Hello, I walked my new ficus Audrey home from the plant shop in January — it was about 8 inches tall — and it got severely frost bitten and slowly started dying. The bottom leave was okay so I chopped off the dead part of the stem and now it’s growing some lovely new baby leaves. Should I cut off the sole large leaf so that energy goes into new growth or leave it as it’s creating energy for the plant? Thank you!
Thank you for your question about your ficus plant. Congratulations on the care you provided to help Audrey survive. Ficus is a large genus of tropical plants which are native to tropical regions of the world and are commonly enjoyed as houseplants in colder regions.
At this time of the year, your plant is resuming active growth as seen by the new leaves. As long as the large leaf is green, it is photosynthesizing and producing energy for the plant so avoid removing the leaf until is falls off on its own. During the aging of the leaf, nutrients will be absorbed by the plant until it yellows and falls off.
The leaf surface, which is unclear in your photo, does not appear to be smooth and evenly green, raises concern about the possibility of common plant pests such as scale, aphids, mealybugs, thrips and spider mites
Examine your plant thoroughly particularly the leaf undersides with a magnifying glass to more quickly and accurately detect and identify insects.
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Wishing you much enjoyment in caring for Audrey!