My Ficus Tree Has A Blight Of Some Sort

Question

Where the leaf stem meets the leaf blade there is a tiny white dot. It measures about 1/2mm. There is only one dot per leaf but the leaves are turning yellow and dropping off. What is it and how do I treat it?

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Answer 1

This is latex from within the tree, possibly. This happens during stress. I don't have a whole lot of information to go on, but you can start trying things one by one. Many different issues can have these same symptoms.

The first thing that you can do is test the soil. You'll want to pin down any nutrient deficiencies, excess, or pH issues. If you can rule that out, then you can move on to testing moisture. Ficus prefer things a little more on the dry side. Overwatering will be a pretty common cause, as well. This can be tested for, as well. Likely, you can simply test by feeling the container weight when it is wet, vs dry.

For now, I'd test the soil:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/testing-soil.htm

There are still several causes that it could be if you rule those things out. This will help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/ficus/ficus-losing-leaves.htm

This article will help you with their care:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/ficus/ficus-tree-care.htm

Here is some more information:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/tag/ficus