Why Is Your Ficus Tree Dropping Leaves? Causes and Solutions

Ficus trees love a sunny, well-ventilated environment with humid air, and they mainly grow in southern China and Southeast Asia. Below we explain the causes of ficus leaf drop.

1. Improper watering: When watering a ficus, you must stick to the principle of not watering until dry, and watering thoroughly when you do. Here, "dry" refers to the surface of the potting soil being dry, not the potting soil being completely dried out. Of course, even if it does dry out completely, it will not cause much harm to the ficus in a short time, because ficus leaves are thick and small and have a certain degree of drought tolerance.

2. Improper fertilizing: Ficus should be fertilized with light, frequent applications. Avoid using high-concentration chemical fertilizers or unfermented, undecomposed organic fertilizers, otherwise fertilizer burn will occur, causing leaf drop in mild cases and death in severe cases.

3. Insufficient light: Ficus grows well in an environment with sufficient light. If kept indoors for a long time (such as indoors for more than half a month in summer), with poor ventilation and insufficient light, and the potting soil does not dry out for a long time, the soil lacks air and the roots rot, leading to leaf drop.

4. Improper repotting: If you repot during the peak growing season, the tree roots are damaged, the upward conduction of nutrients is inhibited, and the supply cannot keep up, which leads to leaf drop. Note: Some unscrupulous sellers, in order to make the plant more attractive before selling it, will repot it carelessly without regard for the consequences.

5. Temperature reasons: During the high-temperature period in summer, if you can provide 30-50% shade, the leaf color will appear more emerald green, but when the temperature is below 32°C, it is best not to shade, so as to avoid leaf drop. When spring comes and the weather begins to warm up, the early spring wind is dry and piercingly cold. A ficus that has been kept indoors for a whole winter will become very delicate. Especially for a ficus grown indoors at higher temperatures, if it is moved outdoors too early, its ability to resist cold wind is very poor, and a blast of wind can also cause leaf drop.

6. Caused by pests: The main pests that cause leaf drop in ficus are red spider mites and scale insects. Although thrips are also harmful, this pest only curls leaves and sucks sap, so its harmfulness is somewhat less than the above two, and thrips are also easier to control; you only need to remove and destroy the curled leaves. Red spider mites are relatively small, and the usual damage site is the underside of the leaves. They are caused by poor ventilation and dry air. You can rinse the whole plant with plenty of water and then spray with acaricides specifically for mites, such as mān jìng, kè mǎn, and similar products. Scale insects mostly damage stems, leaf stalks, and other parts. They vary in size and color, and their shapes include round, oval, and so on. They generally do not move, but they are quite harmful and need to be controlled promptly. You can brush them off with a toothbrush or wipe them clean with a cloth, or spray a 0.2% solution of laundry detergent or fengyoujing for control, or spray pesticides such as methidathion for control. All of these are effective.

If during the growing season there is a small amount of yellowing and leaf drop, it is a normal metabolic process.