Ficus Benjamina Diseases: Cure, Prevent and Protect Your Plant

No matter how old the ficus is or how experienced in plant care you are the shrub is never safe enough. Various harmful microorganisms can damage outdoor plants as well as the indoor ones. So how do you fight the pests off your shrub and provide it with proper care? We have collected and organized all the information on the plant care available up to date.

Let’s imagine you have a beautiful variegated starlight ficus and suddenly its beautiful glossy luscious leaves get covered in mites, or even worse they turn yellow and start falling off. Read on our expert advices to fight off any kind of plant disease. Your ficus would be grateful for the care.

Pests and Fungus

Typically funguses are not very picky and they are susceptible to very few diseases.

1. If you have noticed brown or yellow spots on the leaves these are the typical fungus signs. Another sign is the shrub dropping leaves.
2. Sticky leaves stuck together with liquid dropping off sometimes are a sign of armored scales or spider mites.
3. Leaves getting dry and falling off might be a sign of pests’ infection as well.

Remove the fungus and the pests with the cotton stick and rinse the contaminated area with the fungicide. Neem oil is considered to be one of the most common and effective pesticides for the potted plants

Of course it is better to prevent an infection rather then to cure an existing one. Remember to keep the plant clean and dry. Only mist the leaves when it is necessary as too much water is one of the major fungus causes. If one of your shrubs has got pests on it you should quickly move it away from the rest of the plants. This way you will stop the infection from spreading. If you took the potted flower outside for the summer check it thoroughly before taking it back indoors. These simple tips will help you prevent pests and funguses from ever landing on your ficus.

Incorrect Treatment

Quite often ficusses suffer from the improper care. Identification is rather easy; there are a few main signs that the tree is not getting a proper care. Even though ficusses are very undemanding and need very little attention once they lack water or sunshine they immediately show signs of it.

1. If the ficus has very few springy leaves it is a sign of the lack of sunshine. Leaves will also change color from dark green to pale.
2. Curved dry yellow leaves falling off are a sign of under watering. In case the soil in the pot has dried out completely soak it in the lukewarm water tap. Take care of the proper watering every few days.
3. Too much water can cause root rot as well. In that case you will have to repot the plant and get rid of the rotten parts. Use a fungicide like neem oil and others.
4. Bad environment can cause the leaves to fall. Make sure the tree is not freezing or suffering from draughts.

There is nothing worse for the gardener then to see his plants fading. We really hope that our simple tips will help you prevent all kinds of infections and diseases for good. Do not hesitate to contact us whenever you need help.