Bonsai tree keeps losing leaves

Question

Sorry for asking probably a question that has been asked before, but I really don't know what could I do to improve by bonsai's health. I bought it 1 year ago, and all this time it kept losing leaves. I also added images because I think it best describes the problem I am having.

Today I moved it outside, thinking that maybe it doesn't have enough light. I am living in Romania, it's quite warm already outside. I think that I also didn't water it correctly. First kept watering it once every week, until the water kept coming out the drainage hole, but I realized that the soil was moist. Now I tried not watering it after a schedule, but after 2 weeks without any water, the soil seemed still a bit moist (I have to add that I never drowned it in too much water, but I have probably added more than the tree needed). The leaves that are dropping are not dry, some of them are even new growth. I have the following questions:

1. What could I do to help the tree recover?
2. What kind of ficus is it?
3. Should I leave it on the balcony or bring it back inside?
4. Does changing the location of the tree inside the house, harm it?

This is how it looked when I bought it:

Here is how it looked after maybe 3 months:

Here is how it looks now:

I appreciate all your help. Thanks

Answer 1

This is probably a Ficus retusa or Ficus microcarpa, or other tropical Ficus. It is a common phenomenon with Ficus to lose leaves when the tree is not happy. What exactly the problem is, is hard to say. After reading your detailed description, my first thought is does it get enough light? How many hours does it get direct sunlight? This is one important factor for the tree to be happy, direct sunlight. Furthermore, the tree prefers constant conditions, so putting it outside already in early spring would not be wise. The plant doesn't like to be moved all the time, in summer you might wanna put it outside, but with cold nights still ahead I would not recommend it yet.

Furthermore, watering. If you have good drainage watering it every 2-3 weeks seems okay. Maybe reduce it in the winter when the plant is dormant and water it more often when temperatures really rise in summer.

So my advice is to keep it as much as possible in the same place, it doesn't like to be moved all the time. Furthermore give it a lot of direct sunlight and keep temperature as constant as possible (around or above 20 C).

Here some information I found about Ficus bonsai.