Ficus Houseplant Losing Leaves? (How to Save it)

Most often, ficus plants lose their leaves due to changes in temperature or humidity. Ficus plants prefer a temperature range of between 65ºF to 75ºF and high humidity. If the air is too dry the ficus drops its leaves to reduce water loss. If the temperature fluctuates suddenly the leaves drop as a sign of stress.

The lower leaves turn yellow and drop naturally as the ficus matures. Ficus leaves can also drop due to overwatering, underwatering, too much or not enough light.

The leaves also often drop in Winter or after repotting.

Keep reading to learn why your ficus is losing leaves and how to implement the solutions to save your ficus from leaf drop…

Ficus Plants Lose Leaves Because of Sudden Changes in Temperature and Humidity

Ficus plants are native warm humid tropical climates with high levels of humidity, and prefer a temperature range of 65ºF to 75ºF (18ºC to 24ºC) with around 10ºF cooler at night.

Ficus are particularly sensitive to any sudden increases or decreases in temperature outside this range and drop its leaves as a sign of stress.

Due to the ficus plants tropical origins, all ficus houseplant prefer higher levels of humidity and need the humidity to remain consistent.

If the humidity is too low then this saps too much moisture from the ficus’s leaves to tolerate causing them to drop off.

Temperature and humidity fluctuations can be caused by:

• Locating the ficus too near radiators and sources of indoor heating.
• Draughts from open doors and windows.
• The ficus has been moved to a different room.
• Air currents from air conditioning and forced air.
• A significant decease in the night time temperature compared to the temperature during the day.

How to Revive a Ficus that Lost its Leaves Due to Temperature and Humidity

The way to revive a ficus after leaf drop and to mitigate further loss of leaves is to…

• Increase the humidity around your ficus plant by misting or using a humidifier to counteract dry air. Mist any remaining leaves with water every day. This helps to create a humid micro-climate around the leaves which mimics the conditions of the ficus trees native environment, which should help to stop and more leaves falling off.
• Locate your ficus in a room with a consistent temperature range of between 65ºF to 75ºF (18ºC to 24ºC) with around 10ºF cooler at night. Avoiding any drastic temperature fluctuation is key so avoid any rooms that may have frequent open doors and windows and locate the ficus on the other side of the room from a source of heat which may dry out the soil and leaves too quickly.
• Try to move the ficus as little as possible. Every time you move the ficus it has to contend with a slightly different new micro climate with varying levels of humidity, air flow and temperature which can all cause the leaves to drop.
• Keep the ficus out of any direct air currents (from air conditioning, forced air or draughts). Air currents sap moisture from the leaves and cause the temperature to fluctuate so choose your location for your ficus with this consideration.

Once the leaves have fallen off it is essential to maintain stable conditions. Fiddle leaf figs often lose some leaves seasonally and they can grow back in the Spring and Summer during active growth.

Ficus Dropping Leaves can Indicate both Overwatering and Underwatering

Ficus plants are notoriously fussy about the balance of moisture in the soil.

Overwatering can create damp soil conditions which excludes oxygen from the soil and prevents root respiration.

If they roots cannot respire, then they cannot transport moisture and nutrients to the leaves causing them to fall off (often turning yellow before they fall off the plant).

Ficus leaf loss due to overwatering may not only be because of watering too often, but the soil can also be too damp because of poor drainage from compacted soil or because the saucers or trays underneath the pot is causing water to pool around the base of the pot.

All of which causes the leaves to turn yellow, drop of and promotes the conditions for root rot, which is the most common reason for dying ficus plants.

However if the soil dries out too much between each bout of watering then this triggers the leaves to fall off as a survival strategy to prevent losing anymore moisture due to the dry conditions.

Keep in mind that drought stress can be due to:

• Not watering the ficus often enough.
• Watering the ficus too lightly, so that only the top inch of so becomes moistened and the water does not infiltrate and reach the roots where it is required.

It is essential that the soil is evenly moist after each bout of watering so that the roots can uptake the moisture that its requires throughout the potting soil.

Low humidity is often a compounding factor of drought stress and is often the cause of falling leaves.

How to Save a Ficus that is Dropping Leaves due to Overwatering or Underwatering

To prevent the leaves from falling off your ficus (and to create the right conditions, so that they grow back) it is important to allow the top inch of the soil to dry out between each bout of watering.

• Water the potting soil thoroughly to the extent that excess water trickles from the drainage holes in the base of the pot. Watering generously ensures the water has infiltrated the soil properly that the potting soil is evenly moist after watering.
• Wait until the soil top inch of the soil feels somewhat dry between bouts of watering. Use your finger to detect moisture in the soil to inch depth to be precise about your watering, at which point you can establish the optimal frequency of watering for your ficus, according specially to your condition. Keep in mind that ficus plants should be watered more often during active growth in the Spring and Summer and watering should be reduced in Winter during the ficus’s dormant phase.

Always ensure that saucers and trays underneath the pot are emptied regularly to facilitate good drainage. Give the ficus a good mist (or buy a plant humidifier) to increase the humidity and ensure the growing conditions are favorable.

Once the watering cycle has been addressed and the conditions are right, the ficus should regrow its leaves in Spring and Summer.

However if the ficus’s root have been sat in boggy, overwatered soil for too long then this is likely to result in root rot which is likely to cause the ficus to die back.

Too Much or Not Enough Sunlight

Ficus plants need a balance of bright, indirect light in the Spring and Summer to grow to their full potential indoors. Too much direct sunlight dries out and scorches the leaves causing them to drop off, to slow down the rate of moisture loss.

If the ficus is in too much shade then the ficus does not have enough energy for photosynthesis to sustain its leaves which causes them to fall off.

Ficus plants do not like to be moved too often as the contrast in conditions causes stress, which can also result in dropping leaves.

However if the ficus is in too much or not enough sun, then the only way to save it is to move the plant to find an area of bright indirect light.

The bright indirect light provides the ficus with enough energy to grow, yet protects the leaves from being scorched.

Try to move your ficus to a room without draughts or air currents and increase the humidity by misting the plant or use a plant humidifier, to mitigate the stress of being moved and the leaves should regrow in the Spring and Summer.

Ficus Losing its Leaves in Winter

Ficus plants often lose some of their leaves seasonally in Winter as the cooler temperatures, lower light intensity and fewer hours of light are contrary to their preferred conditions and are in contrast to the conditions in the tropical range.

These leaves grow back in the Spring and Summer if the conditions for your ficus are favorable.

However there are several reasons as to why the ficus may lose more leaves the normal in Winter.

Ficus need a stable temperature range with typical room temperatures during the day and around 10F cooler at night.

In Winter sometimes indoor heating is used in the evening which raises the temperatures at night in a cycle that is contrary to the ficus’s preferred temperature cycle.

In which the case you should move the ficus to the other side of the room so it is not directly next to the source of heat and mist the leaves regularly (as heat can lower indoor humidity) and the leaves can regrow during the active growth of the Spring and Summer.

In Winter the ficus enters a state of dormancy, where growth slows down significantly. This means the ficus’s demand fro moisture also decreases and the roots uptake water at a much slower rate.

If you water the ficus as often as you do in Spring and Summer (during active growth) then the soil is likely to stay too damp for the ficus’s roots to tolerate, which cases the leaves to drop.

The key is to scale back your watering schedule.

It is likely that it takes much longer for the top inch of soil to dry out in Winter, so monitor the soils’ moisture by feeling it regularly and lift the pot to assess its weight to ascertain whether the soil is still heavy from water or lighter due to drying out.

I personally only water my fiddle leaf fig (ficus lyrata) every 3 to 4 weeks in Winter always ensuring the top inch of the soil feels dry, however it is difficult to give precise advice on watering in Winter due to differences in the maturity of the plants, sizes of pots and climates etc. so it is important to water your ficus plant according to your conditions to prevent the leaves falling off.

Once you have scaled back the watering the leaves should regrow in the Spring.

Ficus Plant Dropping its Leaves After Repotting

Ficus plants drop their leaves after repotting if they have been overpotted. Larger pots have a greater capacity for soil and therefore a greater capacity for retaining moisture.

If your repot ficus into a pot that is significantly larger then its previous pot then it is likely it retains moisture for too long for the ficus to tolerate which causes the leaves to drop as a sign of stress.

It is also best to repot your ficus in the Spring as the ficus is always more resilient during active growth. Repotting in the Fall or Winter is likely to result in all the leaves dropping suddenly.

Other factors to be aware of after repotting is to not firm the soil too much when replanting as this can reduce the porosity of the soil and slow the drainage.

Ficus plants of all varties are sensitive to excess moisture around the roots, therefore the only way to repot ficus in a way that mitigates the risk of leaf drop (and any other houseplants) is to:

• Choose a pot that is only an inch or 2 in diameter larger then the previous pot. A more modest upgrade in pot size means the soil should dry out at a similar rate after watering.
• Ideally choose a pot that is made of terracotta or unglazed clay, as these materials are porous which means that the soil can dry out more evenly after watering, whereas plastic and ceramic pots can retain moisture as they are impermeable.
• Amend the potting soil with around 25% horticultural grit or perlite (by volume of the pot) to 75% potting soil. This creates a porous soil structure that allows excess water to drain efficiently, thus mitigating the risk of root rot and yellowing, falling leaves.
• Always choose a pot with drainage holes in the base and empty saucers, trays and decorative outer regularly to avoid excess water pooling around the base of the pot which creates damp, boggy conditions.

Note it is common for ficus plants to lose at least some of their leaves after repotting due to the stress of being moved.

As long as you have created the right conditions for your ficus with well draining soil, misting the plant to increase the humidity and only watering when the top inch of the soil feels dry, then the ficus should recover and grow new leaves in the Spring and Summer during active growth.

Lower Leaves of the Ficus Falling Off

The lower leaves of most ficus plants turn yellow and drop off with age. This is a natural part of the ficus plants life cycle and does not indicate there is anything wrong with your ficus plant.

Ficus plants have to grow and compete for light with other plants in their natural habitat.

This means that the ficus redirects its resources from maintaining the larger lower leaves to growing taller and more leaves that are more likely to be in bright light.

Very mature ficus plants can end up looking somewhat leggy as the plant grows.

To reduce this leggy appearance you can prune your ficus (most ficus houseplants are actually trees) in the Spring time.

As pruning plants is better explained visually watch this YouTube video for how to prune a ficus…

Key Takeaways:

• Ficus plants lose their leaves as a reaction to temperature fluctuations, low humidity, overwatering, underwatering, too much or not enough sunlight.
• Ficus plants lose their leaves in Winter due to cold temperatures, fewer hours of daylight, lower humidity and overwatering during the ficus’s Winter dormancy.
• To save a ficus that is losing its leaves, recreate the conditions of its native environment by maintaining a consistent warm temperature of between 65ºF to 75ºF (18ºC to 24ºC), increase the humidity with regular misting, locate the ficus in bright indirect light and always wait until the top inch of soil has dried before watering thoroughly.
• The leaves should regrow in the Spring and Summer if the environmental causes of the dropping leaves have been adjusted.