AboutDarlene K. Kittle Expertise I have been a Master Gardener for 20 years and I raise around 300 houseplants a year including tropicals, succulents, and cacti.
Experience She is also studying the Japanese art of bonsai with tropical plants and is President of the Fort Wayne, IN Bonsai Club.
Education/Credentials I am not a hortculturist. I am a Purdue University Master Gardener for over 20 years. I have studied plants on a personal level by growing hundreds of plants annually for the last 35 years. I have also studied under several nationally known American Bonsai experts.
My plant's window faces north north west. I'm not sure how old it is, I water it once a week, Vancouver (Canada) water, the plant is over 6 feet tall. It was growing quite nicely up until about 2 weeks ago when yellow spots started to appear. I think it might have something to do with those rocks at the bottom of the plant...maybe salt build up?? I've attached some pictures....please help I really love this plant! I will send more pictures to your e-mail.
Thank you
Answer Therese,
You should not be watering your ficus plant once a week, it should only be watered when it is dry. It should be in a pot with a drainage hole and a drain tray under it. If you only water it when it is dry you will not overwater it. If you water it weekly you will be overwatering it. The roots cannot stand to be constantly wet and if it sitts with wet roots constantly they begin to rot and start getting spots like you are seeing. This is an early sign of root rot. You have to let the roots dry out more between waterings. You also should not be watering it with city water that has chlorine and flouride in it. This plant hates those chemicals and they can also cause the spots you are seing. Good luck.
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