agree .. its stressed ... starting with shipping from grower to seller.. then to you ... etc ...

just let it settle down ... and try not to kill it with too much love ...

what she said about light levels ...

i like the sunflower painting on that blue wall ... very calming ...

ken

@floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK and @ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Thank you for the quick response. Currently the FLF is at an interior wall (mostly due to her height and my ceiling vault). I have a mini humidifier nearby and arriving today is a 9w LED full spectrum grow light I was going to hang above and keep on for about 10 hours each day. I had read this would help, especially in winter but also because of the location in the house. Thoughts?

Also, the leaves were covered in dust and probably a hard water build up. I gently wiped with a wet cloth. They are still looking dingy and dull. Anything I can do further to get them cleaned up?

Ken, Thanks for the sunflower compliment. It’s one of my favorite photos and yes, very calming.

where are you .... big city name... and do you use a forced air furnace??

im not sure of the need for a humidifier ... why do you suspect that lack of humidity in your house.. is your skin cracking and itchy???

and i would definitely get it outside .. in full shade during the summers ... [this is where you tell us its a condo or aptmnt... lol ]

i cant see the pot to plant ratio... i suspect its in much too small a pot .. so you can fix the roots issues when you repot in spring ... imo.. its too stressed now ... to stress it more by repotting now ....

ken

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 I live in Portland, Or. Our home has a forced air furnace and the rationale for the mini humidifier was due to the under watering issue. I though it would help. 🤷🏼‍♀️

The nursery pot it came is 14”W x12”H. I will definitely repot in the spring. Do you suggest potting up or repotting in the spring?

I really appreciate you taking the time to help me!

A ficus that size should heavily have filled the pot you describe with roots, but it didn't. Best guess that it was underpotted at the nursery prior to shipping with a huge amount of root loss. So what you have is a bad case of transplant shock. All the damaged leaves are permanently scarred and many of them will drop. The plant may ultimately recover but if it does, it will end up leggy. Last one or not, I would see about returning it to the store and getting a refund. This one should never have been sold in the first place.

The brown spots are not a sign of underwatering. It’s a sign of over watering and/or mechanical damage.

underwatering shows up with yellowing and shedding of the leaves to thin the canopy so it can withstand drought.

A ficus that size and that well leafed was pushed hard when grown. It should have roots that filled the can mentioned. It does not. One shouldn't be able to overwater a tree that size in the can mentioned, not if potted up correctly in the first place and handled properly prior to sale. Whatever the cause it was mishandled prior to sale and should never have been sold.

@OldDutch (Zone 4 MN) I agree, the Roots are unhealthy. Unfortunately, I can’t return it (final sale) so I’m left with trying to help it. Maybe itll last and maybe it won’t but I’m willing to try. My moisture meter indicated wet about 5 inches down and the roots are very fragile.

Moisture meters are notoriously inaccurate. Use your finger or a wooden ‘tell’ to ascertain moisture until you are experienced enough to gauge it by sight.

I would repot it in new and sterile soil. That means rooting out as much of the old and very likely contaminated soil as possible and a much of the dead roots as possible, scrubbing the pot down and carefully repotting it totally with clean and fresh potting soil. The sooner this is done the better, and it would not hurt to down size the pot a bit either, but only a little. A plant this size needs enough weight in the pot to keep it from over balancing, but that will be a concern only later if the new roots take.

Do not try to save the root ball in tact; it is very likely full of rot. You will also have to prop up the plant to keep it upright, since it will no longer have a solid root base to hold it.

Water it carefully once and sit back and wait to see if it sprouts new roots. Do not let the interior of the pot dry out; so you will have to be very careful to water sufficiently but sparingly... (That is an art!)

You will loose leaves perhaps most of them, but what you will be watching for is breaking buds on the branch tips. Ficus in general reroot very well and quite easily; so you have a chance to save this plant. But you will not have the same well leafed out specimen that you thought you were buying. They also sprout quite easily when cut back and their cuttings tend to take quite easily as well. So if you save this one you will have a mother plant to play with and take cuttings from.

FWIW there is usually a very good reason that some specimens are left to last. Normally they are inferior or damaged in one way or another. No guarantee for something as expensive as that size ficus is another red flag. OTOH saving one like that gives a certain amount of well earned satisfaction. :-) I hope you got a discount at the register...

Good luck.