Is my tree dying?

Carol

I'm very new to bonsai. I was given a ficus retusa as a birthday gift last January, and I've managed to keep it alive since then. It was purchased from a local bonsai grower and when I took it back in July to have it worked on, he said, "I don't know what you're doing with this plant, but whatever it is, keep doing it. It looks great."

My tree has dropped its leaves a couple of times because the temperature got down to about 65 degrees, but both times, the leaves came back beautifully afterwards.

In the last week, I've noticed that some of the branches and their leaves are shriveling up and turning brown. This isn't at all the same as when the leaves dropped. I'm afraid my tree may be dying. I haven't done anything significantly different. I brought the tree indoors about a month and a half ago, but I put it in a window with the same lighting conditions as when it was outside. The house is fairly humid most of the time (I live in coastal North Carolina).

Is my tree doomed?

Thanks in advance for any help.

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irene_b

You answered your own question......
Irene

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Joanie

Carol, have you looked for bugs? Does the soil stay wet, or do you let it dry out somewhat between waterings?

Trees perceive the conditions inside of houses differently than we do. Our eyes adjust to low light, but trees need high levels. What looks bright (or bright enough) to us, may not be enough for a tree. A growing light hung directly above the tree might be helpful. If you need more information or want to look into this, let us know. There are threads dealing with this.

The humidity inside of your house also may feel high to you, but be much lower for the tree. Particularly if your heater is beginning to come on. Heaters really dry out the house air. There are people who know how to work around this problem, as well.

Ficus retusa are tough. Look for bugs, let the soil dry out somewhat between waterings, and consider whether you would be interested in investing in a growing light and humidity tray set up. Also, put a call in to your local bonsai grower. They may have ideas for you as well.

Joanie

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Carol

The lighting conditions are pretty much the same as they were outside. The window where the tree is has the same exposure as the part of my porch where I had the tree. I let it dry out a bit before I water.

The tree didn't drop its leaves when it experienced these kinds of changes in its conditions before, for instance, when I brought it home from the bonsai grower (huge difference in light and humidity levels), or when I put it outside last spring. But this isn't leaf drop. The leaves and the stems that they are on are shriveling up and turning brown.

There seems to be a colony of ants living in the pot that took up residence there during the summer. They didn't seem to be causing any harm prior to now (for about six months), so I wasn't too worried about them. Can ants cause this sort of problem?

rockm

Lighting conditions are nowhere near the same indoors, unless you have a greenhouse. Indoors, even near a window, are more than 50 percent dimmer than outdoors.

This doesn't sound like the problem though if the branches are shriveling. If you're letting the soil dry a bit between waterings, the interior soil can sometimes become bone dry. This can happen when a plant is extremely root bound, or the soil is too fine and/or broken down. Once the interior soil dries in such conditions, it can become extremely hard to re-wet. To find out if this is the case, tip the plant root ball up from within the pot. Unless it was repotted in the last year, it should come up as a solid mass. Poke a few roots aside, examine the interior. It should not be dry inside there.

Additionally, ants are a symptom of either aphids or scale on your tree. If they have colonized your plant pot, it can also mean the soil is dried out--ants avoid soggy conditions to make thier colonies. Ants do no direct harm to the plant, but the "farm" these pests for their sugar secretions. Look carefully on the plant for scale. They look like little barnacles on the stems and limbs. If you see them, poke them with a wire end. Do this until all are dead.

irene_b

I have ficus and have had ants do major damage. They will live inside the tree.
Get rid of the ants.
Irene

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Carol

I'm afraid to try to pull the tree up out of the pot. I think it was repotted not too long before it was purchased about 11 months ago, and it doesn't seem to have a very well developed root system yet. I'll have a look for other bugs.

irene b, how did you get rid of the ants?

irene_b

I used Amdro Fireant bait. I sprinkled liberally.
Where the tree had a previous chop at the top is where I found that they had nested inside the tree.
Irene

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