Question
I have a plant which has recently begun to shed its leaves after they have turned yellow making it look bare - can you advise please?

It has a central woody stem with branches off, height approx 7 foot - more like a small tree.  This was given to me over seven year ago when it looked dead ie no leaves at all.  I cut it back re-potted it, fed and watered it and it flourished.  It has direct light as it stands near a window but not a draft and on occasions I put it outside to catch rain water when the temperature allows.  I water it once a week in the winter and begin to feed it in the spring on a monthly basis increasing the water supply as and when.  There is some new growth and leaves however it is obviously unwell but I do not know what to do with it to make it well.  No unfortunately I do not know it's name but you do seem them quite often in offices, reception areas etc.

Looking forward to your reply with interest and thanking you in anticipation.

Answer
Jan,

I suspect you have a ficus tree that has been attaced by spider mites. They have been particularly bad this year attacking some of my plants also. The only signs you will see are fine webs in the crotches of some of the branches or if you hold a white sheet of paper under a branch and shake it lightly over the paper them emamine the paper closely you may see tiny little specs moving across the paper. The are smaller than this period. That is a spider mite. Put rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and thoroughly spray the tree with it twice a week for a week then once a week for a month. The tree should come back. You can go to a garden center and get a systemic insecticide that you apply to the soil and water in. Then the tree will take it up through the roots and repel the spider mites. It will have a chemical smell for about 4 days  before it goes away and you will still need to do the first 2 alcohol sprays before the systemic has time to take over. Your tree should them come back fairly fast. You can prune the tree back a bit and that will make it branch out more in the center and get fuller looking. For pictures of a ficus tree to confirm my identification go to google and put in ficus tree then click on images. If that is not your tree send me a picture of your tree and I will identify it for you. Good luck.

Darlene