Question
We live in San Diego and have a beautiful outside 20+ foot tall Ficus Benjamina Tree.  It usually never drops a lot of leaves, but this year it is. Also we noticed that the bark has white powdery areas on the trunk and branches (spotted), that we have never seen before.  Seems like the branches are splitting too.  Do we have a disease? This tree is about 26 years old.

Answer
Hi Paula:
If the yellow leaves are occuring over most of the tree, this is usually a sign of a root/soil stress- often not an infectious disease. Common things may be lack of or too much water and some root/lower stem damages.  If it has been dry lately, this may be the cause.  No so sure about the splitting.  One cause of this may have been real cold/freezing temps during the winter or even sunscald.

The white powdery stuff may be an insect such as wooly aphids or even scale insects. Best to have someone from your local nursery/greenhouse to confirm so as to recommend an appropriate insecticide if needed.

Regards
Steve