Bathroom tree

[sanzfrancisco]

Hi everyone. I've had this tree in my bathroom for at least 10 years. (Original owner moved and left it to me.) I love this tree; I call her Sylvia. I need to find some way to clean her leaves. The bathroom gets steamy, and the omnipresent dust of the world sticks to the moisture. The tree is very big, and about 10 feet tall. And even the leaves I CAN reach are too numerous for me effectively wash by hand.

Help??

janice

 

[Bill Waud]

You can lift into the shower and if u have a hand held device just give it a thorough cleaning with water only ( Luke temp only) no hot water. Or take it outside and use a hose on it / let air dry and bring back in to its happy place. It looks like a focus of some sort so I think u would b ok to relocate to another part of the house with a sunny window

 

[Bill Waud]

Sorry focus of some sort

 

[Bill Waud]

Ficus / stupid spell check

 

[Twigs]

Great looking tree. Am I wrong to assume there is a skylight?
If you can move the tree outside, I would hose it down with cool water and let it air dry. I would also cover the pot opening to prevent any over watering.
Hand washing Sylvia by ladder once a year might be worth it.

 

[sanzfrancisco]

Thanks for the response. Yes, there is a large skylight that makes this room ideal for plants, because there is almost no direct sunlight, but LOTS of light at all times. I'm afraid your suggestion about hand washing is going to be the only thing I can do. Sylvia is too large and way too heavy to move anywhere.

 

[sanzfrancisco]

Ficus / stupid spell check

Yes, I agree with you about spell check. What a nuisance!! Anyway, this tree is too big and heavy to move anywhere. Guess I'll have to bite the bullet and hand wash. (Or have someone else do it. ) Thanks for the reply.

 

[Bill Waud]

Thanks for the response. Yes, there is a large skylight that makes this room ideal for plants, because there is almost no direct sunlight, but LOTS of light at all times. I'm afraid your suggestion about hand washing is going to be the only thing I can do. Sylvia is too large and way too heavy to move anywhere.

When u have large plants it is good to have a Dolly on hand to move ur large plants around

 

[marlingardener]

Bill Waud, would it be possible to kind of scoot the tree across the floor, tip it into the shower, and wash it down? Then you could let it dry as much as possible and make it upright and scoot it back to its spot. Of course, if you are going to tip it, put a large garbage bag over the soil to keep it from spilling out and making cleaning the bath floor and shower more difficult than washing down the tree!

 

[Bill Waud]

Absolutely.....just make sure you bag the base of the pot as much as possible/ do not want to clog ur shower drain with dirt that would not be good

 

[sanzfrancisco]

Thanks everyone, for your continued suggestions. Unfortunately, none of these are workable. I do have a dolly, Bill, but I am a short, 71 year old woman; there is no way I can maneuver this tree. Guess I will have to enlist some help. Even so, we cannot fit the tree into the shower without breaking lots of branches. I suppose I was hoping for someone to tell me what I could spray on the leaves and have them drip dry, and be clean.

 

[Twigs]

I would suggest a swiffer duster first.
Dry static dust what you can, once you add moisture, dust starts to cling to a surface.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Looks small enough to drag outside and hose down. I had a Ficus for years, probably 30 years, went with me at every move. changed planters 3X as it grew. Got to be about 20 foot tall, had it in my garden room. About 8 years ago looked at it and said, "Tree your just a tree, you don't bloom or anything" So yanked it out on our deck in early spring. Told the tree you will have your last glorious summer here and then in the winter you will pass on. I was just tired of it. so its gone.

 

[sanzfrancisco]

I would suggest a swiffer duster first.
Dry static dust what you can, once you add moisture, dust starts to cling to a surface.

Thanks for the reply, but because it's in the bathroom, the moisture is always there.

 

[sanzfrancisco]

Looks small enough to drag outside and hose down. I had a Ficus for years, probably 30 years, went with me at every move. changed planters 3X as it grew. Got to be about 20 foot tall, had it in my garden room. About 8 years ago looked at it and said, "Tree your just a tree, you don't bloom or anything" So yanked it out on our deck in early spring. Told the tree you will have your last glorious summer here and then in the winter you will pass on. I was just tired of it. so its gone.

No, not small enough. And the bathroom is on the third floor. Thanks, though.