Help on houseplant care

I have had this houseplant for quite a few years but it is now looking a bit straggly and there is no thickness of leaves.(see photos)
Firstly, is it a kind of weeping fig?? If not, what is it?
Secondly, and more importantly, is there anything I can do to encourage more growth?? I changed the compost a few months ago but it has not made any difference. Do I prune it somehow or feed it more??

Any tips greatly appreciated

 

Hi @barryman , it looks like a Ficus Benjamina ( Weeping Fig ) to me. I don 't grow them but I think @Sheal has so hopefully she'll be able to help you.

 

It should come back if you prune it, but its obviously not happy for some reason, so until you can rectify the problem it not going to look good.
Dont feed it, only water when dry and give it good light.
Other than that, is it outside now?

 

It's only been put outside while I try and banish tiny black flies that seem to congregate around any plants that are in the house.im using a homemade non chemical spray and trying to get the compost sterilised as I think my new compost contained larvae of some bugs.

I don't know if a real hard pruning would kill this focus plant or whether it might start new growth. What do you think?

 

The tiny flies suggest the compost is too wet most of the time, and it also suggests why the fig has lost a lot of leaf, over watering?
I'd not cut it back until you see signs of new growth, because if you do now, and I think you probably have some root rot, it could well finish it off.

 

@KFF is right it's a Ficus Benjamina.

The flies are probably fungal gnats and a real nuisance. I had problems with them for years and eventually gave up my house plants - fed up with dealing with them. Garden centres and nurseries deal in bulk quantities of compost and if one bag is infested with them they tend to spread to the rest of the stock. The only way I found to deal with them is to microwave all compost before use for a few minutes, which could take a while. All your house plants will have to be done at the same time or they are at risk of developing more. When my plants were out of their pots I washed the roots clean of all compost and put the plants in buckets of water for a few days to drown the larvae. You must also make sure your house is clear of the flies before re-potting or the problem will continue. I've heard that a Neem Oil drench is very good for killing pests including fungal gnats. It's a natural product so worth trying.

Regarding the Ficus, it's a temperamental plant and doesn't like being disturbed. It needs to stand in the same spot and not be moved around the house if it's happy where it is. Preferably by a bright window and out of draughts. Figs of any kind don't like wet 'feet' and I only watered mine every couple of months despite the soil being bone dry. They also prefer starvation and like to be almost pot bound. I probably changed the soil in mine about once every four years, may be more.

Ficus tend to drop their leaves when not happy and that could be for any of the reasons above including pruning. When pruned they bleed a sticky white sap so are best left unless a branch is dead. However, if you are worried about losing your fig, they are easy to grow from cuttings. I say cuttings, they are best taken by peeling a small side shoot from the branches. Pull it back against itself gently and it will 'peel' from the branch with a heel attached. These can be started off in water or soil and will take a number of weeks to show roots.

There is very little you can do for your Ficus apart from ignoring the fact it exists. I suggest you move it back inside as a soon as possible.

I had Ficus for about thirty years and this one below was approximately twelve years old. It stood by a north-west facing window gaining afternoon sun, and also next to the radiator that didn't bother it over the winter months.



My apologies, I've prattled on a bit.

 

Thank you so much, Sheal, for your full and informative answer. I will give it a minor prune come September time and will also attempt a cutting or two as opposed to severe lopping back.

With regards to the gnats and larvae problem I think my soap/oil spray treatment has made a bit of a difference. I also poured boiling water just on the top of the compost to hopefully kill of the little white eggs that I could see and I don't see the gnats - at the moment !!!.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge

 

You're welcome barryman. Although the boiling water was risky I doubt whether it's killed the larvae. They are often close to the roots.

Oh, and as an aside. If any member here has an issue with fungal gnats, check your smoke alarms are working regularly. Mr S and I had problems with our alarms for a long while, sometimes bleeping and other times triggering completely - it wasn't battery failure. By chance I spotted a gnat making it's way inside one and discovered these were the trigger. We also found they can stop them working completely and had to replace a couple.

 

If you mix some sharp sand in with the surface compost it should stop the gnat problem.
They, the larvae, live and feed on over wet organic material on the surface of the compost as it rots down.
The addition of sand helps it to dry out between waterings and they cant survive the dry conditions.
Adding more water, especially boiling water , would only be a short term solution and could explain why the plant has no leaves
But my guess is, the compost is staying too wet, so overwatering IMO.

 

Well, it's now been left to dry out in the hot sunshine for three days AND a layer of sand now been spread over the top of the soil. Seem to be no bugs around it at the moment so, fingers crossed.
Thanks all for the advice and tips.

 

Well, is the plant used to hot sunshine?
If it's a house plant I think not.
I think your risking it a bit.