EasyBloom Forum

I have had my ficus tree in the same place for over a year. Bought it in the winter and it thrived through the summer. It is now cold again and the leaves are starting to fall for the first time in months, really since a few months after I bought it. It sits at a window that gets some sun, and under the window is a radiator. Could the heat coming from the radiator be drying out the plant? Should I start watering the plant more? Moving it isn't really an option since every window in my house has a radiator under it. Thank you for any advice!!!

Hey Margaret...This sounds likes a great time to whip out the ol' EasyBloom and do some monitoring. It sounds like you may have a couple of issues. First off, I assume your Ficus is the Weeping Fig, aka the Benjamin Ficus. This is probably the most common of the ornamental figs. In winter a number of things occur inside a home and with a plant that can cause this. I personally think you hit the nail on the head by suggesting that the radiator vent may have something to do with the leaf drop here. Every winter our indoor plants have to endure drier air because we artificially heat our homes. Of course, I would never suggest that we shouldn't heat our homes (how can one enjoy the beauty of a plant in our homes if we cannot live comfortably in our homes). The dry air that is coming out of that radiator vent is primarily doing two things: reducing the humidity in the air & drying out the soil. Both of these environmental factors can separately cause leaf drop, but together will form a double whammy of detrimental stimuli for your Ficus. Another factor one should consider in this situation is that in winter, your Ficus will actually need less water. Although it may not look like it superficially, your Ficus has slowed down in its growth this winter and as a result will not take up as much water as it would in spring and summer. So, it's your duty to balance the drying effects of your radiator vent and the less moisture needed by your plant this winter.

It's situations like this that time-based irrigation will fail, since the normal irrigation interval has changed due to these different factors. Using sensor-based irrigation goes right to the source. Your EasyBloom will tell you when the soil is too dry and when it is time to water again. Also, since it's winter, you will not have to fertilize your Ficus for a bit, so be sure to use tap water when watering your Ficus.

Now here comes the monkey wrench in this whole situation. Many plants will also drop their leaves because they have too much water in the soil. You mentioned that the Ficus was sitting above a radiator vent, which leads me to believe that you may already have known that the soil is drying out too quickly. I can foresee a gardener deciding to give lots of water to the plant in an attempt to save the plant from drying out. If this is the case, once again sensor-based irrigation will take this into account as well. I hope this helps you. Let me know if you have any further questions. Cheers...Robby

Thank you! You were right about the weeping fig. What I did was place a humidifier close to the plant. The humidifier helps with the dryness in the house in general, so it's been a nice addition. I also watered when the soil was dry, which is more often than in the summer. I will plug in my easybloom to help me monitor when the plant needs watering so that i don't overwater it. It has stopped dropping its leaves and is starting to grow new leaves again! Yay!

Margaret, I'm happy to help :) Dr. Robby