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| Yeah so I've only had my pre-trained plant for 3 days and already I see 2 leaves turning yellow. I read that Willow Leaf Ficus drop leaves when they are stressed. I'm not quite sure what has stressed it.
I watered it once when I first got it. It's been pot hsa been sitting in a south facing window (like what the net says), and is sitting ontop of a tray filled with perilite and I keep water in that to give the plant it's humidity it needs. Once a day I've been spraying the foliage a few times with a squirt bottle from Lowes. Yesterday I also spread a 3 in 1 spray that was a fungicide/pesticide/mite killer. I read that some trees could be negatively effected by it, but ficus was not on the list. I have my curtains draped around the table that it's sitting on to hold in heat and humidity since it is a tropical plant. I've done everything I could think of to keep it healthy and now it's telling me it's distressed. Any suggestions? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by gnome_in_pa Zone 6 (My Page) on Sat, Dec 16, 06 at 23:54
| Nicky, Quote: "I've done everything I could think of to keep it healthy and now it's telling me it's distressed. Any suggestions?" There may not be anything wrong at all. A change in environment can trigger leaf loss in Ficus. Just hang in there and don't panic. Quote: "I have my curtains draped around the table that it's sitting on to hold in heat and humidity since it is a tropical plant." Are you sure that you are not trapping cold at night, which would not be good. Norm |
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| First, I'd replace the perlite in the tray (unless it's 1+" high) with larger stones if you can - and use a tray with higher sides - to allow the pot to sit on the stones but not touching the water (which should not reach the top of the stones) as the water can rot the roots. I would stop spraying it all day as it's adding water to the soil and is not effective for humidification anyway, though can encourage mold or mildew on the soil. Then I'd remove the curtains and allow the tree to get the absolute most highest light you can give it for the most hours a day - not having that (which it's used to in a green- house) is part of the reason ficus drops leaves in new locations. And do give it a few weeks in the same location (not here and there) to recover - don't panic every time a leaf drops, and don't water in panic either. Ficuses can get pretty dry before being affected by too much dryness, but staying too wet is definitely trouble. |
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- Posted by nicholiarelius (My Page) on Sun, Dec 17, 06 at 13:47
| I only sprayed the leaves once a day. It's getting the most sun it can by being covered like it is, and it's holding in heat. My house doesn't stay warm but it's pretty warm during the day under that curtain. Also my room stays pretty dark most of the day so its' better to leave the curtain on. The perilite is about an inch deep and I only keep water at the bottom. It evaporates over the day and then I put a little more water in the bottom. At night time I pull the curtain off so not to trap in the cold of the window. The only thing I can really think of that could be causing the leaf drop is the new environment. The greenhouse it was in wasn't very warm, and it was kinda dirty. The whole property that the "bonsai farm" was on was pretty ran down. The old couple had been there for 20 years and I guess it's seen better days. I would think that it would be doing better here since I have been doing everything possible to make it more comfortble. |
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| Well, you asked for help, but don't seem to want to take it. The curtain (unless it's lined with reflective stuff) is only blocking air circulation (which is vital if you want to avoid pests) and is otherwise unnecessary (for heat). You said in your orig. post that you spray a few times a day... and in any case it's been shown to be absolutely useless, which is why a humidity tray is always recommended. You're not growing a hothouse flower, but a normally strong tree, one which is notorious for dropping leaves in new locations due as much as anything else to lower light levels for fewer hours a day. |
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