You have some oedema going on, so you're likely over-watering, which could potentially make it difficult for your plant to take up Ca, which in turn would also cause abnormal cell development and leaf deformities. Is the chlorotic leaf an old leaf? Is it situated on a branch so it's (the leaf) closest to the trunk or very low on the plant?

Are you fertilizing regularly? With what? What are the NPK %s listed on the fertilizer packaging?

Sorry no one answered your post. I just noticed it because I clicked on "unanswered posts".

Al

Hi Al, No problem and thanks for the response! There are two chlorotic leaves, and they are the most recent leaves the plant has put out.

As for the watering, that makes sense. It put out the deformed leaf a few months ago, when I was still figuring out a good watering regimen. I probably still don't have it exactly right, but I've learned to err on the side of caution and water less. Currently I'm watering around once per week, and at that point the soil usually feels dry an inch deep.

As far as fertilizer goes, I've used something a couple of times that a friend of mine who has ficus lyratas recommended, but I've been very wary of fertilizing because I don't know much about it. I'm afraid of not using the right product or over-fertilizing (if that's even possible). It's called Thrive Alive B-1 Green. It looks like it's an 0-0-1, and the NPKs are Soluble Potash (K2O) 1.0% and Soluble Iron (Fe) 0.01%

I don't have a good sense of how large your pot is, but if it's a half gallon or larger, "dry an inch down" might not be appropriate for a high % of soils. I'd suggest you get into the habit of using a 48" wooden dowel rod about 5/16" thick, cut in half, ends sharpened in a pencil sharpener, stuck deep into the pot, as a 'tell'. If the sharpened tip comes out wet or stained dark by the soil, withhold water until the day it first comes out dry.

In all honesty, the fertilizer you used has NPK %s of 1-1-1, so it's a very safe product, but not very effective. The macronutrients (main ones) make up only about 2% of the product by weight, which is pretty insignificant. I'd make it a priority to flush the soil thoroughly to rid it of any unwanted accumulation of dissolved solids, then immediately fertilize with something more appropriate. Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 is a very good choice. If you're interested in why it's a good choice, let me know & I'll provide some additional info. Your 'spoiled foliage' issues might easily become non-issues if you institute an effective nutritional supplementation program.

There are also tricks you can use to reduce the amount of excess water your planting can hold, which has the added benefit of increasing the amount of air in the soil, which can help to significantly increase the ability of roots to function efficiently. If put this to work, it will help.

Al

Wow, you are getting some really good help. The holes I have no clue. But I hope mines never gets the issue you have. So far so good)

Happy growing and please keep us updated

You're using the dowel correctly. Water when it first comes out dry.

I will begin fertilizing per your recommendations--additional info to
ensure I am using a good fertilizing regimen would be helpful. I'm not
sure how often I should fertilize, and how that will change when the
plants go dormant, and when that may be...I would expect that in October
they would be at the end of their growing season, but they have both
put out two new leaves in the last few weeks. They won't go completely dormant, but they will become largely quiescent or at rest but growing slowly. How fast they grow depends primarily on light levels, temperatures, and nutrition. If you invest in a container of Foliage-Pro 9-3-6, you won't need anything else. Did you read the link I left above about how to deal with water-retentive soils? My plan would be to flush the soil thoroughly asap, then fertilize with a full recommended solution of the FP 9-3-6. It makes more sense by far to tie your fertilizing frequency to your watering frequency. If you continue to water in sips for the winter, flush the soil every 6th time you water and fertilize right after with a full recommended dose. Using a full dose when the soil is still saturated means there won't be a full strength concentration in the soil solution because of all the water already in the soil.

People that simply recite the advice that you shouldn't fertilize in winter usually tell you that the plant doesn't need fertilizer because it's not growing, but nutrients are used by the plant to keep its systems orderly and do more than grow, so your plant needs a full compliment of nutrients in the soil all year long. The plan I just laid out will help you maintain the proper ratio of nutrients at an appropriate concentration and prevent the ratio of nutrients (each to the others) from becoming out of balance, which can very quickly become a serious issue if you're watering in sips.

More on flushing the soil if you actually plan on following that advice. You'll also find plenty of good info that will help turn your plant around if you follow the link.

Speaking of, the plant
that put out the deformed leaf is now producing leaves with holes...at
first I feared it was pests, but it looks like they are just developing
with holes in them. Would this be caused by the same water/fertilizing
issues we've discussed? Very commonly, dry air causes a leaf of F lyrata to stick to itself before it unfurls. As the leaf opens, the 'stuck together' part often tears, leaving split leaves, or if the entire piece of tissue that's stuck to another part of the leaf's surface pulls free - a hole. This is very common in leaves that unfurl in winter when humidity is VERY low or in leaves that are in a cool, air-conditioned environment - especially if the cooled air blows over the plant. There are some nutritional issues that can cause weak or dead spots in the tissues of young leaves, but getting on a sound fertilizing schedule should put a stop to that.

Al

Thanks for the advice Al! The trees fared the winter just fine and even put about a few issue-free leaves around February.
My question is, should this fertilizer regimen change at all once the growing season starts? I realize it's still a little early, but I have big plans for these guys this year so I want to make sure I take full advantage of the entire season.
Not sure if it makes a difference in fertilizer practices, but for what it's worth I did a full repot last spring so I plan to leave them in their pots and encourage branching by clipping the growing tips.

Looking forward to hearing your helpful insight as always.

Sara

How to fertilize best depends on your soil choice and how you water. If your plant is in a soil that allows you to water to beyond saturation (so you're flushing the soil when you water) you would fertilize one way. If you are forced to water in sips to avoid complications of excess water retention, you would fertilize a different way. Ideally, you're using a soil that allows you to water correctly w/o your plants having to pay a toll. If so, you can fertilize weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, every time you water, every other time you water, or every 4th time you water ........ IOW, you have a LOT of options.

The timing of fertilizer applications for containerized plants is best tied to the number of times you have watered. IOW, you might water only every week or two or even 3-4 in winter (depending on your soil's water retention). In summer, the watering intervals might be 1/4 of that. If you water so you're flushing the soil, you're diluting the amount of fertilizer in the soil solution when you water. Does it make sense to provide more fertilizer when your plant is using a lesser or greater volume of nutrients. That can happen if you're relying on the calendar to provide appropriate intervals; but, by tying your fertilizer applications to the number of times you've watered, you can ensure a much more consistent level of nutrition in the soil solution over the course of the growing season, or reduce nutritional levels in winter if you find that appropriate.

Al

Hi! I came across this post because I recently bought F Lyrata. One of the leaves has a hole in it, but otherwise the plant looks very healthy. What should I do? Is there anything I need to do to that leaf? Thank you :)

Definitely mechanical damage and not related to insects/disease. Nothing to be done about it other than removal of the leaf if it bothers you that much. Plants don't heal like animals do, so you're stuck with the damage for the duration of the leaf's ability to contribute to the o/a wellbeing of the plant. When it's no longer useful to the organism, the plant's internal chemical messengers will signal the plant the leaf needs to be shed.

I can see at least 2 branches, maybe more, that should be pruned. I
don't know where you live, so I can't tell you when it would be best to
do the pruning; but I can say that timing is a significant factor in
determining how enthusiastically your tree's back-budding response will
be.

You might find these threads to be useful:

This should help you avoid most of the issues container gardeners all face at some point.

This covers all Ficus normally grown indoors.

Al

Al, you're awesome!