Hello lovely plant enthuiasts! Please help me save this poor overloved but poorly cared for tree! I have been given the job of curing a very sick plant. It's been moved, heated, over cooled, over watered, underfertalized and now is buggy....where do I begin to heal this sick plant? It's half dead (a lot of dead bits have already been cut away) with some green growth on the lower parts, I've ordered off watering it so it can dry out (it's been sitting in water) but I am concerned about root rot. When I went to dig to discover what's up down there, the soil was full of fruit flies and fruit fly larvae. (I'm not sure if the kids buried some raisins or if the plant is worse off than I thought!) Also there is a dark (wet looking) ring around the tree's trunk at soil level extending up about two inches and according to the owners, it used to be white, has turned dark brown and is growing. What is this about? I would like to give the whole tree new soil as it's never been re-potted by the owners and am wondering what to do to kill the bugs naturally before I give new healthy soil. Should I use plant food in the water and/or some other fertilizer? Also it's not getting the best light. Should I move it to a corner where it will get more indirect light and not be in the draft of the front door? thanks so much for your advice! Carlie ;-)
definitely repot it - and, while it's unpotted, check for rotted roots and remove all that you see. if you want to use the same container, wash it very well. use bleach/water mix and then rinse, rinse, rinse and then rinse again to remove any bleach residue. i'd probably opt for a new one, though (and make sure it has drainage holes). i'd also recommend removing as much soil from the roots as you can - you can submerge the roots in a bowl of water and swish it around to get what's mixed in the roots to dislodge. doing this should also remove any fly eggs that are there, too. allow the roots to dry well before potting up. also, allow the plant to sit in the new dry soil for a week before you water it. then do a slow and thorough watering...until you just see water coming out of the drain holes...any excess water that comes out over the course of 45 minutes should be removed from the drip dish. for the moment, keep the plant in the same location it's in now. it's not in good health and repotting will add to the shock situation, so you need to allow it time to recuperate and get some health back before moving it to proper lighting conditions. it's good that you see some good/green growth. f. benjamina is very finicky - it's likely to lose every last leaf after repotting. it'll bounce back though. once it's repotted and on a healthy/proper watering schedule and has recovered from the current situation, is the time you can think about slowly moving it to a better lighting situation...should be about mid-summer. then, gently ease the plant to the new location. if you can move it a little each week, that's best. if you need to do it in one shot, block the light at the new spot and then, over the course of a few weeks, allow more light to come in contact with the plant until it's in the full light it needs.
These plants are one of the pickiest plants about being moved .. they almost throw a fit .. drop leaves.. like crazy .. the best thing with these is once it is stable .. DONT move it ... lol.. or it will have another temper tantrum .. good luck with it .. Marion
