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How much water are you using when watering? Whilst there could be a drainage issue- one usually waters until water flows out of the drainage hole- so one obvious possibility is that you are not putting enough water in, and the ends of the roots aren't getting any? I see you say half a litre for the most recent attempt. That doesnt seem like a huge amount for a large pot, if it is pretty dry to start with.

Hi SF - yes, you might be right that I might not water it enough however when I measure the soil is does point that is (slightly) wet at the bottom and moist 2/3s up. I've only used half a litre as that's how much I used to water it with before repotting it and it was draining well (the tray was full of water). I'm feeling reticent to water it more at the moment as if indeed the drainage is blocked, it might cause overwatering which I understand is probably worse at this stage than under watering.

To be perfectly honest, I don't know what I'm doing or supposed to do, hence why I've joined the forum yesterday to ask for advice from you guys. So I'm fully opened to suggestions and happy to apply them, but I am trying to be as careful as possible and not take any actions or try too many things at once that might cause further harm.

I just repoted my Ficus mid January (early summer, is a bit late, but still ok), it spent a whole year on the ground, I kept a generous part of it's own soil to help it (and it wasan't bad), without messing much, completed with a mix that I generally make for it...

I always put some gravel and the mesh on the bottom, but this pot is big, so for shallower ones will do with some pebbles or large-grained sand (You can really just sieve some sand and use the large grains), I always add this layer on my pots.
I'm not saying I'm right or wrong about it, I've seen many videos where people don't do that way and works.

AND I'm not saying you should do that now, and to be honest, I don't know what I would do in your shoes either...
When I said about poking it from underneath, I was talking about do it tru' the mesh, ripping it a bit.

Maybe, if I couldn't get a propper drainage, I would work on the soil again on early to mid spring, the season now would be propper to repot, I'm just wondering if is it better to stress it now, or later... I think later, but I don't want you to think I'm sure about this... Let's see if other people can tell you something.

Ficus need a few things.. Warm moist roots and canopy. And lots of light.

Putting it on the ggoung in a corner of your living room is too dark. It needs sun or additional light. I would place it nead a well insulated (Not single pane) window.

For recovery of tropicals (In fact, for pretty much all trees that seem to struglle) I like to create a humid microclimate by packing the whole thing in a large transparant plastic bag. This will keep humidity up and the tree has less trouble. Putting it in a sunny spot is the other half of the equation. And then not mess with it, and hope it pulls through.

For next time, repotting is a bad idea unless you are certain the roots are the cause of the troubles. (A little like removing a foot when someone has a headache)

Hi Albas, leaderback,

Thank you so much for your further guidance. I am feeling cautiously optimistic today as I've noticed a few new leaves and the yellowing seems to have slowed down as well - so fingers cross it's on the mend.

I have created a humidity tray yesterday and I've been misting it regularly, so hopefully this will help a little (I've read conflicting comments about misting, so I am careful not to over do it). The spot it's in currently does get a little bit of sun in the afternoon during this time of year, and once it'll get better I will elevate it higher up to the window (I've also read that it's not recommended to place it in direct sun after repotting?). I will keep monitoring the drainage situation, perhaps next week I will have a poke at the mesh to see if it's blocked, and also give it a good soak to check if the water is draining. If the issue persists, I will look to work the soil again later in the spring and make sure not to overwater it until then.

Thanks again for your advice - very much appreciated. I will follow up an update tomorrow, fingers crossed it's (more) good news!

Yona, you are correct; the drainage is paramount. If you are not seeing water flowing out of the drain holes shortly following a good watering, you have a problem and need to correct right away, even at the cost of repotting, it must be done asap. This can kill your plant quickly.
Good luck.
Remy

Hi Remy - thank you for your advice. I’ve emailed another soil mix supplier and they’ve kindly offered to deliver the soil mix within 2-3 days as opposed to 10 days delivery from previous supplier. Once it arrives, I will give the tree a good soak to see if the drainage gets working, otherwise I will endeavour to repot it again.

If I may ask another piece of advice... the soil I’m going to purchase is at the link below. It doesn’t specify the composition and wondering whether I should mix it further with something else? Sorry, appreciate it might be difficult to advise by simply looking at a picture.



Thanks so much!

What soil did you use? there is no reason why it would not drain if it is good soil unless you packed it down too tight. How much root did you remove? I would hope that the drainage holes are clear, if they are not then you need to remove the tree and clear them sooner rather than later. Leaving it will certainly have a detrimental effect on the plant if it is not draining and not watering because it is not draining is even worse,

Thank you for this. I'll tackle it this evening.

Quick update on this - I have poked the drainage holes with a chopstick as per your recommendation Albas and it worked. I gave it a good soak and will now leave it at peace for a couple of days hoping for the best.
Many thanks for all the advice received so far!