|
|
|
Spotted Leaves And "Too Much Too Soon"
|
|
|
|
|
Question? A Ficus Forum visitor asks " I purchased a fig tree 2 weeks ago. The owner said it was outdoors for a while. I got it home, repotted it in new soil. It was put back indoors and it was OK the first week. Then it was put outside, and I fertilized it. Soon after that, it started dropping leaves and I noticed brownish spots or blotches on the remaining leaves. What is the problem and what can I do?"
Your tree shows brown spots on its leaves and is undergoing loss of leaves. This indicates damage of some sort. This could be from too strong fertilizer, sun damage or even too cold temperatures. Your tree has been stressed badly. Normally we do only one stressful activity at a time and your tree has been stressed by moving several times, repotting, and fertilizing. It is time to slow down and let the tree recover. Move the tree to a bright spot in a window and/or in shade outdoors and keep the tree warm, above 80F. Do not fertilize it or move it for at least 6 weeks. Water the soil only when it is dryish at the 1/2 to inch level below the soil surface. Keep your fingers crossed and if you are lucky the tree may survive. In the future, perform only one major activity on your fig . Once you know your tree you can sometimes do more but the rule is to make sure that the tree recovers and is growing normally before further procedures are done. |
