Why ficus leaves turn yellow

Leaves turning yellow and dropping could be a couple of things--stress and fertilization are a couple of triggers. Let me give you a few general tips. Ficus trees enjoy bright indirect or filtered light.

Bright, direct light may result in scalding of the leaves and leaf loss. Ficus trees also cannot tolerate low temperatures or drafts. They need to be kept in temperatures above 60 F. Cold drafts from windows or doors will harm them, so make sure to place them somewhere where drafts will not be an issue.

When growing ficus indoors, it is important to maintain a relatively high humidity around the plant. Regular misting or setting the ficus tree on a pebble tray filled with water is a great way to increase their humidity, but keep in mind that while they like high humidity, they do not like overly wet roots.

I think maybe I might not have been watering it enough. The leaves turning and dropping started before the ac went on and I've had it for 8 years with ac so I don't think that's the problem. I had read somewhere to mist it but I guess I won't waste my time. You're right that the misting dries out quickly, especially here in AZ where the humidity is probably in the single digits right now.

We are all eagerly awaiting the start of the monsoon season. It might take a couple weeks, but eventually with deeper waterings, the yellowing and dropping should slow and then stop.

I wish you well with your tree, AND the monsoon season! Bluewing gave you good advice. I water both my Ficus trees once a week and I water until it starts coming out the holes in the pot.

Fortunately, they are pretty good at making up for the lost leaves. Once it's conditions improve, it should start putting on new leaves where the old ones fell off. Beautiful tree by the way!! You must log in or sign up to reply here. Show Ignored Content. Share This Page. Your name or email address: Do you already have an account? When your ficus is infected with crown gall, tumor-like lesions commonly known as galls, form on the surface of stems or internally within the stem tissue.

Often times a simple wound on the plant will allow entry of the infestation into the plant but is dismissed as many think the initial swelling is simply a callus forming as the plant heals itself. As the infection progresses the swelling becomes irregular in shape and begins to turn dark brown or black as the plant cells perish.

If plants show symptoms of crown gall, the affected plant tissue must be removed using sterilized equipment a couple of inches below the gall.

There are no known, effective, chemical treatments. There are a number of different species of leaf spot that ficus plants are susceptible to. All of these pathogens favor warm, humid conditions and cause circular or angular water-soaked lesions on foliage.

To prevent leaf spots avoid getting foliage wet when watering ficus plants; treat with a copper-based bacteriacide or remove infested leaves once symptoms appear to minimize plant damage and spreading to neighboring houseplants. A fungal disease, anthracnose is characterized by necrotic spots on the leaves and commonly causes tip dieback in ficus plants grown indoors.

This disease occurs more frequently in warm, humid conditions like leaf spot, but often follows tissue damage from other causes. There are a number of fungicides that can be used to effectively treat ficus plants once anthracnose is observed.

Like the other diseases and fungal problems, the southern blight fungus grows rapidly when soils are wet and temperatures are hot. Symptoms start off as a fine, feathery white or brown depending on the fungal variety mycelium mat on the surface of the growing media that then make their way onto plant parts. Eventually, the mycelia form small seed-like, brown structures called sclerotia.

The sclerotia are used by the fungus as protection to survive unfavorable conditions such as lack of moisture and heat and are resistant to penetration of fungicides. Lastly, fertilizing can cause severe leaf drop in indoor ficus plants.

If you do want to give them a dose of fertilizer make sure to feed plants early in the spring as they begin growing again after the cooler, winter months. Mix an all-purpose, slow-release fertilizer at about one-half the strength recommended on the label and apply when the ficus needs water.

Yes, ficus plants are a common allergen within homes, especially irritating to those with asthma or other pulmonary complications. People allergic to latex should also be wary of ficus plants as they are related to rubber plants. This website is filled with useful tips for growing and caring for your houseplants.

If you want to find out about some great resources that can help you look after your indoor plants, check out my recommended resources section. This will help you choose the best books, tools, and resources to help you develop your green thumb. Common Causes of Leaf Drop The ficus tree, Ficus benjamina is native to Asia and Australia, typically grown as an outdoor tree reaching upwards of fifty to one-hundred feet tall depending on the locale.

Inconsistent Watering Figuring out a good watering schedule is a tricky task when growing a ficus indoors and the primary reason most owners see leaf drop.

Underwatering One of the most common reasons for a ficus to drop leaves is not receiving enough water. Overwatering Just as damaging as underwatering, overwatering your ficus tree can cause significant leaf drop especially in the winter months. Changes In Environmental Conditions Environmental variations are another major reason your ficus tree may drop leaves. Change In Season The normal transition from one season to the next will also cause your ficus to drop leaves as it adjusts to differences in sunlight, temperature, and relative humidity.

Too Little Light For Your Ficus Native to tropical areas, ficus trees thrive in full sun locations and require high amounts of sun exposure when grown indoors. Insect Pests Encountering trouble with pests is a sure bet your ficus will start dropping leaves, as a stress response to the infestation.

Scale Scale is a threat to most species of shade and fruit trees and ornamental shrubs. Mealybugs These pink, soft-bodied insects are covered with a white, waxy, almost cottony-like material. Stopped by the nursery today -- bought a bag of their Top Pot mix and asked what I could tell someone who didn't live nearby, to do. The nursery is owned by a couple and today I talked with the woman, Nancy.

She said Top Pot is made of more or less equal amounts of ground sphagnum peat moss, fine pumice, and fine perlite, plus a smaller amount about a third as much by volume of quartz sand, and a much smaller amount of untreated charcoal.

And that you could use more sand they don't use more because the bags would be too heavy! The charcoal you may have trouble getting in small enough packages to be worth it, but Nancy said it was not mandatory!

Do not use aquarium or other filtering charcoal, and for sure do not break up any briquettes! Also your hardware may only have large bags of sand meant for adding to cement to make concrete -- a reason to go to a nursery or garden center -- you can look for uncolored play sand NOT kinetic sand haha , or go to a beach and scoop up a couple gallon ziplocs. If you collect your own you might want to swish it with water in a pail or dishpan, let it settle, and pour off the clear-ish water from the top, repeat until truly clear.

That's to wash out any dead stuff! Also pick out any larger gravel. So, like, a quart or a big gulp cup! Mix well with a trowel or wooden spoon or something. You are probably going to have some or all of the ingredients left over. If you were lucky enough to get about equal size bags of the four main ingredients , you could mix them all up and save as future potting mix!

After removing as much of the old dirt as you can without tearing too many healthy roots , re-pot with your mix as I think I said in earlier post.

OTOH, too much water is not good either because the roots need oxygen. Practice hefting the pot to tell how moist it is, or stick your finger one inch down in the dirt is another method -- when it's DRY that deep, they say to water submerging not necessary if damp below that. Save some of your mix to fill in any divots that form after you have watered from the top a few times, caused by the mix sifting down into pockets around the roots.

So because there is no fresh organic matter in this mixture intentionally , you WILL have to feed your plants. At , it is dilute enough you can follow the instructions and ignore what I said about half-strength or less. The only thing about this Dr. Earth product, that would inoculate your pots with good organisms!

I forgot to ask Nancy about root pruning so here are a couple links: Search on root pruning houseplants This looks like a good one with after-care! Wow, it's late! I'll sign off now. Let me know if more questions. Newly Planted Hydrangeas problem - Help Q. Welcome to the world of hydrangeas. Summer is not a good time to plant these guys for the reasons that you have discovered.

If you notice that the leaves are browning from the edges of a leaf inwards, the plant needs more water. Mopheads should be planted to get dappled sun or morning sun only. No afternoon or evening sun. In the deep south, try to stay away from the sun at 12pm. A couple of hours or even full but bright indirect sun is ok. Not much loss of bloomage happens. Black spots in the stems are harmless. Taken to its extreme, some varieties have been developed to have all red stem Lady In Red, some paniculatas, etc , black Nigra, etc.

So do not worry about this. You did not say where you are but consider increasing the amount of water as summer arrives. I water in Spring 1 gallon per plant. In mid-May, I increase that to 1. In September, as temperatures moderate, I reduce waterings back to 1g. When the plant goes dormant then I try to supply water every two weeks if it is dry obviously, in cold climates where the soil freezes, you do not need to do that.