AmberLeaf said:Ficus Benjamina trees don't like to be moved, I moved mine a few times and it started dropping leaves so I put it back in its original spot and its doing fine now.
I have always heard that but, my Ficus is moved and rotated every time I water and I have never lost a leaf. Even when I moved it from CA to NV, I didn't lose a leaf. Ficus benjamina show their displeasure by dropping leaves at the slightest undesirable change: less sun, more sun, too wet, too dry, a change in humidity or temperature. Expect them to lose leaves in winter as the light is less but otherwise, if leaves drop, try to find a reason.
I found photos my husband took of the repotting of my 30 year old Ficus in June. The tree was failing fast and when I unpotted, I realized the soil was no longer absorbing moisture. I used a hand saw and loppers to take off about half the roots and more than half the canopy. The last repot had been at least 10 years ago, maybe 15. I didn't completely remove all the soil even though it was very compacted but instead, used a pointed stick to poke holes through the rootball. I try not to remove all the soil as it causes a lot of root damage, sometimes unrecoverable damage. All the fine roots that feed the plant are destroyed when the roots are washed. The last photo is from today, exactly 4 months later.
If there are still live stems, your tree should be back. It could be months or just days, depending upon how healthy the tree was.
