foxsparrow
Just Arrived
Joined: 31 Aug 2009
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 10:00 pm Post subject: Ficus benjamina rescue--ideas please! |
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Hello!
My name is Courtney and I'm an avid plant-keeper. I have a couple ficus benjamina plants at home, and I have had success with them. I have had one drop leaves on multiple occasions when conditions have changed and understand that this is normal. I also understand that they like humidity, but do not like to be overwatered in the pot.
Last weekend (1 week ago), my husband and I were at Lowes and found a distressed 4’ tall ficus benjamina. It’s absolutely beautiful, except for the fact that it has no leaves. It looked to me like it had been extremely overwatered and probably moved around quite a bit. I was able to purchase it for $5, so it seemed like a worthwhile project to try and revive it. I have hope because it has a shoot at the bottom with beautiful, shiny leaves, so the root system can’t be completely gone.
Does anyone have advice for me, since this seems to be an extreme case of leaf-dropping? I haven’t pruned any of the branches at the top…would it help or hinder? Also, would it help to repot, or would that just stress it more? It was pretty water logged, and it’s just starting to dry out now. Typically, when my other ficus drop their leaves, they get new little buds right away, so I’m concerned as this plant hasn’t shown any signs of growth at the top.
I’ve had some success with rescuing plants before, and I would love it if I could save this one. I have been doing research online for the past week to try and help this plant, but I couldn’t find any specific advice for when the plant has dropped ALL of its leaves and doesn’t seem to be growing any back. Any ideas/help would be greatly appreciated!
If anyone thinks it will help, I will gladly post a photo when I get home. Thanks in advance!
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toni
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| Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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I know they like to be rootbound and moving them causes the leaves to drop but it seems like this one needs to be repotted before the soggy soil kills it, then it will have a better chance of coming back.
I wouldn't do any pruning, that will cause additional stress on the plant and don't feed it either. Let it dry out in fresh soil and see what happens
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