looks like a watering issue..

its in too small a pot ...

tip it out of the pot.. and snap a pic of the roots.. lets see whats going on there ... then put it back in the pot for now...

then do whatever al tells you to do.. lol .. lots less typing for me..lol

ken

Does its current pot have a drain hole? Even if it does, following the oft parroted advice to water when the top inch of the soil feels dry to touch, is far more often a recipe for for over-watering than appropriate watering interval management. The simple reason is, in a 10" deep pot, when the top 2" feels dry, the bottom 6" of soil, or more, can still be 100% saturated with water. What's key is the moisture level deep in the pot, near or at the bottom.

Misting does nothing for the plant in terms of raising the moisture level of the air surrounding the plant. It increases humidity for about 10 minutes - average, but does nothing for the plant during the remaining 1,430 minutes in a day. Ficus leaves have a waxy cuticle (skin) which helps them limit moisture loss through leaves, and will do just vine if you can keep the root system healthy.

So, does the pot have a drainage hole? Have you changed the plant's location (like indoors from outdoors or from a bright spot to a spot with less light)? Fertilizing? With what/ how often? Has the water you're using to water the plant been routed through a water softener? Is it's current home on the bathroom sink? If yes, the problem could be attributed to a change in light conditions, as moving a ficus from a high light position to a dimmer location generally results in some degree of shedding from a little to all or nearly all leaves. Your plant wants/ needs very bright light if it's to maintain a high level of vitality (health) and eye appeal.

No worry though, Audrey will be cooperative if you can manage to get the cultural conditions you provide at least close to the plant's 'sweet spot'.

How to determine appropriate watering intervals:

Using a 'tell'

Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant.

Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor.

In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water.

Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'.

One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue.

Al