Fungus on Ficus?

Hi everyone,



One of my large Ficus microcarpas has been dropping leaves for a few days now. I took some of the leaves into my local nursery and they looked at them under a microscope and said that they noticed some fungal spores on the leaves. So I went and bought the anti-fungicide they recommended. Is anyone familiar with fungus on Ficus? I'm hoping the people at the nursery were right about the fungus ID and not just trying to get money out of me

Here's some leaf shots:



And here's the fungicide I bought, Daconil:

The product they sold you will work on a fungus on the leaves or soil, but if the plant is infected it will not help.

I have a lot of Ficus and don't think I have ever had a fungus.

Please describe how you are caring for the plant, location, water, etc.

Was the "infected" leaf taken off the plant or was it already on the soil.

Yellow leaves can be a natural shedding of old leaves and a leaf that lays on the soil for long will get infected with something.

Thanks Billy.

The tree is grown indoors under a T5 light. I water only when the soil is dry. Humidity where the tree is is in the 60s.

The leaves were not laying in the soil, but were on the tree. I plucked them off. Not sure where the tree would have gotten the fungus, if that's the problem....

Ryan wrote:Thanks Billy.

The tree is grown indoors under a T5 light. I water only when the soil is dry. Humidity where the tree is is in the 60s.

The leaves were not laying in the soil, but were on the tree. I plucked them off. Not sure where the tree would have gotten the fungus, if that's the problem....

Indoors under lights can cause all sorts of problems. What about air circulation? Fan? Stagnant air can be a problem and maybe fungus is the result.

Billy M. Rhodes wrote:
Indoors under lights can cause all sorts of problems. What about air circulation? Fan? Stagnant air can be a problem and maybe fungus is the result.

Hm air circulation isn't the best, but none of my other trees in the same area have been affected. Could this be leaf spot fungus?

I don't know if it is "leaf spot" or what. but it could be a fungus. If you grow indoors under light good air circulation is a must. Most growers use some kind of a fan.

Thanks Billy. I'll spray it and improve air circulation.

Then again, the tree is pushing growth....

Stressed or dying trees will often push new growth, but if the adverse conditions continue the tree will die.

Billy M. Rhodes wrote:Stressed or dying trees will often push new growth, but if the adverse conditions continue the tree will die.

True, but healthy and recovering ones push growth as well

The leaf drop has slowed and is not as frequent as it was before.

I wonder if scale could also be the issue. I was looking the tree over and noticed there were scale on some branches, so I gave it a good spray down of Carl Rosners soap solution.

Tree grown indoors, under lights with poor air circulation are going to have more problems with bugs as well as fungus, etc.

Ryan wrote:
Hm air circulation isn't the best, but none of my other trees in the same area have been affected. Could this be leaf spot fungus?

Hi Ryan,

Have you been spraying any chemicals or chemical fertilizers, water etc. to your ficus before this (fungus) problem arises?

It looks from your photo that you have tried to create a mini greenhouse to maybe increase humidity? This might be part of your problem. Although Ficus will tolerate high humidity and it probably encourages aerial roots, it can also lead to a lot of problems if the air does not move. In a set up like that you need a fan running 24/7 to move the air and bring in fresh air.
On the subject of aerial roots, yes they look cool, but they also come with their own set of problems such as reverse taper. When an aerial root is feeding a section of the tree the trunk and/or branch below it will quit expanding. What makes a branch or trunk expand is feeding the trees foliage above it. If an aerial root is doing that, the trunk/branch doesn't need to and quits growing.

Hi Ryan

I once in a topic said, it is best to have a really nice fat trunk on your tree, before you begin to keep the arealroots, as the the trunk othervise, as Billy says, will develope a inverted taper, witch is VERY unwanted.

Maybe bugs, brought in to the box together with the tree, will thrive in the little universe you have created....spray will do the trick.

About the fungus.......this can, like the bugs come from anyvere, and must be sprayed, just like the bugs.
To my experience does fungus not come from lack of airflow....but VERY high humidity can be a problem for ficus, keep your boxes more dry. Dont have too much water in the trays under the trees,....this, and also together with a too low temperature will make both fungus and mold grow.

Kind regards Yvonne

Thanks everyone!

Sakaki- Nope, no chemicals at all. I never watered the foliage when watering the tree either, as I read that can cause issues.

Billy- Thanks, I've been growing in these boxes for a few years now and haven't had any problems. As to the aerial roots, they were on the tree before I got them, and given their locations, I don't see them causing any problems.

Yvonne- I am more than happy with the size of the trunk on this one, well over 7 inches, so getting aerial roots now is fine (even though I haven't gotten any or tried to)

The purpose of this box isn't to hold humidity or heat, but just to reflect light. The sides are all mylar, so I'm not trying to keep humidity up.

Hi Ryan

7 inches is nice ...please keep us updated when you know what is/was wrong with the tree.

I have my box for the trees in the window,to keep up the humidity...humidity will give arealroots you want.

Kind regards Yvonne

Yvonne Graubaek wrote:Hi Ryan

7 inches is nice ...please keep us updated when you know what is/was wrong with the tree.

I have my box for the trees in the window,to keep up the humidity...humidity will give arealroots you want.

Kind regards Yvonne

Thanks Yvonne! Yes, the trunk is pretty nice!

This is the tree from this thread:
https://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t10452-my-biggest-ficus

The problem on your tree is caused by trying to grow it indoors all year round. Do you live in an apartment without a balcony? If not, stop fighting Mother Nature and put your trees outside for the summer.
Too late this year. Grow your Ficus with better air circulation and a very coarse, low-organic soil. Do not water until the soil is almost bone dry.
Use a systemic insecticide to get rid of scale. Do it before frost because most systemics need to be sprayed outdoors.
Iris

bonsaisr wrote:The problem on your tree is caused by trying to grow it indoors all year round. Do you live in an apartment without a balcony? If not, stop fighting Mother Nature and put your trees outside for the summer.
Too late this year. Grow your Ficus with better air circulation and a very coarse, low-organic soil. Do not water until the soil is almost bone dry.
Use a systemic insecticide to get rid of scale. Do it before frost because most systemics need to be sprayed outdoors.
Iris

Thanks Iris, but I am not trying to grow all of my trees indoors all year round. I do take most outdoors and those that do stay indoors have no issues at all, so saying this is due to the tree being grown indoors year round I'd say is a little much. People always tell me to get the trees outdoors, but if they're growing fine, why bother? Jerry Meislik also grows this way, where a majority of his trees stay indoors year round. I grow Ficus my way.

Let's not start trying to convince me otherwise and just keep to the topic on hand.

Ryan wrote:Jerry Meislik also grows this way, where a majority of his trees stay indoors year round.

Jerry Meislik grows under HID lamps, an entirely different environment. Have you seen a picture of his growing area?
You asked for advice on your problem. I gave it to you, based on my growing plants under fluorescent lights & outdoors for over 50 years, tropical bonsai for over 20.
There is a Jewish law that you must not tell someone something you know he won't listen to, so I will never mention the subject to you again.
Iris

bonsaisr wrote:

Ryan wrote:Jerry Meislik also grows this way, where a majority of his trees stay indoors year round.

Jerry Meislik grows under HID lamps, an entirely different environment. Have you seen a picture of his growing area?
You asked for advice on your problem. I gave it to you, based on my growing plants under fluorescent lights & outdoors for over 50 years, tropical bonsai for over 20.
There is a Jewish law that you must not tell someone something you know he won't listen to, so I will never mention the subject to you again.
Iris

Fair enough, nice law

I picked off another yellowing leaf and gave it a good look-over. It appears as if it's got some sort of wax (and yes it feels waxy and is not webbing) coating on it. I've never noticed this on any of my other trees leaves. Any thoughts?

"I think," this is a natural covering of the leaf that is breaking down, rather than something attacking the leaf. If this is a naturally old leaf that is dying the coating would break down naturally.

Billy M. Rhodes wrote:"I think," this is a natural covering of the leaf that is breaking down, rather than something attacking the leaf. If this is a naturally old leaf that is dying the coating would break down naturally.

Oh interesting Billy, thanks. I've never seen anything like it. I guess the tree is just shedding older leaves...