I know I should go on a gardening site, but what the heck someone on here knows everything.

I have a plant in my conservatory, I have had it for 10 years and it stands an impressive `12 ft. It is stunning (I don't know it's name, but guess if it is needed I could look it up ) It's graduar is nothing whatsoever to do with me, I have no green fingers, I have never fed it anything but tap water so it's size is down to luck and a sunny conserv, I take no credit whatsoever.

Now for the past year it has started dripping sap, big time dripping not just the usual little bits, my furniture and floor are covered in sticky syrup, it is like having my own treacle plant.

I don't want to get rid of the plant, it is like family. And am prepared to love and prune and care for it if needed to stop everything being imasculated in sticky stuff.  Any ideas at what I need to do if anything????

Check that its not infested with some creepy crawlies ..if they are biting it then it will loose sap ;)

I shall check that out in the light of day tomorrow with my magnifying glass.  Would the plant be leaking sap where it is bitten, or would it be a self defense thing and trying to cover any little critters wanting to eat it.  I am a gardening dunce, I know nothing.

Are you sure it isn't being overwatered?  Some plants do this when they're too wet ;)  I'm sure my ficus did this occasionally ;)  it never got that big tho cos when it hit 5feet I rehomed it - no plant allowed in this house taller than me :D :D

I had a Rubber Plant that I inherited and it was like a Trifid

We worked out it was 40 years old and it ended up to the ceiling and beyond :D

We rehomed it as we found we were not the right people to take care of it :rolleyes: Not through Rubber Plant rescue though :D :D

Can you take a picture and then PM us as I think it would help knowing what it was :)

Hi,  Sorry for the delay to your replies everyone not had a chance to get to the comp until now.

Well, I have been scouring books for my plant and it looks like the Ficus Benjamina if that is of any help to anyone.

I am ready to take on all the advice I have been given unless anyone has a better idea now knowing the actual plant.

I can't believe I might acutally have to feed it now:rolleyes: I honestly don't know how it has survived and looks so beautiful I used to laugh at my friend who is extremely green fingered, uses food the whole caboot and I did nothing and my plants are bigger. :-D (Guess I'm paying for it now - or rather my poor plant is.)

I'm no Alan Titchmarsh but Ficus don't typically drip sap but they can get waxy build-up at the base of the leaves. Look for whitefly, or other nasties as suggested. Whitefly are common in conservatories and you do get a lot of sap. Scale can be hiding under the leaves, look for small dark spots.

I have very green fingers and ignore every one of my plants :-D

perhaps it just needs repotting,
if you have only fed it water it's used,
all the soil up. Put it in a bigger pot ,with more compost
or now's the time to feed it.

p.s. what shape are the leaves

Donna

Hi,

You've had me thinking on this one!! LOL  So I did a search and found this....

""Question:
I have a Ficus benjamina in a well-lighted indoor location. There is very little leaf drop, but the tree has a great deal of sap running off the leaves onto the carpet. Can you tell me the cause and how to avoid it?
Answer:
The cause that comes to mind is an infestation by scale insects. Remember, I haven't seen your plant, so this is a guess based on the information you provided. While aphids can produce honeydew (the clear, syrupy, sap-like substance you are describing), Ficus are more likely to be infested with scale insects. These will appear as brown bumps on the twigs and leaves which can be scraped off with a fingernail.
Scale insects are difficult to control, especially if they have spread to other plants in your collection. However, there are pesticides which can be used to treat scale insects. You should be sure to select one which is made for use on houseplants in the house. Insecticidal oils and soaps may be your best option while the plants must be kept indoors. You will have to treat frequently, but you should at least be able to minimize the damage until the weather warms in the spring. Then you can take the plants out into a shady place for a few days while you treat with products which you can't use indoors.
If you don't find scale insects, take a sample of twigs with leaves to your local county Cooperative Extension Service office to diagnose your specific problem and recommend the appropriate treatment.""

HTH

Debs

Oh My, Oh My, Oh My. I investigated my plant this morning as suggested by catweazle to see if I could spot any creepy crawlies, but saw nothing moving around. I was looking for aphid type things.

Have just gone to look for the scale insects and Arggghhhh, Millions!!! (slight exageration) of brown things which I thought were part of the plant.

My poor plant, I shall be down the garden centre first thing tomorrow. I am going to zap those little critters right off my poor plant.

I KNEW YOU WOULD HELP!!   Thank you.

I'd be very careful what it's zapped with ;)  remember, you've done well to get it this far with just watering, so you're doing something right :) :)

Thanks Dill, I shall read the labels carefully, would hate to loose it.

Can you get someone to help you haul it into the shower :D ?

If so, give it a darn good wash (cold water only)- up and under as well as tops of leaves - you may well wash a lot of the bugs off before spraying it.

Margot

Be very carefull if you move it -we had a ten foot one and moved it to a different corner of the room -it rewarded us by dropping every single leaf ...I'd go to the garden centre and get specialist advice  about what to zap it with  or you may be able to water something in so that the nasties die when they drink the sap
Good luck

Ficus drop their leaves easily if conditions change, like when you move them. They recover nicely as long as you don't overwater them.