Sick Ficus Help

Hello!

I am having problems with a ficus bonsai and I'm hoping to get some help.

Two seasons ago I put a large ficus in a pot and it has grown wild since then. It flourished and appeared very healthy until this spring. After cutting it back hard this spring, the new growth is clearly unhealthy. The foliage is either crumpled, opaque or pale. Some of the new growth has just fallen off.
I've made two observations as to the problem. One is drainage; I used good coarse aggregate and water drained appropriately until this winter/spring (I bring my tropicals inside during the winter months). Now it is clearly not draining well at all. The second are ants. I definitely have an infestation which has to be the cause of the poor drainage.

This is my dilemma; I'm not sure if I should treat it with an insecticide or re-pot it after making major cuts. I'm afraid if I treat with the insecticide it will get rid of the ants but I'll still have the drainage issue. If I re-pot, should I bare root an unhealthy tree?

Thanks in advance for your time.

Matt

I would treat (And check the tree. Ants = aphids, in my experience).
Then, a week later, take the plant out of the continaer, and slip it into a container a size bigger. Let it recover. Then, mid-summer do a normal repot .

Thank you for your advice.

Matt

as an aside, i dont think ants would cause a drainage problem...
unless you had one helluva lotta ants !!!

beyond that though, good advice from LB...

depending on what you used for substrate, it could have broken down and obstructed drainage...
poking up from the bottom, through your drainage holes, may also help until it is safe to slip-pot it.

I would also check it for scale infestation. This is a problem on my ficus during the winter. It could also attract ants.

Personally, I would re-pot. I have found that the ficus, whilst renown to be an easy care plant, really doesn't take well to change. The ficus also loves very well drained soil, so it sounds like it could be your problem.

I would also be tempted to bare-root and give the roots a good wash. After you re-pot in very well drained soil, it should respond in a few weeks. All the foliage may well drop off but it should bounce back. If you have a facilities to offer the plant high humidity, then all the better.

Have a look at Nigel Saunder's bonasi youtube channel. He has a wealth of knowledge and I have found his videos to be particularly good for root pruning, re-potting and establishing a healthy root structure. Here is a link :

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWc7cn-M-22gie8oPslLcA

Also have a look at Kaizen Bonsai's website. He offers very good technical information about soil types and general care and maintenance. Here is the link :

http://www.kaizenbonsai.com/

Between these 2 guys, you will find everything you need.

The anys are not the problem, there are aphids on the tree. What kind you will have to find, but I would use a soap based spray which you need to do several times to get rid of the aphids.