Ficus are trees that are often grown indoors. They are large, exotic-looking plants, which however are not as easy to care for as you might think at first. In fact, One of the most common problems that they usually have inside the houses is the fall of the leaves, caused by lack of light, poor irrigation or other factors.
It is a shame, because if measures are not taken in time, the plants will not get ahead. So if you want to know why the ficus leaves fall and what to do to prevent their situation from worsening, we will explain it to you below.
Lack of light
Lack of light is usually the most common cause. The ficus is a plant that it needs a lot of light so that it can grow properly. For this reason, it must be placed in the room where there are windows through which light from the outside enters; otherwise the leaves will begin to fall.
Y if you already have problems, you will have to change places. Surely in the place where you are you do not receive the light you need. In the event that we live in a house, flat or apartment with little light, it is highly recommended to get an LED growth lamp specially designed for plants, like this one:
What's good about it? Well, not only does it emit the ideal light for the plant, but also both the height and the support of the bulbs themselves are adjustable. It works with electricity, and has a power of 80 watts. Get it now and you will see how your ficus is gradually recovering.
Air currents
Air currents are another cause that can cause the ficus to lose its leaves. If in the room you are in, you are near the air conditioner, fans, or even windows that are left open, the leaves dry and fall. For this reason, the plant should be moved away from such devices.
You have to take into account that air currents make the environment dry, that is, the ambient humidity drops. In this situation, the plant cannot do anything, because its leaves lose water faster than the conductive vessels are capable of carrying it. That is why the first symptom that something is wrong is the tips of the leaves, which turn brown., as they are the first to receive the impact of the air generated by the aforementioned devices.
Inadequate substrate
The ficus must grow in a light and nutrient-rich soil. When planted in a compact substrate, the air can hardly circulate between the granites that form it, so when watering, the roots have trouble breathing normally.. If, in addition, that soil remains moist for a long time, in the end the oxygen molecules disappear, and then the plant suffocates.
Therefore, if it is kept on an unsuitable substrate, It should be changed as soon as possible for another of quality, such as those of brands Westland o Flower.
Dry environment
When the humidity inside the interior is very low throughout the year, that is, when it is kept at 50% or less, tropical and subtropical plants, including ficus, have a hard time and they can drop the leaves even if they are apparently green and healthy.
For this reason, it is important to find out if the humidity inside the house is high, above 50%, for example by buying a Weather Station, and if it is not, then we spray the plant with distilled or rain water once a day.
Those plants that are in humid environments should NOT be sprayed, since we would favor the spread of fungi.
The pot has no holes
I know: pots that don't have holes are very pretty. But they are a danger to plants. They are not practical at all; on the contrary: the water remains stagnant, very close to the roots, which end up drowned. Therefore, if your ficus is in one, do not hesitate to plant it as soon as possible in a container with holes at its base.
As well I recommend applying a fungicide that contains copper, since pathogenic fungi love humid and warm environments, as well as weak plants, so you must prevent your ficus from having more serious problems and ending up dying.
It has a plate under the pot
Even if you have your ficus in a pot with holes, if you leave the plate undrained, the roots will also suffocate over time. So do not hesitate to drain it always, after each watering.
Lack of irrigation
Going thirsty is something that no one likes. Plants react in different ways: folding their leaves, stopping feeding newer ones, and also dropping some. Ficus trees are not trees that need frequent watering, but neither should we make the mistake of never watering them.
So if we see that the newest leaves turn yellow and/or fall, and we will have to suspect that the plant needs water. To cover its water needs, we will irrigate it. We will pour water until the soil is completely wet, and it comes out through the drainage holes.
Excess irrigation
Excess water is something that we have to avoid at all costs. Really, it is very difficult to recover a plant that is drowning, since it is so weakened that pathogenic fungi do not take long to appear, and thus contribute to root rot. Although there are anti-fungal products, fungicides, these are only really effective when the disease is in its infancy, that is, when the root system has not yet suffered much damage.
Of course, this is difficult to know, since the roots grow in the ground and cannot be seen with the naked eye, but if you see that the leaves of your ficus are beginning to have dark green/brown/blackish spots starting at the margins of the leaves, and that increase in size quickly, you are probably getting more water than you need.
You can confirm it by checking the humidity of the soil, either by inserting a thin wooden stick, or by using a soil moisture meter as this. But yes, if you opt for the latter, keep in mind that it is only a guide: to know more or less sure if the soil is wet or not, you have to insert the sensor to the bottom, since the surface layers are They dry faster than the rest.
Pests
In their early stages, pests do not cause premature leaf drop. In other words: a single aphid, a red spider, a mealybug, or a thrips for example, will not make your ficus run out of leaves. But the situation, unfortunately, changes quickly: in a matter of a few days what started as a single insect, ends up being a colony. They multiply rapidly, and not only that: they produce many offspring. And of course, they all feed on the sap of the plant.
To do? Treat the ficus as soon as possible. The first thing you can do is clean the leaves with water without lime, or alternatively fresh water (suitable for human consumption). If you did it with water rich in lime, it would settle on the pores of the leaves and prevent them from performing their functions normally.
Once they are clean, you have to treat them, either with a polyvalent insecticide such as this that is sold ready to use, or better yet with homemade and/or ecological products, such as the diatomaceous earth that we are talking about in this video and that you can buy here:
Lack of space
You water your ficus well, it has enough light,... but its leaves still fall off. Why? Well, if everything is fine, or apparently fine, you have to ask yourself if the plant needs a bigger pot. We don't usually remember to transplant indoor plants, but It's something we have to do from time to time.
The roots run out of space, and there comes a time when they come out through the holes in the pot, or they begin to grow around the inside of the pot... until they finally exhaust the soil. When you take a plant that has done the latter out of the container, you don't see a root ball of soil and roots, just roots. It is something that draws a lot of attention, and also something that we should avoid.
Therefore, take a look at the bottom of your ficus pot every 2-3 years, and plant it in a larger pot if you run out of space.
Now that you know why ficus leaves fall off, we hope you can get your plant back.