Hey there.

Attached is a pic of my new Ficus I bought. The leaves are yellow. Is that a problem and if it is, what is it and how can I fix it. The leafs are the same shape as the benjamina.

Howzit man, that looks like either over fertalising or under fertalising. Throw some organic fertaliser on there. Do you know of a product called Bounce back?

That stuff is the greatest. Just gooi a whole lot in your pot as it is organic and slow release it doesnt burn the roots. It doesnt look great on the plants but its quick, easy and sustainable because it is slow releasing.

Those leaves are not looking good at all. Ficus usually is dark green leaves. The thing is, this is a general sign for any plant that it is in distress. It could be any of the following so check them out:

Watering: Over or under watering. Check drainage
Not enough light, or too much direct sunlight
Insects: Check under the leaves and up close to the trunk to look for spider webs or white fungi

Ficus should be in its prime no as most trees are growing, budding and flowering now in S.A. What i would do is do not repot it. Just throw some bounce back on it and put it in a place which has good light but not direct sunlight. Check it regularly to see if its getting enough water and not too much. The tree should start getting healthy again soon! Best of luck hein

Hi,
Your tree is in a load of trouble, I am afraid. The pale, thin yellow (bleached) leaves 99% certain come from root-trouble. Probably you left the plant dry too log, and then overwatered, or you have the plant sitting in full sunshine, with the roots getting overheated. Wat normaly would work: Take the plant out of the container it is in. Take a bigger container, and fill with humus-rich soil which is allowed to drain freely (e.g. normal potting turf with some sand & gravel 1/3 - 1/3 - 1/3. Now keep the plant on the moist side*, do not place in direct sunlight (onder a nice big tree in the garden would be nice) to let it recover.

To verify that this indeed is the problem: Look at the rootball. You will most likely see a lot of brownish roots, which are not strong and filled with life, but rather fall apart to the touch, and loose their bark easily. The tree is healthy again when it starts to grow.

Good luck!

* Moist: The soil is not dry to the touch, but if you were to take a handfull of it, you should not be able to squeeze water from it

Hey Leatherback

I think you are correct. The place that I bought it from yesterday don't tend to their tree needs as they should. When walking through the nursery you'll find a group of trees just standing there. I don't know whether they have a watering schedule but they don't water as they should.

I saw the tree standing there and I just couldn't let it go. I bought 3 other tree instead, but when I got home I just couldn't get the tree out of my head. I just had to go back and buy (save) it. Will repot into new soil today and keep you guys posted. The positive thing is that the ficus is hardy and I really hope it pulls through.

Thanx again for the help