Ficus tree dying

Jniels84

New Member
My Cham looks healthy, eats great. But my ficus tree is dying fast. I use a misting system 3 times a day at 1 min 30 seconds each. Is this too much water for the ficus? Has anyone else had problems with their plants? I'm better at taking care of my chameleon than the live plants I guess. Lol
 
I haven't had any trouble with my ficus. It might need more light. You could try adding a plant light.
 
Yes, I have the same problem. The Ficus, money tree... I keep the soil pretty dry to damp but the leaves keeps falling..:confused:. People keep saying they are low maintainance but mine just keeps dying.

My boyfriend says the same thing. We can keep chameleon, gecko, dog and cat alive but not your plants.
 
Is your plant getting enough light? Ficus usually can withstand being inside but if it is too dark the leaves will fall off.
 
Ficus can be touchy and often drop leaves if something in their environment has changed (level of light, amount of water, being repotted or moved, too much or too little feeding, room humidity). If it is dropping leaves suddenly even though it has been healthy before, it could be response to a change, but if it has been dropping leaves mainly in areas that don't get direct exposure to cage lights it is "self pruning". When a plant's branches no longer get light exposure the plant sort of stops supporting the leaves that don't produce nutrients for the plant...and it invests more into new leaves where the light does reach. For example...trees that grow in dense forests maintain all their growing green branches at the top of the tree and they are bare lower down where light doesn't penetrate.

First thing to do is check your lighting and whether the plant pot is full of saturated stagnant soil. These will damage the plant.
 
Ya the pot was full of stinky stagnate water. I just put it on a plant roller thing. To get it off the floor of the cage. I took the wheels off so it's secure. But ya I think that's what happened it wasn't draining through the bottom of the pot. I may end up just buying a new ficus now that I have a proper drainage system and start attempt number 2. Thanks for the replys. Also there's a ficus plant at my local gardening store. Called a ficus snow. It has white in the leaves, would that be safe for my Cham, or should I stick with a normal ficus?
 
Ya the pot was full of stinky stagnate water. I just put it on a plant roller thing. To get it off the floor of the cage. I took the wheels off so it's secure. But ya I think that's what happened it wasn't draining through the bottom of the pot. I may end up just buying a new ficus now that I have a proper drainage system and start attempt number 2. Thanks for the replys. Also there's a ficus plant at my local gardening store. Called a ficus snow. It has white in the leaves, would that be safe for my Cham, or should I stick with a normal ficus?

Chances are your original Ficus is a lost cause due to rotted roots. The Ficus you saw is just a color variety...should be the same species...Ficus benjamina? I'm sure they could tell you. Just a heads up...when you buy the new one it may drop leaves in response to being moved, repotted, etc, but should produce new leaves fairly quickly.
 
I have 3 Ficus B. in each of my 2 cages. The leaves of the lower parts of the plants fall of like mad but the ones closer to the 3 6500k lights i have in each cage are fairing better. Mine get pretty saturated with my AquaZamp 4 times a day.
 
Chances are your original Ficus is a lost cause due to rotted roots. The Ficus you saw is just a color variety...should be the same species...Ficus benjamina? I'm sure they could tell you. Just a heads up...when you buy the new one it may drop leaves in response to being moved, repotted, etc, but should produce new leaves fairly quickly.

I think I should start circulating a phrase used by horticulture people.
"Plants don't like wet feet."

I've had them recover from root rot by letting them dry out completely for a while but it's usually 50/50. Everything else said I would agree 100%. I use the variegated form of Ficus benjamina in my enclosures and the only issue is that it is supposedly slightly less hardy. I've noticed no difference in hardiness or growth rate honestly. This species will definitely drop leaves at the slightest lighting change or from re-potting though. I think it has something to do with the fact that it is a jungle tree. In the jungle as an understory sapling it likely needs to change its leaves to be denser if it suddenly has a larger tree fall down that blocks out its light. Changing the leaf structure would allow for more energy potential and also to prevent burning.
 
Back
Top Bottom