trees shedding leaves during this time. I ensure it is watered as needed, but I would appreciate guidance on determining whether any potential leaf loss may be attributed to inadequate care in areas I may be overlooking. Thank you

 

[TimIAm]

A healthy Willow leaf ficus can drop all of their leaves during winter, happened to myself last winter and several ppl mentioned in this thread from last week https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/ficus-defoliating-on-its-own-under-lights.67404/

What I would be concerned about is if you are getting die-back of branches at the same time.

One problem with having trees sit in a tray of water is having the soil constantly damp, which is something you want to avoid. Not sure if that is the case, as something I can't tell just from one photo.

Changing the amount of light the tree receives, like if you did a recent reshuffle of the position of your plants, or if your tree is not receiving enough light could also cause it to drop its leaves. Do you feel the tree is getting enough light? Did you have it growing under this light last winter?

 

[nurvbonsai]

A healthy Willow leaf ficus can drop all of their leaves during winter, happened to myself last winter and several ppl mentioned in this thread from last week https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/ficus-defoliating-on-its-own-under-lights.67404/

What I would be concerned about is if you are getting die-back of branches at the same time.

One problem with having trees sit in a tray of water is having the soil constantly damp, which is something you want to avoid. Not sure if that is the case, as something I can't tell just from one photo.

Changing the amount of light the tree receives, like if you did a recent reshuffle of the position of your plants, or if your tree is not receiving enough light could also cause it to drop its leaves. Do you feel the tree is getting enough light? Did you have it growing under this light last winter?

Yes. I had it under this grow light since November or so of 2024.

 

[Shibui]

Willow leaf fig is know to sometimes drop leaves in winter then sprout again in Spring but dropping leaves can also indicate other more serious problems. The photos are not good enough to work out if there might be other factors at play and you've given very little info about the previous care and current conditions to make any guesses.

 

[Paradox]

They can shed all their leaves but I wouldn't call it "normal". It's happened to me a few times in the 10 or so years I've grown willow leaf ficus.

When it does happen, there is a reason. They don't drop all their leaves just because they feel like it.

Either they dried out too much, are too wet - yes I've had them drop leaves from being too wet. They will sometimes drop them from bring moved inside but in my experience, it's not a given that they will. Mine have dropped leaves twice from being moved and once or twice from being not watered enough and once from being too wet.

You need to figure out which it was but as Shibui said, there isn't enough detail given and the pictures are too dark to see what exactly is going on

 

[nurvbonsai]

I got this from a workshop in the summer, kept outside during fall and brought it in during winter. I keep it watered when the top soil was dry to the touch.

 

[Gabler]

Is it normally that pink?

 

[nurvbonsai]

Is it normally that pink?

i don’t know why the light is pink in picture, it’s not in real time.

 

[Gabler]

i don’t know why the light is pink in picture, it’s not in real time.

Oh. I was just joking. I assumed it was one of those magenta lights grow lights. Is it not?

 

[Melospiza]

The light looks really weak in that photo. it needs to be much stronger, so much stronger that it washes out areas of your cell-phone photo. Even a south-facing window might be better, I think.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

That tree is not looking good.

Can you take it out and photograph it in normal light?

 

[nurvbonsai]

That tree is not looking good.

Can you take it out and photograph it in normal light?

How bout now?

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Looks like its going to kick the bucket. All those little spots on the branches are scale insects. The wrinkly bark indicates dying or dead branches.

I think I know what I would do with this.... garbage, or chop the whole tree down to the stump, treat with a systemic, and hope for the best.

Youre going to want to check all the plants you have for scale and systematically clean and treat them all.

 

[nurvbonsai]

Looks like its going to kick the bucket. All those little spots on the branches are scale insects. The wrinkly bark indicates dying or dead branches.

I think I know what I would do with this.... garbage, or chop the whole tree down to the stump, treat with a systemic, and hope for the best.

Youre going to want to check all the plants you have for scale and systematically clean and treat them all.

I read somewhere that spraying dawn dish would help. Here’s a before picture at some point this winter. I see similar spots that I took them to be something else

 

[Orion_metalhead]

dish soap helps but often you need to follow up with multiple sprays. Scale is tough... physical cleaning is often needed as well.