Help Needed for Green Island Ficus

[Raindog]

Would appreciate advice how what direction to go with this Green Island Ficus.
Location is NE Florida. We have had a lot of rain but the soil is extremely well draining. It stays outdoors and temps have gone down in the 50s. I have protected it at any temp below 40. It has always been extremely healthy until this.
Thanks,
Alan

 

[cbroad]

Spots on the leaves could indicate a pest problem or fungal issue; I'm leaning towards a pest problem.

Have you checked the undersides of the leaves for bugs?

Not sure if spider mites are a constant threat where you live or if they go dormant (eggs) during this time of year but that was my first thought.

 

[cbroad]

Then again it could be normal shedding of older foliage heading into the new growing season.

 

[LanceMac10]

Site change? Recent re-pot?

Don't think it's anything more serious than dialing in the watering. Probably drop most of it's leaves.
Scale usually biggest problem with Figs in my experience. See any? Don't think you have bugs, either.....



Might not be draining as well as thought...….

 

[markyscott]

Would appreciate advice how what direction to go with this Green Island Ficus.
Location is NE Florida. We have had a lot of rain but the soil is extremely well draining. It stays outdoors and temps have gone down in the 50s. I have protected it at any temp below 40. It has always been extremely healthy until this.
Thanks,
Alan

Hi Alan. Could you please take a close up picture of the under side of the leaves?

S

 

[amcoffeegirl]

Does not look good for sure.
Why don’t you hit up one of the nurseries in Florida and ask them? They have tons of experience with ficus and are very approachable.
It looks almost fungal to me. Maybe over watering??! Does it drain well?
Schley's Bonsai and Supply

2745 Audubon Ave
Deland, Florida
(386) 675-3118
Or hit him up on FB

Or info@wigertsbonsai.com
Either one is a good option
Get it to a club meeting. It’s a nice tree but it’s not liking its conditions.

Also there’s this guy
https://adamaskwhy.com/
Who is very good with ficus.

 

[Carol 83]

Does not look good for sure.
Why don’t you hit up one of the nurseries in Florida and ask them? They have tons of experience with ficus and are very approachable.
It looks almost fungal to me. Maybe over watering??! Does it drain well?
Schley's Bonsai and Supply

2745 Audubon Ave
Deland, Florida
(386) 675-3118
Or hit him up on FB

Or info@wigertsbonsai.com
Either one is a good option
Get it to a club meeting. It’s a nice tree but it’s not liking its conditions.

Also there’s this guy
https://adamaskwhy.com/
Who is very good with ficus.

Oh, we're going to FL in June, not far from Deland. Wonder if I could take a tree on the plane with me, that ought to make my husband happy, ha.

 

[WesB]

Take some photos with a solid background and the camera level with the tree. I included an example by a professional Not Me

Beautiful beautiful banyan tree btw!!

 

[Raindog]

I have attached, as requested, a photo of the tree straight on and one of the bottom of the leaves. The spots on the leaves are smooth, are not raised or indented. As I had mentioned we have received a lot of rain the last few months with night temperatures dropping into the 40° range. I have sprayed with Daconil .

 

[WesB]

Ahh thanks! It’s a great tree, hope it recovers.

 

[LanceMac10]

Site change? Recent re-pot?

 

[Raindog]

No to the above except placed in wife's heated Orchid house for a few nights when the temps dropped blow 40°

 

[WesB]

I

No to the above except placed in wife's heated Orchid house for a few nights when the temps dropped blow 40°

It looks fungal as mentioned before. Black spots like that are a dead give away that the tree is infected. Stay the course!

 

[markyscott]

I have attached, as requested, a photo of the tree straight on and one of the bottom of the leaves. The spots on the leaves are smooth, are not raised or indented. As I had mentioned we have received a lot of rain the last few months with night temperatures dropping into the 40° range. I have sprayed with Daconil .

I’ll ask a few more questions before offering a suggestion - i just don’t often see fungal issues of ficus trees. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had to spray a ficus for fungal issues. And thanks for the pictures. I saw no evidence of bugs on the underside of the leaves. Do you agree?

Can you tell me what it’s planted it? It looks like pine bark on the soil surface. Is it pine bark all the way through? How long has it been planted in that medium?

S

 

[Raindog]

I’ll ask a few more questions before offering a suggestion - i just don’t often see fungal issues of ficus trees. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had to spray a ficus for fungal issues. And thanks for the pictures. I saw no evidence of bugs on the underside of the leaves. Do you agree?

Can you tell me what it’s planted it? It looks like pine bark on the soil surface. Is it pine bark all the way through? How long has it been planted in that medium?

S

I do agree there is no evidence of bugs. It s planted in a fired shale out of Arkansas with about 1/3 pine bark. The shale is very porous and all my ficus do exceptionally well planted in it, untill now.
Thax,
Alan

 

[markyscott]

I do agree there is no evidence of bugs. It s planted in a fired shale out of Arkansas with about 1/3 pine bark. The shale is very porous and all my ficus do exceptionally well planted in it, untill now.
Thax,
Alan

Thanks Alan. How long has it been planted in that mixture? It appears to be 50% or more pine bark based on what I see on top, if that’s representative. Is that correct?

S

 

[Raindog]

Thanks Alan. How long has it been planted in that mixture?

S

Two years

 

[markyscott]

1. Unlikely to be insect related - I saw leaf damage with no evidence of insects and the leaf damage is not consistent with that caused by typical insects that cause problems with ficus.
2. It’s possible it’s fungal, although I’ve never had fungal problems with ficus before. Black spot is the most likely. North Dakota State University Extension recommends a fungicide treatment that contains chlorothalonil to eliminate the problem on ficus trees.
3. It’s possible that it’s root rot. Your mix contains a significant fraction of pine bark. Pine bark can break down in a container over time and create a soggy mess, especially under wet, humid conditions (like mine and yours). Ficus with root rot can exhibit yellowing leaves and rapid leaf drop. I’ve not seen this on green island ficus, but on willow leaf, root rot expresses as yellowing leaves and leaf drop, but without the black spot. Here’s a thread in which I wrote about this issue: https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/can-a-ficus-get-root-rot.31501/. The original soil used in the tree in the thread is very similar to the mix you’re using.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

@markyscott i agree completely.
It is most likely over watered - with root rot. It will probably shed all of its leaves. I might do an emergency repot on it.
Get it somewhere warm and dry where you can manage the only water it gets.
An emergency repot and then bottom heat until you see new leaves popping out.

 

[Raindog]

I poked and dug around the pot and the soil is not compacted. It is actually quite open and just slightly damp and the roots look fine, no evidence of rot. My wife showed it to a local botanist at her orchid club and he stated that ficus in this area will react like that when exposed to lower than normal temps and we have had some continuous cold nights here. He felt that it would drop a bunch of leaves but should recover.