Hi there -- I need help! I'm attaching pictures of an indoor tree we moved 3 weeks ago. It was in a cool, dark space (approx. 60 degrees F) and now resides next to a south-facing, sunny window (closer to 70 degrees F). Originally it was healthy, perky, and green . . . As you can see, it is not faring well in the new home! I'm not sure what kind of tree it is but since we moved, pruned, and watered it, the leaves promptly bleached out and died. I'm wondering if I've done permanant damage and what steps I should take to salvage this poor thing . . . Do you know what kind of tree this is? Do I need to move it away from the window and then slowly ease it back into the sunlight? How often should I water it and how much water does it need? How long should I expect it might take to "heal"? Any other tips? Thanks so much. Becky C.
i agree on f. benjamina. they're finicky and will drop leaves at the drop of a hat...and when they're moved and when the watering schedule is changed, etc. yes, it was definitely moved too quickly into brighter conditions as well as too bright conditions. they're more of 'bright indirect light' rather than full-on sun. move it back from the window so it's not getting full sun. let it sit for a few weeks to readjust - it should recover and put out new leaves. it just needs time to recover.
Sorry about your ficus. It looks like it was nice and full before the move. The leaves look pretty fried from the sun. Although these trees can take sun, if they aren't used to it and it's not moved slowly to more and more light, it can suffer, plus they really don't need direct sun to look nice, maybe a little bit is ok. I have four myself. Watch not to over water because there isn't a lot of healthy leaves left, so you have to be careful of root rot. Keep the soil barely moist and away from direct sun for now and don't feed it anything. At least not until your seeing plenty of new growth. You'll probably need to do some pruning, maybe even halfway back since some of the stems will probably dry up (I did this to one of mine last year) because it was looking a little unruly.
