The benjamina ficus in indoor pot is dropping leaves and seems to be dying. It is at the window and gets partial sun in the morning. I changed the soil in the pot about 10 days ago, and did not water it during the time because when I re-potted, there seems to be enough moisture in the soil. I learned that the root rots because of much moisture esp when there is not many leaves. Even after re-potting, it seems to getting worse dropping more leaves and the changing color of the leaves.

How can I revive this plant? Thank you very much.

These plants are very finicky about being re-potted or being moved to a different window. Don't over water it. Give it time and it should revive and start growing well.

I have also taken cuttings from the ends of the branches, and stuck them in soil. They have rooted very well, and I have new plants.

I have a Ficus benjamina I inherited recently that was in a worse state then yours which now seems to be bouncing back. What I've learned is that just because these plants are losing leaves does not necessarily mean they are dying. This is their way of adjusting to any change. Ficus benjamina's do not like change. So choose a place to put it (preferably somewhere with medium to high indirect sunlight) and leave it there. I have read lots of advice saying one should also avoid repotting Ficus benjaminas as that can cause them to lose more leaves, so I didn't repot mine. I water mine when the top of the soil is dry and I avoid leaving the roots sitting in any water. I wind up not watering it that often at all (maybe twice a week in growing season), but it seems happy that way so far. Good luck! It is a fantastic feeling when you begin to get new leaves (attached image of the recent new leaf on mine) and well worth the effort. By the way, I am still learning about my Ficus benjamina myself so will be following this thread too...

Thank you plantmanager and raeesah for the comments.

I originally started with 16 potted ficus indoor, and only 6 is left because the 10 potted plants died. I learned later that once a week watering during the winter time caused the root rot, and I could not revive. So, now I check the soil moisture 1 - 2 inches top before I water, and these days, I water once in about 1.5 weeks or so. This pot was sort of flourishing until last fall, but then during the fall and winter, I know it loses the leaves, but still it is losing leaves. So, I re-potted to see if that makes any difference after maybe more than two years or so. They say re-pot once a year or so.

I do not know why some of the leaf color is not healthy green. Does that tell anything?

I hope it grows back well soon. Thank you.

It did not need to be repotted. Most indoor Ficus trees do not need repotting every year.

Please describe how you did the repotting. Did you remove some of the original soil or did you leave the original rootball intact?

Thank you WillC for the comment.

I just used my own common sense. I did not look up on how to do it.
I removed all the old soil from the pot, and I shook off the old soil from the root as much as possible, poking the root slightly here and there with a stick, trying not to damage the root. And then, I used the new potting mix soil with some perlite, adding just a little bit granule fertilizer. I held the tree up while adding the soil all around the pot.

The soil seemed to have enough moisture, so I did not water for fear of rotting the root.

Thank you.

I love common sense, but sometimes what seems intuitively obvious with plant care is not such a good idea.

One of the most traumatic things you can do to a plant is to remove some or most of its soil. The tiny root hairs that are difficult to see and usually go unnoticed are easily torn away with the soil that is removed. Those root hairs do most of the heavy lifting for the plant. They will now have to grow back slowly and your plant will lose leaves in the interim. The primary reason the soil is now staying moist is that the roots have been damaged and are barely functioning. And the soil staying moist for too long can aggravate the difficulty of the roots recovering.

I suggest that you remove all soil from the surface until the uppermost roots are just barely covered. Then wait for the top half-inch of remaining soil to get dry before adding just enough water so that the top half-inch gets dry again in about a week. Adjust the amount of water you provide accordingly.

I'm sorry this is a bit complicated, but that is what happens when plants are repotted unnecessarily and incorrectly. It is a common problem.

Provide as much direct sunlight as possible and be patient as your Ficus tries to recover.

Thank you WillC very much for the detailed comments.

I will follow your advice and remove the soil from the top and let it dry enough. I find it very difficult to grow this Ficus well, so I think either I do not have so-called the green thumb or this Ficus plant is very finicky.

Since you are an expert on Ficus, can I ask questions?
1. Do you ever need to re-pot the indoor Ficus?
2. If so, in how many years do you need to do that?
3. How do you best provide the plant nutrition so that this plan will flourish? So far, I diluted the liquid NPK fertilizer and give it to once or 2 times a month when watering. But still it is not in as good condition as I want it to be.

Thank you.

Ficus tres have a reputation for being finicky because they are very light sensitive and tend to shed leaves whenever they are relocated and the light intensity changes even just a bit. Otherwise, they are quite hardy and tough as long as they get lots of light and given adequate water.

I have been caring for many Ficus benjaminas that have never been repotted in over 25 years. If they were growing in the ideal conditions of a greenhouse they probably would need regular repotting. As long as a thorough watering is enough to keep the roots appropriately hydrated for a week or more, then it does not need to be moved to a larger pot.

Disregard any advice that suggests a plant needs to be repotted every x number of years.

Plants use nutrients in very minute quantities, especially if they are in less than ideal conditions. If a plant has been in the same pot for at least a year and it is growing vigorously, then a fertilizer diluted to half-strength and applied monthly would be appropriate. Fertilizer does not cure plant problems and it does not make plants grow faster. It simply resupplies essential nutrients that are depleted. Generally, it is vastly overrated.

Thank you WillC very much for the additional tips and advice.

I removed the top soil just enough to cover the root. When can I add the removed soil back to the pot?


Since you explained about re-potting, now I understand why my 10 potted benjamina ficus died around 2019 Jan and Feb. Since they had outgrown small pots, I re-potted them to bigger pots in 2018 Nov and watered about once a week without checking the soil moisture. So, they had the double whammy of move stress and over-watering, causing the root rot.

Can I ask more questions on the following benjamina fincus?


After I noticed that almost all the leaves were fallen during the past winter, I thought the root may have rot and was very careful not to over-water. And now it is coming back to life but only in one branch. Is the current condition solely the result of over-watering during the last autumn to winter season?

How can I make this ficus grow normal upright? Will there be new leaves on other branches or are they dead for good?

When I had 16 benjamina ficus pots, I had propagated them from cuttings of the branches with leaves from the big benjamina ficus outside in my tiny backyard. I put the branches in transparent plastic cups with water, placing the cups in shade area, replacing the water 2 times a week, and the root started to grows from the branches. Is this the best way to have more benjamina ficus trees?

I am thinking these days that benjamina ficus is easier to deal with by under-watering than over-watering. Once it is over-watered and thus have root rot, it is hard to cure or revive.

Thank you very much.

You never need to replace the soil you removed. If you don't like the way it looks, cover the soil with Spanish moss, not soil.

Yes, adjustments in watering have to be made after repotting.

There is not much left to the one you just posted. Cut it off just above where the surviving branch emerges from the main stem. That remaining stem will continue to grow but it will never grow upright and become the tree that you envision. It will always need a stake to stay upright.

I'm not sure why you are propagating so many Benjaminas. The best way to propagate them is by air-layering. YouTube videos demonstrate how that is done.,

When Benjaminas are in the proper sized pot, they are very hard to overwater. It is after unnecessary repotting that overwatering and other issues begin.

One bit of good news. Ficus will grow back leaves all along the naked stems if they are heaalthy enough. Think of diciduous trees that loose their leaves every fall. Come spring all the branches grow new leaves just as full and lovely as before. Just want to point out that if you do save it, it can go back to it's same attractiveness.

Thank you WillC and lauriebasler very much for the comments.

WillC, I thank you very much for introducing the Spanish moss and air-layering method, which are new to me. I will put a stake and put the live stem up so that it will grow normal upright position.

There are two reasons that I grew 16 ficus pots. First was that I thought they would greatly improve the indoor air quality, removing the minute pollutants and generating lots of oxygen. Later, I learned disappointingly that they do very little for those. Second was that since I am a beginner in indoor plants, I expected not all 16 pots will survive due to my inexperience. I wanted to have at least some left, which turned out to be the case. I had had to cut down the outside Benjamina Ficus in my tiny backyard because it was growing out of control and damaging the sewer line. I wanted to keep that ficus as small indoor plants. From your comments and answers, I learned a lot from you, and I am very thankful for that. I think I can control the root rot a little better from now on.

lauriebasler, as WillC pointed out, since the stems or branches are dead, new leaves may not grow from there.

Thank you.

Glad I could help.

I've had a ficus tree for over 30 years. When I got it, it was a couple feet tall and had 2 leaves. Now it's well over 6 feet and full. We put it outside in the summer and bring it in for the winter. This has worked really well. But this year when we brought it in, all the leaves have browned. It looked great before we brought it in. Can it be saved? I hate to lose this tree I've had for so long. For info: We've repotted it a few times, with some leaf loss but nothing too bad. Last repot was probably 2 years ago. It's never liked the transition to indoors, but it usually gets through the winter okay and then thrives outdoors in the summer every year. I've been told to trim all the branches off, which seems extreme. Also, that it might be root rot, but I'd like to know if there's a way to check that without putting the plant through the additional stress of taking it out of the pot.