Ficus tree is going bald?

Question

My soon to be ex put my Ficus tree in direct sunlight for several days (he is pissed at me) and never watered it. Over half of the leaves have turned yellow and have fallen off. Once I got it back, I repotted it and put those feeder sticks in the soil. It's inside near good light (not direct). Will it start to sprout new leaves? I know they lose leaves anyway in the winter, but this is ridiculous. It is a good size tree, about 5 ft, and pretty wide. Thank you.

Answer 1

Yes, ficus are touchy. In fact, they will tend to drop all of their leaves if you just rotate the pot a quarter turn! I have owned several large ficus and the good news is: you've done everything right and if you can just have patience and put up with an ugly pot full of sticks for a few months, the leaves should grow back better than ever. Just be careful to leave it alone (i.e. don't move the pot at all) and regularly water it and give it a tiny bit of plant food (like MiracleGro) in the water once a month.