Help please - have I overwatered or underwatered this house plant?

[Simon1867]

Hi all,

In my flat is this massive house plant which has been here for years. I've watered only twice or so in the last 3 months, which has always been OK in recent years (in winter).

It's recently been dropping loads of leaves, all yellow or bright green and soft, which I've read means it's overwatered, and not underwatered. There are no dry leaves falling.

I last watered it about 1 month ago, so I would've thought even if I had overwatered it, it would be OK now? Does it take a while for leaves to start yellowing and dropping after the overwatering has occurred?

Or could it actually be underwatering?

Any tips or advice would be much appreciated.

If it's overwatered then clearly I just want to leave it be, but I'm concerned it's actually underwatered and I'm not doing what's needed!

A couple of pics below.

Thanks all!

 

[Marck]

Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

What is the condition of the soil and container? If you can lift your Ficus benjamina, does it feel heavy or light.
Watering once a month might be underwatering or a root-bound pot may not be properly absorbing water it is given.
If it is overwatering then a drainage issue with the soil or container may be the root problem. Inspect it, if it is rootbound or there is a drainage issue repotting is required. The container also should not be left to sit in a flooded saucer.

The pattern of yellowing veins on a green leaf is suggestive of a watering issue. Green veins on a yellow leaf is a more common pattern with nutrient deficiencies. Still, a nutrient deficiency may be also occurring. Giving the plant a light fertilizing now and more after it shows signs of recovery may be good idea.

Has the light changed in any way from previous years? Try to give the tree partial sun or very bright indirect light.

 

[Simon1867]

Hi,

Thanks so much for your reply.

It feels the same, and the light hasn't changed either.

There are small sprouts of new leaves still coming through, so would this indicate that the plant is not dying, and will recover? Even though a lot of the current leaves are falling?

 

[Marck]

Hopefully, that is the case. Perhaps an isolated event triggered greater-than-normal leaf drop and it is now recovering.