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jendy13

Help with a Ficus Audrey

5 years ago

Hello, I believe this is a ficus Audrey. I recently brought it home from an office where it stayed throughout the 2020/21 covid shutdown. I'm not sure if it's been underwatered or overwatered. I haven't repotted it yet. Most if not all of the leaves have this kind of discoloration on them (see pics). Looking for a few basic tips on growing an Audrey - and maybe shaping it, as this one is a bit unruly (if that's how it grows best, then fine). I've had really good success with my ficus benjamina and lyrata - both about 10 years old -- so I'm hoping I can add ficus Audrey my success stories, too. Thanks for any help!





Featured Answer
  • 5 years ago

    The leaves could be mite damage, especially if where it was previously sited was a low humidity environment. You might need a loupe or magnifying glass to see them; or, you could do the paper test.


    Any sign of stress, any time the plant presents symptoms, is a call to action. Stress symptoms are visual proof the plant is dealing with cultural conditions at or beyond the limits Mother Nature programmed it to tolerate. The grower's only job is to identify the source(s) of stressful conditions and remedy those conditions to the best of his/her ability or to whatever extreme that grower deems appropriate.

    Any advice to repot 'in spring' should be qualified. Early spring is a terrible time (worst part of the growth cycle) to repot Ficus and most other trees (other than citrus and other fruiting trees) commonly grown indoors. The reason is, during winter these trees normally have great difficulty producing enough food (plants make their own food [sugar/ glucose] during photosynthesis) to keep up with the rate at which they burn the food during the dark phase/ respiration. After a long winter of low light conditions, your tree will likely have depleted nearly all it's stored energy reserves and will be 'running on empty'. That is not a good time to ask your tree to tolerate the stress of a repot. Your tree will have regained considerable energy reserves and will be approaching the peak of it's ability to make food (longest days/ brightest light) just before the summer solstice (June 21). That is the best time to repot Ficus other than the hardy fig, F carica. An early spring repot ensures a very long recovery period during which the plant will be most vulnerable to insect predation and disease pathogens; whereas a mid-June repot normally ensures shortest recovery and best ability to deal with insect herbivory and disease. Not only that, you'll enjoy the satisfaction of making allowances for your plant's weak periods and taking advantage of the most robust part of its growth cycle.

    That a plant is stressed is not sufficient to withhold fertilizer. If it needs fertilizer, it needs it. You'll find plenty of anecdotal advice not to fertilize a weak or sick plant, but you'll find that advice nowhere in scientific literature. It's a horticultural myth.

    I've been practicing bonsai for about 40 years, and have many Ficus in my collection (40 or more), so I'm intimately aware of their wants/ needs and quirks. If you want to make a plan and get your fertilizing/ pruning/ pinching/ repotting planned out in advance, I'd be happy to help if you like. None of it will be difficult, I promise.

    I also have some reading you can do (here at GW/ Houzz) if you like.

    Ficus benjamina forest planting, all from cuttings from the same parent tree. I'm waiting for the most recent cuttings I started to grow another 6" or so

    Al

    Comments (7)

    • 5 years ago

      ficus is a ficus is a ficus... if you know how to grow one. you should know how to grow them all ...


      it appears to have been lacking light ... only time will allow it to outgrow that ...


      it looks severely stressed.. like most office plants are prone to ...


      just learn how to properly water it in your house... in that pot.. and give it winter to recover to all past stresses.. including moving it home ... and think about repotting in spring.. when it usually should be done ...


      you might want to propagate a few of the more gangly parts ... and if successful with that.. just think about getting rid of the old beast .. because if you are successful.. you might need a bigger house to grow it ... what roots WILL BE the same plant.. just in a newer.. fresher. more vigorous form ... and.. if the repot fails.. you have the fail safe ...


      my usual suggestion is that its stressed and not hungry.. so fert is not an option ... but i dont know what abuse it had at the office... lol.. there is the old famous dead plant.. come to find out.. some nut was dumping his coffee dregs in it every day ... just being away form the office might be enough ...


      i might look for sucking bugs on the back of leaves.. but unless you find them.. do not start applying fixes.. unless there actually is a problem.. stressed leaves dont need more stress.. just for the heck of it ...


      we will focus on new growth.. when it starts.. to tell us the plants current status ... we wont be guessing by that time ..


      patience is key ... no fast cures with this ...


      ken


      https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffsb&q=ficus+propagation&iax=videos&ia=videos

    • 5 years ago

      btw.. whats the tower next to it ... a humidifier probably isnt necessary ... though i doubt that is one ...


      ken

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    • 5 years ago

      It looks like spider mites to me. Check the underside of the leaves.

    • 5 years ago

      This is all great advice, thank you! I don't see any evidence of pests, so that's good. (Ken - the tower is a fan - my desk is in this little room and it gets very hot on sunny days.) Great idea about propagating - I'll definitely give that a try. Other than that, I'll just leave it alone aside from watering. I'll repot in the spring using my soil-less mix which my other ficus seem to love. I let the other two spend the summer on the patio in partial sun (central Ohio zone 6a). They both make the transition out and back in without much fuss, so hopefully this one will, too. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

    • 5 years ago

      Al - thank you! You are the reason I've had good luck with my other ficus trees! I've read a ton of your posts starting back before this forum was housed on Houzz. The tree in your photo is stunning!


      Quick question - if spider mites are in fact present, does that pose a threat to other plants in close proximity? I have a smallish areas I only have a small area in my house that works well sun-wise in the winter.

    • 5 years ago

      Thanks for the kind words, Jendy.

      "..... if spider mites are in fact present, does that pose a threat to other plants in close proximity?" I have had several plants of the same species side by side, indoors, under lights, with one plant suffering from mites and the others unaffected and verified as such after a close look with a 15X loupe or magnifying glass. I have 2 Ficus salicifolia (willow-leaf Ficus) which reliably serve as bellwethers for the rest of my plants. They are always the first plants to present with mites, even though their level of vitality is always very high. I have no trouble with mites outdoors, only indoors.

      Mites can be controlled topically with a spritz of water:70% rubbing alcohol at 2:1 respectively. A couple of drops of insecticidal soap will help make the mixture wetter. It must contact the mites in order to work, so it's essential to cover all parts of the plant, including undersides of leaves, leaf axils (crotches), and any nooks/ crannies/ hidey holes.

      Al

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