I received this email from Carol Murphy about her ailing ficus tree:
“I’m having a problem with a ficus that I’ve had for years. It’s 5
1/2 feet tall from the soil and has a trunk bottom circumference of 5
1/2 inches. The pot is 13 inches diameter and 14 inches tall. It usually sheds leaves midwinter and then grows lots of new ones, This year it has just been having lots of wilted leaves and is getting sparse. It also has developed lots of little nuisance flies.
On one of Ciscoe’s programs he said it could be a fungus fly so I have just put sand on the top as he had suggested, but I don’t know what to do further. Should I repot, change the soil, which would be a tricky thing or…..??? I’d sure appreciate some of your wonderful advice. I enjoy your articles in the Herald.”
Seriously, I didn’t pay her for the last part. I don’t know if I can offer more wisdom than Ciscoe, but what research I’ve done on ficus shows that fungus gnats can be traced back to over watering and/or poor soil quality. You could repot with sterile potting mix.
Gardeners growing ficus: Other solutions that have worked for you?
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