Hello, I found this tree in the trash pile of my building. I am wondering if someone can tell me what kind of tree it is. (ficus benjamina?) Almost all leaves are dry and falling off, I'm hoping it wasn't in freezing temperatures for too long, and will survive. I saw some spots on the leaves which worry me, I'd really appreciate if you could tell me what might have caused them, and whether it could be contagious to my other plants. Thanks!
Yes, Ficus benjamina. It looks like in the third pic, on the main leaf, just to the right of the center rib there is a round brown dot that might possibly be hard scale, perhaps you could look at the plant closer? If it is, then it must be immediately quarrantined far away from your other plants. They are some of the most persistent of all house plant pests, and hardest to fully eradicate (although I've done it). If that is hard scale, you might consider that this plant may not be special enough for all the work & devotion it's going to take to bring it back. The scale might be the reason is was discarded in the first place.
Agree with Tom that it's Ficus benjamina, that the third photo might show scale, and that it may not be worth the effort to revive the plant. If it wasn't exposed to cold for very long, the tree might still technically be alive, but then, so might the scale (or at least any eggs might still be viable). I would run as far and as fast as I could from any possible source of scale, because I've spent the last seven or eight months battling a scale infestation that came in a year ago, and it is no fun at all. If it was exposed to cold for a long time, the scale are probably dead, possibly but not definitely including the eggs, but in that case the tree is likely dead or severely damaged as well. Wouldn't be worth it for me. (Though I might be inclined to keep the pot.)
Thank you both for the replies, I've been battling spider mites and a new kind of infestation to deal with is not what I want to sign up for. I will get rid of the tree asap. mrsubjunctive I've been reading your blog for a while now, thanks for providing all the entertaining content (: And I'm definitely keeping the pot, it's huge and made out of clay and glazed, so carrying the Ficus home was worth it, at least !
Oh and I forgot to mention that upon closer inspection in daylight of the trunk it does indeed have some suspicious bumps, some of different colors than others..