What to Do When Ficus Bonsai Leaves Turn Black and Drop? Here's How to Fix It

Ficus bonsai is generally grown for the sake of admiring its unusual trunk and foliage, and the beauty of the foliage and trunk determines the quality of the bonsai. Therefore, in everyday home cultivation, you need to take good care of the ficus foliage to achieve a proper ornamental effect. So, what should you do when the ficus leaves turn black? And how do you deal with leaf drop?

What to Do When Ficus Leaves Turn Black

1. High humidity

Improper watering does great harm to ficus. Watering too much, or a very humid environment, can cause the ficus roots to rot and lead to leaf drop on a large scale. Ficus is relatively difficult to grow in the north; at home you need to keep humidity under control, and humidity that is too low will also cause yellow leaves.

2. Large temperature differences

Ficus is suited to growing in an environment with a small difference between day and night temperatures. An environment like Xinjiang, where you wear a fur coat in the morning and gauze in the afternoon, is completely unsuitable for ficus growth. When the temperature difference is above 10°C, yellow leaves and black leaves will appear on a large scale.

So in everyday care, place the potted plant in a ventilated, well-lit spot, and shade it promptly in summer.

3. Pests and diseases

The main pests and diseases of ficus are: aphids, red spider mites, scale insects and so on. When pests or diseases occur, the plant suffers damage to varying degrees, causing root rot or injury, which leads to yellowing leaves.

When the plant shows yellowing leaves, check how the roots are growing and whether there are dead roots, rotten roots, damaged roots and so on. Spray pesticide promptly for control.

4. Improper fertilizing

Ficus likes fertilizer, but too many applications can harm its growth. In mild cases the leaves turn yellow; in serious cases the roots rot.

During the ficus growing period, the amount of fertilizer varies with the season; in winter reduce fertilizing or do not fertilize at all. In the other seasons, fertilize once a month, choosing a dilute fertilizer solution, mainly a balanced fertilizer, and prefer weaker over stronger.

How to Fix Ficus Leaf Drop

1. Improper watering

In fact, the ficus root system is very well developed, and even if the potting soil dries out completely it will not suffer much harm in a short time, though it is hard to say if you go too far. If you have not given water for more than 1 month and the leaves drop, do not give a large amount of water all at once; go gradually, watering a little at a time, otherwise the roots can easily grow poorly.

2. Improper fertilizing

Fertilize by the method of light, frequent applications, and avoid using high-concentration chemical fertilizers or unfermented organic fertilizer. Water promptly the next day after fertilizing to dilute the fertilizer in the potting soil. If you have fertilized too much, you can let the excess fertilizer flow out from the bottom of the pot with water by watering, then let the potting soil dry out.

3. Insufficient light

Adjust the light duration according to seasonal changes. Summer light is strong, so shade 50% at noon; in the other seasons normal light is fine. When the temperature is below 32°C, no shading is needed.

4. Pests and diseases

Wash the insects off clean with water and spray a miticide for mites. Or choose a laundry detergent solution or essential balm solution for spraying; it is non-toxic and gives very good control.

How to Water Ficus

1. If a potted ficus is not watered for a long time, the plant will wilt from lack of water, so observe the plant's growth promptly and water according to the soil. When watering, keep watering until water flows out of the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot; after one watering, wait until the soil surface turns pale before watering again.

2. When the ambient humidity is low, you can place a small tray under the flower pot with a little water in it, which helps raise humidity. Also spray water frequently, especially in hot seasons.

Points to Note When Growing Ficus

1. Ficus is mostly pruned during the dormant period; when pruning, be sure to sharpen the blade well to avoid too many wounds.

2. For any potted plant, the nutrients in the potting soil will be used up one day, so repot once every two years, adding a small amount of base fertilizer when repotting. It is best to repot in early spring or late autumn.

Ficus bonsai can handle heavy water and heavy fertilizer, tolerates both drought and moisture, and can grow both in cracks in stone and at wall foundations and in water. So ficus does not demand much from its growing environment. But in everyday care you must also follow the growing habits of ficus bonsai and tend it carefully, so that the ficus bonsai can grow more beautifully.