What Is Wrong with My Ficus Tree if the Leaves Are Turning Light Green?
The weeping fig is ornamental and doesn't produce fruit.
1 When to Plant a Paulownia Tree
2 What Causes Fig Tree Leaves to Wilt?
3 Fertilizing Satsuma
4 Dracaena Marginata: Tips of Leaves Turning Black
Commonly grown ficus trees (Ficus spp.) include the rubber tree (Ficus elastica) and the weeping fig (Ficus benjamina). Both of them are hardy outdoors all year in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 through 12 and also grow as houseplants in any USDA zone. The weeping fig gets its name from its pendulous branches and can become 40 to 50 feet tall outdoors but usually no more than 10 feet tall when grown indoors in a pot. The rubber tree has tough and sturdy, dark-green leaves that rarely change color, but the weeping fig sometimes signals a problem when its leaves turn light green, although in some cases the color change isn't a cause for concern.
A Normal Response
If only young leaves on a weeping fig are light green, older leaves are darker and the tree is healthy, then the tree probably doesn't have a problem. Leaves contain the green pigment chlorophyll, which young leaves actively produce. So new leaves may look lighter than mature leaves because they haven't yet produced a full amount of pigment; the new leaves should slowly darken withing one or two weeks. Leaves of an indoor weeping fig may turn light green if the tree was recently moved from a bright location to a less brightly lit spot or if the plant is a recently purchased greenhouse-grown tree accustomed to brighter light. Leaf color change in such a weeping fig isn't a problem, provided no leaves turn yellow or drop from the tree. Still, you could set up an artificial light source, such as a grow light or full-spectrum fluorescent bulb, several feet from an indoor weeping fig to help its leaves darken.
Too Much Water
If leaves of various ages and sizes begin to turn light green on a weeping fig, the change could indicate overwatering, especially if light-green leaves eventually turn yellow and drop. Rather than following a predetermined watering schedule, test your weeping fig's soil before watering it to determine whether or not the tree needs water. Check the top 2 to 3 inches of a weeping fig's soil on a regular basis, whether the tree grows outdoors in the ground or in a container indoors or outdoors, and water the soil only when it feels dry to your fingertip. Water thoroughly, allowing the water to drain from the bottom drainage holes of a potted tree's container, but never leave the container in a water-filled saucer. If a weeping fig is planted in the ground, use a soaker hose or drip irrigation to water its soil, letting the water penetrate the ground slowly but deeply.
Weeping fig needs fertilizer about every month during the growing season -- generally spring through summer, and its leaves may start to turn light green if the soil's nutrient levels become low. If the weeping fig is planted in the ground, scratch a granular fertilizer with a nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium ratio of 3-1-2 into the top few inches of its soil, applying it at a rate of about 1/3 pound per 100 square feet of soil surface area under the tree's canopy, and water the fertilized ground well. If you have a container-grown weeping fig, use a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10 formula, diluted to one-half strength. Achieving a one-half strength dilution usually requires mixing 1/4 teaspoon of the fertilizer with 2 gallons of water, but follow your fertilizer's label directions. A weeping fig shouldn't be fertilized during fall or winter so it can rest.
Possible Pests
Weeping fig is susceptible to several pests that suck plant juices and may cause leaves to turn light green or to turn yellow, curl and eventually fall. Those pests include scale insects, which look like raised brown spots on stems and leaves, and are best destroyed by touching each one with a cotton swab that was dipped in rubbing alcohol. Spray a large tree once each month with an all-season horticultural oil that was diluted in water; the dilution rate is generally 2 1/2 tablespoons of the horticultural oil per 1 gallon of water, but check your product's label for specific directions.
Other pests that affect weeping fig are aphids, which are tiny, greenish-yellow insects that leave behind a sticky residue, and spider mites, which are microscopic and make weblike coverings on young leaves and branch tips. Rid the tree of those pests by spraying it until it is dripping wet with insecticidal soap that was diluted at a rate of 5 tablespoons per 1 gallon of water; spray the tree every two weeks if necessary to get rid of the insects.
California Polytechnic State University, Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute: Weeping Fig
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, Backyard Farmer: Weeping Fig, Ficus Benjamina
Missouri Botanical Garden, Kemper Center for Home Gardening: Leaf Drop of Weeping Figs
University of Florida IFAS Extension: Cultural Guidelines for Commercial Production of Interiorscape Ficus
University of Minnesota Extension: Rubber Trees, Weeping Figs and Other Friendly Ficus
Missouri Botanical Garden: Ficus Benjamina
Missouri Botanical Garden: Ficus Elastica
Joanne Marie began writing professionally in 1981. Her work has appeared in health, medical and scientific publications such as Endocrinology and Journal of Cell Biology. She has also published in hobbyist offerings such as The Hobstarand The Bagpiper. Marie is a certified master gardener and has a Ph.D. in anatomy from Temple University School of Medicine.
Vitali Dyatchenko/iStock/Getty Images
Marie, Joanne. "What Is Wrong with My Ficus Tree if the Leaves Are Turning Light Green?" Home Guides | SF Gate, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/wrong-ficus-tree-leaves-turning-light-green-105263.html. Accessed 16 July 2019.
Marie, Joanne. (n.d.). What Is Wrong with My Ficus Tree if the Leaves Are Turning Light Green? Home Guides | SF Gate. Retrieved from http://homeguides.sfgate.com/wrong-ficus-tree-leaves-turning-light-green-105263.html
Marie, Joanne. "What Is Wrong with My Ficus Tree if the Leaves Are Turning Light Green?" accessed July 16, 2019. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/wrong-ficus-tree-leaves-turning-light-green-105263.html
When to Fertilize Ornamental Trees
When to Fertilize a Japanese Maple
My Dwarf Key Lime Tree Is Losing Its Leaves and They Are Turning Yellow & Falling Off
Grow Mulberries Indoors
Culture of a Chinese Pistache Tree
Ficus Potting Instructions
What Type of Soil Do Orange Trees Grow in?
When to Plant an Okame Flowering Cherry
Grow Ficus Natalensis
Yellow Leaves on a Mesquite Tree
My Succulents Are Turning Yellow
Treat a Money Tree in Cold Shock