I have seen this same problem indoors on Ficus benjamina and a 7 foot
tall potted grapefruit. I have not seen aphids or other pests so it does
not seem to be an insect problem. It might be a physiological problem.
It seems sap is oozing out of the leaf onto the upper leaf surface.
Possibly it is coming through stomates or hydathodes? A wild guess is
that when the tree isn't growing indoors in the winter, it still
photosynthesizes and the excess photosynthates ooze out. Might be a good
project for an plant anatomy class to study.
On Ficus benjamina, I also notice a small accumulation of a white
exudate on the underside of the leaf where the blade joins the petiole
but it does not seem sticky. Another wild guess is might Ficus benjamina
be an ant plant in its native habitat and the sugary sap be to feed ants
and the white exudate be a food body?
If you can give the plant a shower, you can wash the sticky sap off. I
hose off the grapefruit tree in the spring when it is taken outdoors for
the summer.
David Hershey
dh321 at excite.com
Lee, Julia wrote:
>> We are pretty lost, and need help...HELP... HELLPP!
> We have a ficus benjamina, when we first moved it into the office, lost good
> number of leaves, finally got it to do nicely, leaves came back, but not it
> exudes a sticky substance....and it "rains" onto other plants (around, close
> to it), and fall onto an adjacent desk... we have inspectect it and do not
> see any "buggies".... please HELP!!!! .... it it a beautiful 7 ft. tree....
> THANKS!!!
>
