Why My Weeping Fig is Dropping Leaves: Ficus Benjamina Care

Ficus Benjamina aka weeping fig is a classy-looking plant to grow indoors. This species of the Moraceae family is a tropical houseplant that can cultivate easily indoors with a suitable growing climate. This genus of the Ficus plant appears like a miniature tree when fully grown.

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Table of Contents

Quick Overview: Why My Fiscus Benjamina is Losing Leaves

Extreme weather change (Cold draft or heat)
Too much light and heat can cause stress
Seasonal changes and dry air
Less daytime means low light for your fig
Also, avoid moving it often around your house
Often watering (overcaring) or underwatering
Root rot accelerates dropping leaves
Take out and wash then repot in fresh potting mix
Dry soil can also make your fig drop leaves
Protect your plant from a cold draft
Try humidifiers during winter
Yes your plant loves misting but not soggy soil
Tropical plant so happy with the humidity

Quick Care Tips for Weeping Fig

A well-draining soil
Water only when the top few inches dry
Dilute fertilizer before feeding your plant
Feed twice a month during the fast-growing season (summer spring)
Sensitive to transplant shock, cold stress, and heat
A bright spot, humid climate, and misting leaves
Love the morning sun and a day full of bright indirect light
Windows: place it a little away from windows
Prevents cold drafts and extreme heat
And yes without asking you can remove dead leaves and branches (save energy)
Pruning encourages new growth and makes your plant bushy

The long pointed leaves in the deep green shade look striking while cultivated on brownish arching stems. A weeping fig plant can grow up to 10 feet long if you can provide it with proper goring conditions with available space.

However, normal species grow 3 feet long and are easily manageable in a moderate planter like other houseplants. Here are some basic caring details of this plant to help you grow a weeping fig plant indoors most effortlessly-

Weeping Fig Care: Quick Tips

Soil: Slightly acidic rich and loose soil with good drainage quality

Water: Only when the top surface of the soil turns dry

Fertilizer: Any slow-release organic fertilizer in liquid form with half of the dilution

Sun Exposer: Bright indirect sunlight

Climate: Tropical so your plant likes high humidity

Hardiness Zones: 10 to 11

Why My Weeping Fig Plant Dropping Leaves?

One of the common issues of a weeping fig is dropping leaves. But you should remember that dropping leaves always happens without any proper reason. Some typical causes of why your growing weeping fig starts dropping leaves are-

Causes of Dropping Leaves:

For improper watering schedule, when you overwater or underwater your plant for long
When you provide your plant with inadequate sunlight like low light or too bright direct sunlight
If you don’t treat pests and bug issues with proper remedies
When you stay inattentive towards your plant and let fungal or bacterial buildup in the soil
If you keep your plant in an unsuitable climate in cold improper temperature
And when the season changes, as well as the environment, changes itself

You may also be interested in remedies for jade plants falling off leaves.

How to Fix:

Always place the planter under a suitable climate
Provide the plant with adequate sunlight
Keep the watering schedule perfect
Make sure the planting soil drains well
Apply neem oil frequently to get rid of pests and bugs
Replant the plant in time
And remove the unhealthy leaves from your growing tree once you find them apparently

You need to take care of your weeping fig plant considerately throughout the entire growing session. Just follow the caring methods properly and you don’t need to face such dropping leaves issue ever for sure.

How to Take Care of Weeping Fig:

This evergreen tree-like houseplant mostly thrives best in tropical and subtropical climates. However, you can get the best vigorous look of a weeping fig plant even indoors by providing it with the entire basic growing and caring essentials precisely. Here are the most imperative ones for proper care of your weeping fig plant like a pro gardener-

Soil and Potting Mix:

A Ficus Benjamina plant always prefers fast-draining soil. So, prepare your potting mixed with perlite, sand, and vermiculate during the plantation. Make sure the growing medium is rich in nutrient value. Keep the pH level between 6.0 to 6.5 to make it slightly acidic.

How often to water:

Weeping fig loves moist soil but never gets soggy. So, water your plant every 3-4 days and make sure the soil surface turns dry between watering. You should also check the drainage system of the excess water and avoid over or underwatering attentively.

Popper Fertilization:

This beautiful miniature tree is a heavy feeder and thus, you need to feed them frequently. Start fertilizing your plant with diluted fertilizer once a month during the beginning session, then reduce it a little during the winter season. Try to apply homemade organic fertilizer in liquid form, which is rich in micronutrients.

Required Sunlight:

A growing weeping fig plant seeks plenty of indirect sunlight. So, you need to provide the sun with partial shade. Try to put the planter where you can cater to filtered sunlight throughout the day. Place it near an east or north-facing window but of course with light concealment.

Preferable Climate:

Weeping fig always thrives best in warm conditions, try to keep the temperature between 65 to 85 degrees F consistently. Never let the temperature be less than 60 degrees F, ever, and provide high humidity with the proper temperature.

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How to Prune Fiscus Benjamina:

A healthy ficus plant can reach up to the height of 10 feet indoors. Hence, it is necessary to trim your plant in time to keep it under control. Pruning also helps to hold the perfect appearance of your indoor weeping fig plant smartly.

So, whenever you find that your plant is turning over bushy or uncontrollably long or losing its elegance, prune it instantly. To trim the plant down, follow the steps below-

Wait till the winter come to do your pruning
Now, bring a sterilized pruner and start your pruning
To trim a weeping fig plant and keep it healthy too, find a proper stem first
Look out for discolored and dead branches from your plant
Find out if is there any fungal or bacterial infestation happening in your plant
If yes, then trim that part too carefully with your set of pruners

When to Repot and How:

Repotting is necessary for the weeping fig type of plant, which is a fast grower. To go for the repotting, you must wait for some clear signs like-

If the plant overgrows the current planter
Or the plant doesn’t grow as much faster as it does usually
When the soil couldn’t water quickly due to a congested root system
And when the leaves start dropping or growing with less shiner or colorless forms

Now the rules of repotting are-

Attempt to repot your indoor weeping fig plant once every year
Always bring a 3-4 inches bigger planter for the replantation
Use new potting soil and growing medium every time you repot the plant
And wait till the time of early spring to do the course without any fear of damage.

How to Propagate Weeping Fig:

Due to being a bonsai type of houseplant, weeping fig/ficus plants are quite easy to propagate without any hassle. You can do the proper process of propagation in two different ways-

Propagation in Soil:

Let the plant fully thrive till the summer come
Now, find out a good branch in your host plant with healthy leaves
Cut about 4-6 inches of the tip from that branch right below a node
Remove entire leaves from the bottom 2 inches and wipe the bottom part with a tissue
Prepare a planter with proper potting mix and moist it evenly by sprinkling water
Create a hole in the middle of the potting soil to place the cutting into it
Secure the base with the remaining potting soil and water it thoroughly
Place the planter in a warm, high-humid place, and you are done here

Indoor plant care – quick read on how to prune and propagate peace lily plants.

How to propagate in water:

To do this in water, get the cutting and dip its bottom in a jar of rooting hormone first
Now, place the cutting into a glass of water (distilled water)
Keep changing the water each week attentively to avoid any rotting experience
You can avoid the rooting hormone for the weeping fig plant if you want
Place the glass in a place where it can get bright but indirect light with high humidity
Wait for a couple of weeks, small roots will germinate soon from the bottom of your cutting
When the root reaches 4 inches long, remove it from the glass and plant it in an indoor or outdoor garden area directly