HELP!!Ficus Retusa going bald!

Cazzy · White Belt Joined: 27 Feb 2008 Posts: 6 Location: NORWICH

I have been through loads of information and suggestions on how to look after a Ficus Retusa but i am so confused. I don't mean to repeat what other people have already asked and said but maybe someone can tell me what i am doing wrong. Here goes:

-8 year old tree was bought as Christmas present from Homebase and was doing fine until the end of January,when it started loosing its leaves(still green)

-moved it away from the window as thought maybe it was in a draft and getting cold.Now sitting other end of the same room

-was ok for a week or two but leaves are dropping even more now and are yellow and brown now:(

-bought some bonsai feed to try....does it actually work?

-I mist the leaves and try to keep the soil moist and also the air around it by sitting it in a shallow pan of water. The drainage holes are not in contact with the water so roots are not soaked

-the soil is solid and water does not seem to drain through...does this mean it needs re-potting?if so what sort of soil should i use?

-fine roots seem to be coming out if the soil

-two branches have completely dried out and died so i cut them back

-i have trimmed the branches to encourage new growth...probably shouldn't have done that but i have Confused

- there are new shoots and buds but the new leaves don't last long. Sad

-there are no signs of disease or bugs

-the room it is kept in is always warm

-is it true you should only use water that has been boiled and allowed to cool?

I think that covers it....help.Sorry if its too much all in one go!!
I will be grateful for any suggestions!

Thanks in advance

Caz x

Stymie

Cazzy.
I'm wondering if the original location was near to a radiator because that can be curtains for a tree. It does need adequate light although it is not as imperative as with other sub-tropical plants.
Feeding a stressed tree is likely to do more harm than good. Wait until healthy new growth occurs before fertilisation.
A free draining planting medium is definately needed and it can be re-potted at any time. Remove any roots which appear to be dead or discoloured. One third of the rootball can be pruned away. Keep the medium just moist at all times and don't feed it for at least a month after re-potting although a dilute tonic of Superthrive is beneficial. This is not a fertilizer. Pruning away some top growth usually results in new shoots appearing closer in. Using water which has been boiled will not harm it but it is not essential. The actual components of the planting medium are not critical as long as it is free-draining. You'll find one suggestion at the head of this forum. If you have some normal potting compost to hand, the addition of coarse grit 40% by volume of the total mix will give the right kind of consistency. As long as the temperature doesn't drop below 5C, that will be alright. Put some grit into the humidity tray to lift the pot higher out of the water. Let us know what you do and the results. We're here all the time.

Cazzy · White Belt Joined: 27 Feb 2008 Posts: 6 Location: NORWICH

Thank you for that,i will give it a go and fingers crossed it will be full of green leaves again!
Will let you know what the result is Smile

Cazzy · White Belt Joined: 27 Feb 2008 Posts: 6 Location: NORWICH

Hello! Well since looking for advice for my almost bald bonzai i can say that it's all looking healthy again! Very Happy

Repotting it did the trick and picked itself up quite quickly. There is one thing i am having trouble with though. It is growing lots of new shoots Smile

and has even grown a new branch.The problem is,i've tried trimming the long small(twig-like)branches back slightly to encourage it to sprout more but they dont. What is actually happening is that once its cut the (twig-like)branch just dies.
What am i doing wrong? Sad

Its got more leaves than before but is still not bushy and cant get it bushy cos its just growing upwards!!!

Hope that makes sense!!!

Any suggestions??? Confused

Stymie

I'm pleased to hear that it has resuscitated Cazzy. It is usual to trim new growths back to leave just two or three leaves on and they do branch out from those. Your experience of shoots dying is puzzling. Perhaps you took the shoots back beyond all leaves, I don't know. When a tree is growing vigourously this shouldn't happen. The upward growth can be redirected to a more horizontal direction by wiring.

Cazzy · White Belt Joined: 27 Feb 2008 Posts: 6 Location: NORWICH

Well see thats part of my problem,all the shoots are at the ends/tips of the branches.so if i do trim them theres no leaves left Confused

.

emorrin

I wonder if that growth is due to low light conditions? Maybe a picture of the ficus will give us a better idea on what is going on here. Once you get a couple of sets of leaves, you can pinch the new shoots to redirect growth back on the branches where it is thin. I would wait until you get a good set of leaves first before doing this.

Cazzy · White Belt Joined: 27 Feb 2008 Posts: 6 Location: NORWICH

Sorry for the late reply. Things still haven't changed. Tree is still looking healthy but don't know what to do with it! It sits on a small coffee table near a window,there are no drafts and gets plenty of light(not in direct sunlight)
I've taken some basic photos so you can see what I've been talking about:

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj256/cazzylisious/2008_05090004.jp g
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj256/cazzylisious/2008_05090003.jp g
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj256/cazzylisious/2008_05090002.jp g

So any ideas as to how i can make it sprout more branches & leaves to make it bushy again?

Cazzy

emorrin · Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 7:49 pm Post subject: Maybe this will help??

What you need to do is pinch the new shoots so