Ficus dry but drops leaves when watered

[Matt B]

I have a microcarpa that has dry soil but drop leaves when watered. This problem has been happening through two seasons. After watering, sparingly, the next day leaves are wilting and turning yellow, then fall off. I dug to the bottom of the pot and it seems dry all the way down. I'd love to water the hell out of it, but it kicks off the cycle again. Pot it unglazed, soil is lava, pumice, and pine bark in a 3/3/1 ratio.

What is going on?

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

I don't have much experience with tropicals, but I'm willing to bet some questions might be:

Where are you keeping it (indoors/outdoors, lighting, airflow, temperature variance, etc)?
Pot:tree ratio?
Any good pics would get you the best possible answers.

 

[Paradox]

sounds like not enough water and what water it is getting is not penetrating into the soil and the tree is too dry
Ficus will have their leaves turn yellow and fall off when they get too dry
They are tropical so they tend to like a bit more water than some trees, just not sopping wet all the time
I water mine every day to every other day and put enough water on the pot to get the soil wet and have it running out the bottom

 

[Matt B]

 

[Paradox]

Yup you probably should be watering that every day and making sure all the soil gets wet when you do

 

[Matt B]

Location is patio, about 5 hours of sunlight in the morning through screen, and indirect light for the rest of the day. If I don't water it, it stays in stasis. No growth, just treading water. If I water it, immediate defoliation the next day.

 

[Gabler]

Location is patio, about 5 hours of sunlight in the morning through screen, and indirect light for the rest of the day. If I don't water it, it stays in stasis. No growth, just treading water. If I water it, immediate defoliation the next day.

Sounds like your tree is so dry, it's inhibiting its ability to abscise its leaves. Get that poor thing some water!

 

[Matt B]

Should i water it even if it keeps dropping leaves? Should I repot and introduce more organic soil?

 

[Paradox]

Location is patio, about 5 hours of sunlight in the morning through screen, and indirect light for the rest of the day. If I don't water it, it stays in stasis. No growth, just treading water. If I water it, immediate defoliation the next day.

OK I can only tell you what I do with my ficus and how they respond.
Mine are currently in a basement under lights because its too cold up here outside for them. So they arent getting as much sun and wind blowing around as yours is.
Sun and wind will tend to dry out the soil faster than a tree inside under lights
They are in similar soil to yours, large particle, free draining.
They get watered every other day sometimes every day and all their leaves are dark green, not curled and not falling off them.

The curled leaves, and the fact you say they turn yellow and drop off plus how dry that soil looks tells me the tree is not getting enough water.
Its losing leaves because its too dry and cant maintain them and is dropping them to reduce transpiration (water loss) through the leaves because its not getting enough water.
The fact that you are seeing it losing leaves the day after you water it is IMO not because you watered it, but because its been too damn dry and has already decided to sacrifice the leaves.

If you dont want to believe me, its your tree and your choice.

 

[Paradox]

Should i water it even if it keeps dropping leaves? Should I repot and introduce more organic soil?

Yes water it.
Do not repot it now. Its weak and that could set it back even further.

It will probably lose the rest of the leaves it has but if it gets enough water and you leave it alone otherwise, they they should grow back and it should recover.
If/when you start to see new leaves growing, give it a dose of half strength fertilizer every week until it starts to grow strong again then feed it every two weeks

 

[Paradox]

Something that can help you tell when it needs to be watered:
Take a wooden chopstick or piece of dowel and stick it in the soil and leave it there
Take it out once a day and look at and feel it
Water the tree when the stick is almost dry, do not let it dry out completely
This will help you know when your tree needs to be watered

 

[Matt B]

Ok, going to weather it good tomorrow morning. It will probably lose the rest of the leaves, but let's see how it behaves in the next few weeks.

 

[Paradox]

Ok, going to weather it good tomorrow morning. It will probably lose the rest of the leaves, but let's see how it behaves in the next few weeks.

Give it at least a month to two months. You should start seeing new buds by then end of two months

 

[JoeR]

I suggest adding some long fiber sphagnum moss to a bowl, letting it hydrate for a few hours, and then applying a layer of it covering the entire surface of the pot. That should help it stay more humid until you can get to a repot down the line.

 

[Ken Duncan]

I agree with Joe with the sphagnum moss on the surface you can better tell if the soil is wet or dry.
When you use a very course mix it is hard to tell if it is dry also if you submerge the pot in the sink from time to time it will make sure the soil is saturated. Just watering from the top doesn’t get all of the soul particles wet.I do this in the kitchen sink and then leave it there to drain.

 

[WWB-Walter]

View attachment 584904View attachment 584905View attachment 584906View attachment 584907View attachment 584908View attachment 584909

Have been raising small Ficus Benjamina (some Contorta variety) in small containers. Try daily fine misting and consistent soil moisture (not wet).
Leaves will drop (yellow) when too wet or conversely 'dull looking leaves' when too dry.
Sample attached. (by WWB - wwb.ca)

 

[Carol 83]

Totally agree with everything @Paradox has said. My ficus need to be watered every other day inside. Outside in Florida, in that big pot, you probably need to water everyday. Looks like regular bonsai soil, so you really can't overwater unless you have one of those so-called humidity trays underneath and you don't.

 

[Matt B]

Watering the bejesus out of it. So far a few more leaves yellowing. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Paradox]

Watering the bejesus out of it. So far a few more leaves yellowing. We'll see how it goes.

Do as I suggested and put a wood chopstick in the soil and monitor it so that you can learn to water it WHEN IT NEEDS IT, not willy nilly, not on a schedule, etc.
As someone stated, it is almost impossible to overwater with that soil you have but you might as well get into the habit of learning to water when the tree actually needs it, not when you think it needs it.
Success in bonsai comes down to patience and attention to detail. If you cant master those, this might not be the hobby for you.

 

[Matt B]

I have done well with bonsai for years, just last two seasons have been hit or miss. Also had a bad experience nearly rotting out a desert rose I have had for 8 years by overwatering in the same soil mix, so a bit more careful even in a course mix. Living in Florida, it's hard to protect succulents during the random and frequent Florida thunderstorms. Maybe I should build a pergola for the succulents.