Ficus Retusa & falling yellow leaves + picture

fred · Yellow Belt Joined: 06 Jun 2008 Posts: 75 Location: Harare

Can anyone help me find out why my Ficus Retusa's leaves have become yellow and started falling? Did this happen to this type of tree as I'm approaching winter? Here's some pictures of the tree leaves and tree. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

leaves before some of them turned yellow and fell off, some are still green;

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk119/j1250zw4/Bonsai/opt-10.jpg

and overall picture of the Ficus;

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk119/j1250zw4/Bonsai/opt-9.jpg

Thanks

kamivy

Hello there. Has your ficus dried out at all recently? Not enough water, harsh winds and moving the plants position can all make ficus lose some leaves. They are evergreen so it's not normal for them to lose leaves for winter. I'm not sure where you live or what the temperatures are like, but being tropical plants they like warmer temps, so excessive cold could also make it unhappy. Probably the best thing to do is make sure it is watered regularly when needed (coming into winter they aren't usually in active growth and won't need as much water as in summer but don't let it dry out), protect it from any harsh winds and don't fertilise it - see how it goes. If it is just a temporary adjustment to a change in position or a bout of dryness etc, the yellowing of the leaves should stop fairly quickly and you should see it pick up. Someone else may have some more suggestions for you.

emorrin

Fred, Your second picture of the whole ficus does not come up. Kamivy summed it up pretty well. You will have to let us know if you moved it recently. I looked up your city to see what weather you are having and it is getting a bit chilly for your ficus to be outside at night. I see your night time temperatures ranging from 6 to 9C. While this is not yet damaging to your ficus, it could be a reason why some leaves are turning yellow. You may want to bring it in during the night. Do you keep the ficus out year round? If it is acclimated to the outside then if you are going into the dry season (not sure what your winters are like) then I have heard that a ficus can shed some leaves to thin out its canopy a bit to prepare for it. This could be a reason as well.

One interesting thing about the ficus, it cannot move/adjust its leaves in order to get more sunlight like most plants can. If you move it to a brighter or dimmer location, you may see a leaf drop because it is making new leaves that are better positioned to receive more light. I cannot remember the name off the top of my head what this is called but this is why you may see leaf drop when you move a ficus around.

In any case, once you give us some answers to our questions and we can see the picture of the whole ficus, then we can get a better idea what is going on here.

Stymie

It may be Ficus but it lacks the striped bark of a retusa.

fred · Yellow Belt Joined: 06 Jun 2008 Posts: 75 Location: Harare

I got it dry 2 weeks ago, its also pot bound... It has been moved. I initially put it in the shade for almost a week, its now on a stand and get sunlight and cold outside at night. I will water it regularly for now on and ensure the soil is wet always. Its is pretty cold here at night, I get the shivers, so do you think I put in inside at night? or should i leave it where it is and observe it more closely before making any decisions? I will add more pictures, try using the refresh button on your screen.

Pin

Looks like removing the hyphen from the second link works.

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk119/j1250zw4/Bonsai/opt9.jpg

Hope it helps

fred · Yellow Belt Joined: 06 Jun 2008 Posts: 75 Location: Harare

emorrin

I would probably bring it indoors at night as that is a little chilly for a ficus. I think the yellowing leaves are a combination of it being moved and the temperature changes. The ficus doesn't really like big temperature changes or drafts.

If you are confident enough to air layer, then I would air layer it so the trunk is only a few inches tall. I would then cut back the branches to promote back budding. Right now the foliage looks thin. How tall is this ficus? Looks pretty tall. Ficus root rather easily so I imagine an air layer would be successful as well. I have yet to try it though.

Here is a good web site regarding the ficus:

http://www.bonsaihunk.us/

I would consider Jerry Meislik to be one of the top ficus bonsai masters. I would highly recommend his book if you are really into the ficus.

Don, I think it might be a ficus retusa after being able to view that full picture. If not, it is very close.