Depot & examine roots. They should be tan to white & firm. They should smell earthy & not sour or acrid. You're sure there is no scale of mite infestation - right? Spraying it a bit with .....?

Al

Hi, Are any of your stems shriveling up? If they are, there may not be much hope for it. Cut out those stems off and like Al and SC already said repot if there looks like it still has fleshly colored roots. If you are loosing green leaves, that usually means over watered. If they are yellow, then its been under watered. Once a plant has root damage it is very hard for it to come back. Patty

Sometimes leaf drop on ficus trees can happen because of a simple light change, like moving it from one place to another, or one window to another. The leaves might not fall for a few months later after the move, but it eventually stopped shedding once it had gotten used to the change.
Cold, hot, soggy wet or dry can cause leaves to fall too.
Leaves can yellow if the tree is too dry, or too wet, I keep mine slightly on the moist side.
I read where people let their ficus dry out, well, I let my ficus dry out "once" maybe eight to ten days worth and it rewarded me by dropping yellow leaves like crazy, so, I started to keep it a little on the moist like I had been for years, and it hasen't dropped leaves like that again.

Billy Rae

Hi Brandi,
Some Ficus are so fussy, especially Benji's: the slightest change will cause leaf drop.
Your plant is basically new, it needs acclimating to its present conditions..You've had it 2 months, bought in Sept when day light was longer..Since it now darkens by 4:30pm instead of 8 or 9, again, the slightest change causes leaf drop.
Next, what type of environement was it in when you bought it? Green house or outdoors?
Before that, it was probably grown in sunny Fl, w/humidity, fresh air; a perfect climate for tropicals.
Now it's in a heated house, with dry air, and no air circulation. Results: leaf drop.

Check trunk bark. Scrape outter bark with a sharp object/knife..if the tissue is green, your Ficus is alive..You can also inspect branches by scraping.

If you've any warm days left, (45F+) carry your Ficus outdoors, give a firm shake until yellow/brown leaves fall. I'd remove attached discolored foliage, too. For appearance and energy reasons. Set your Ficus in the brightest window..Since you're in Canada, a south or west window would be best.
Inspect leaves, under and atop, stems, in-beween branches, for pests. (Mites, scale, mealy, etc)
If none are present, that's a great start.
Like most plants, soil needs to dry a bit between waterings..Billy Rae stated she keeps her soil barely moist..You may need to experiment a bit but once you find the perfect watering technique, keep at it.
Ficus do not like change, so once you find a spot, keep it there. Don't move around..otherwise, results: leaf drop.
No fertilizer is needed this time of year.
In spring, you can start a regulur feeding routine..I've only tried it once, but people who've added Epsom Salts to foliage plants swear it works fantastic.
BTW, I'd use a fertilizer a bit higher in Nitrogen (first number on fertilizer bottle) Follow container instructions, but IMO, cutting amount of fertilizer by half of what they recommend is appropriate.
Humidifers IMO are mandatory..I also mist plants daily..some people say it's useless, but at the least, it'll remove dust particles that accumlate on leaves.
If your Ficus is alive, I'd bet once days grow longer, you'll start seeing baby leaves. Once you see new growth is a good idication fertilizer can be applied.
Plants love being summered outside, so if you have a yard or porch, take out gradually..The only problem taking Ficus out are when it's time to bring indoors you 'may' have the same problem with leaf drop, but I found if you bring in Ficus earlier than you would other plants, there's less chance of this happening. Good luck w/your Ficus, check for those pests...Toni

I'm in a similair situation: I'm in Canada, got a Ficus in Sept. now suddenly it's leaves are turning yellow and falling off. I think I might have been UNDERWATERING it but just now I had a look at the leaves and noticed tiny little bugs on some leaves, other leaves being eaten. How do I get rid of the bugs! It's very distressing... I don't have a green thumb and didn't know Ficus was hard plant to grow and shelled out $50. The plant seems to be still growing new leaves but this bug thing has me gnawing my finger nails!

Hi Maurly...what does the bug look like? Can you describe it? For instance, what's its color? Shape? Is it quick-moving or slow, almost immobile? Do they fly?
Do u know anything about plant bugs?
Are the leaves sticky? Do you see spider webbs on leaves/stems? Brown bumps that can be scraped off? White cottony lumps.
To rid this bug you need to ID it first..
If your ficus isn't too large a tree, can you carry it to the sink or shower and hose off?
Perhaps you should use an insectidal oil.
I use home made, around the house, non-chemical stuff..2-4 drops of dish soap, ground citrus rind, ground garlic..Add to a mister and spray away. Nothing will harm the plant..but you'd still need to ID the bug..Toni

maulydaft,
If the bugs are red or tannish, just barely visible, and they move or scurry, they are probably Spider Mites--with or without fine weblike strands.

If they are small but visible, clear, bubble-like, clustered and slow, but moving, they are probably Aphids. Aphids also leave little sticky spots behind, called "honey dew."

Scale have a thin transparent shell and look like little clear or brownish oval scabs, tend to cluster, and can be scraped off without skinning the plant.

Mealie Bugs are soft-bodied, also tend to cluster and look white to tan and fluffy or like they've been dipped in flour.

Scale and Mealie Bugs move so slowly that you have to watch them for a while to see any movement.

Colors for all of the above may vary. You can look at pictures of each of these bugs by going to the URL below; then type the name of each bug in the Search box one by one to I.D. your bugs.

From your brief description, I'm guessing that your Ficus has spider mites. If that is true, and you are in a situation where you can carry the plant outside to hose it off, that would be great. If you have a trigger spray nozzle on the hose, that's even better. Wear something you don't mind getting wet.

First put the pot on something low and stable from which it can drain; then give it a good hard spraying, starting with the top and going out each of the branches, Under and Over the leaves, from the center of the tree and going out to the tips. Be thorough, going all the way around the tree. Spray the pot, while you are at it. Then give the trunk a bit of a shake and let it drain Thoroughly. (Ficus love being hosed down, but hate to stand in water for more than 5 minutes.)

If you use this treatment, it needs to be repeated once a week (or on watering day, if that is sooner) for a month, because you will want to spray off any mites that hatch over the weeks ahead. Spider mites don't like water or high humidity, so misting your Ficus between hosing will help to discourage further infestation.

Launder the clothes you wear to hose off the plant and vacuum the area where the plant stays to get any stray mites.

Since it is late November and you are to the north, this outdoor hose treatment may not be possible. The Ficus can take water that is pretty cold (I've done this in February), but the tree wouldn't like temps in the 30's.

If it is too cold to hose down your Ficus outdoors, then Plan B could be to use the shower. If you have a hand-held shower with good water force, you should be able to spray under and over the leaves pretty well. As with the outdoor treatment, drain the Ficus well, and repeat the shower spray every week for about a month.

This isn't the only treatment for spider mites on Ficus, but it is one which worked for me, and the mites never came back.

If your plant has some other kind of bug, and you can identify or describe it, someone here should be able to point you in the direction of an effective treatment. I wish you success in rescuing your Ficus from the varmints.

Sc

Great information thank you!
I know they are not aphids but not quite sure what they are. The pics on google are interesting by my bugs are so small I can not see what they look like close up! They are dark brown and round and were moving more last night. They are like half the size of the head of a pin. There are no webs that I could see. I poke one with my finger nail and he was on the run - not really "slow" but more of a scurry. They seem to like the edges of the leaves better as there are little holes on around the outside edges of the leaves.
I will spray with that homemade repellent and when it comes time to water again (darn I did it last night) I will put the Ficus in the bathtub. (I live in an apartment and it's in the 30's now so too cold anyway...)
Thanks much!!

Maulydaft,
Good observations. They do sound like spider mites. The other bugs don't scurry and are quite visible. Spider mites can be anywhere on the plant, but are said to prefer the undersides of leaves.

Just a couple of postscripts:

The tiny white dots arranged parallel to and about 1/8 inch inside the leaf margins are normal structures of Ficus leaves.

Another thing you may notice while you are looking closely at the leaves is a small, white wax-like flake at the base of the back of some of the leaves. This is produced by a gland at the leaf base and is also normal.

As others have said, it is important not to fertilize while your plant is in recovery. Some sites say not to fertilize in winter, at all, due to reduced available light. My Ficus is fertilized year around, but with 1/2 strength fertilizer. High nitrogen fertilizer creates a need for increased sunlight which cannot be met by indoor Ficus, in the absence of artificial light. The response is more leaf drop.

Armed with insecticidal soap, showers, and your caring attention, you have your Ficus on the right road. Be patient and persistent--you'll get there.

Sc

The leaves will grow back, BTW, although it might not happen until spring. My poor ficus spent last winter as a mostly denuded mess, but I set it outside once the weather turned warm and it not only grew back, it more than doubled in size. This fall, so far, it's been happy - I found a windowsill it likes and it's staying there.

They're quirky and picky, but I love 'em.

Okay. I have had a ficus tree since Sept of 2016. It used to have all its leaves all now it has none. Hasn't had any since October of 2016. I live in Fort Worth Texas so heat gets crazy in the summer and right now the high has been in the 80s. Ive been watering the ficus once a week. I've repotted, watered when needed and it has stayed in one spot by a window with the blinds closed for there to barely be any light to harm the plant. Now the branches are shedding. I'm really about to give up on the plant. When I break a twig off there's still a hint of green inside. What am I doing wrong?

Why do you think that a ficus can live without light? The require a lot more light than most houseplants. I would cut back the stems a bit then get it in as much light as you possibly can. Outside would even be good if it's warm enough.

I agree with Mentha, but I'll also add that you should stop watering it weekly. It has no leaves and it's not using much water at all.

Pics?

it could come back if placed outside. But 5 months is a long time to go without any leaves or new growth.

How were you caring for it when you got it? It sounds like you were giving it practically no light and over watering. These are full sun trees and they want as much light as they can possibly get.

My 1m50 but narrow ficus needs few light and VERY FEW water. Watering one time per month is sufficient. This spring I went away for 75 days and surprisingly my ficus was nearly not affected at all, however I gave it plenty water just before going away. I think it could easily survive 3 months drought, maybe 4. Maybe it is trained to get rarely watered because I do so ? It never had any diseases neither. Moving it from one place with more or less light doesn't seem to affect it. I have it since 12 years and never changed its earth, never give food (maybe one time coffee, i am not sure) only giving its dead leaves that form a carpet upside the earth, never spray anything. However sometimes I clean the dust (like on old books) on his leaves because it will never go away else without rain. So I think the best advice would simply to water rarely, maybe 75cl one time per month, depending on how tight and high it is. Or simply wait that some leaves begin to turn yellow to give it plenty of water all at once.

Yikes.

Al