A large,5'tall ficus in my house for 5years.A week ago I noticed some yellowing leaves. Upon close examination I noticed on the underside of the dying leaves, not where the leaf attaches to the branch, but where the actual leaf begins a tiny,about the size of a pin head,glob of something white that looks like a glob of tiny bobbles. It doesnt appear to be moving. It is moist. It appears to be cutting off the leafs' circulation because those leaves turn yellow and drop off. Is this a fungal infection or what?
Hi Bob, Your white blob could be mealy bugs or aphids. If they look like tufts of cotton then it's mealy bugs. Take a look here. http://www.upenn.edu/paflora/plantclinic/mealybugs.htm Aphids come in many colors. These just happen to be orange. http://woodypest.ifas.ufl.edu/aphids.htm Newt
Newt Thankyou for your response.These are not mealy bugs or any other bug.Let me explain.At closer examintion all of the hundreds of leaves on the plant are affect to one degree of another:as I said the damage takes place on the under side of the leaf where the leaf stem attaches to the leaf itself.The leaves that are still all green have a small deposit of a clear wet looking liquid that will not wipe off by rubbing it with your finger.On leaves that are loosing color that wet looking place turns into something that resembles a mealy bug,but it doesnt move it just stays there until the leaf turns yellowand the disentegrates. This must be comming from the roots because all leaves are affected and at the exact same spot.I repotted it yesterday thinking it may have been over watered.The roots looked healthy.I sprayed it with a funguside.Ill see if that treatment is effective in a while. Any thoughts?
I wish I'd asked which Ficus you have as different ones are affected by different problems. It does sound like some type of leaf spot that could be bacterial, not fungal. Take a look at this page and see if you can better id what is going on. http://mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/Foliage/folnotes/ficus.htm Please let me know what you find. Newt
I finally found out,from a local nursery, what the problem was. They said there is a secretion that appears when the plant is too warm and the secretion kills leaves to cool the plant.To correct it ,my plant is inside,open a window for some cool fresh air and try to provide some humidity,a pail of water at the base.
Is this the same problem? My ficus is also losing leaves. At the base of the leaf where it connects to the branch is a white waxy deposit that doesn't move but will come off if rubbed off. As well the plant has been exuding a sticky substance which made me think it was a mealy bug infestation. However, spraying and repotting haven't eliminated the problem.
Hi Joanna, From your description your tree could have scales. They are sometimes difficult to see. They come in different colors and shapes. http://woodypest.ifas.ufl.edu/insect.htm You don't say what you sprayed with, but for scales you will need horticultural oil. Newt
Re: ficus leafspot I have a ficus elastica 'Tricolor' that I keep on a north-facing patio. It grows slowly but happily and looks very healthy. The only thing that bugs me is the older leaves are prone to brown spots that are dry & crackly. The bottom leaves eventually peel off on their own. (I used to cut off the infected leaves but since this didn't seem to prevent further brown spots and only accelerated leaf loss, I leave it alone now.) I've read that brown spots are common for this ficus (and there's nothing you can do which can't be true). I don't overwater or mist it since I was afraid of keeping the leaves too wet. I looked at the "Ficus Production Guide" Newt mentioned in an earlier post but couldn't positively match the symptoms. Botrytis blight symptoms ring near to home but the spots have appeared year-round, not just during cool weather, and in my zone we get plenty of humidity and heat the rest of the year. Any idea what's causing this or how to stop it?
Hi Honeysuckle, I keep looking at the pic you provided and I'm wondering if your problem is one related to fertilizer, ie: excessive salts or flouride content of water or too much boron. Take a look here. I've used the cached version so you can see the highlighted text. Look at 'Leaf Scorch'. You'll find the info under 'Ficus' and 'Indian Rubber Tree'. http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cach...e.doc+Botrytis+cinerea+++Ficus+elastica&hl=en Newt
Thanks for the article, Newt! It's possible it might be from impurities in the water because I usually use tap water (usually left out for a day but not always). I don't have a rain barrel so rainwater isn't always onhand but I'll see what I can do. I fertilize it very infrequently, maybe a couple times this past year with your standard 20-20-20 or similar. I've mulched with white rock & haven't checked the soil surface in a while but I'll let you know if I notice anything telling.
Honeysuckle, you are very welcome. I would definately remove the white rocks. When it's time to water again flush the soil well with bottled or demineralized water and then don't use tap water to see how it goes. Letting tap water sit for 24 hours will allow the chlorine to dissipate, but not any floride. The standard 20-20-20 fertilizers that are synthetic do make for salt buildup. Also best to use a clay pot. Even though you only fertilize once or twice a year, there could be a buildup in the soil. That's why I recommend a flush. You could try an organic fertilizer such as fish emulsion or sea weed/sea kelp. I just use milk or unsalted veggie cooking water for a fertilizer. I even use the cooled water from boiling eggs with their shell on. Been doing this for years and my plants love it. I just add a tablespoon of milk to the watering can or add water to a just emptied milk jug and use that to water. It's also great for flowering plants as well. From this site: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_gardening_basics/article/0,1785,HGTV_3589_1392780,00.html You might want to read through these topics as well. http://www.plant-care.com/house-plants-indoor-plant.html Newt
Thanks again for the in-depth advice and links! It'll definitely be useful for me to get some organic fertilizers. I've heard many accounts of their beneficial powers. Also, I have sprayed my plants with diluted milk before & plan to do it more regularly as part of my plant care regimen. I'll let you know if the problem goes away after I give my ficus some special attention.
