Luxurious ficus, belonging to the Mulberry family, has always been grown in their homes by lovers of indoor plants in our country. True, there was a dark streak in the history of this flower: after the revolution of 1917, it was called the “symbol of philistinism” and it simply disappeared from many houses.
Fortunately, today we can again admire the large and stately ficus. Care at home (photo - in the article) for him is completely simple. Even novice growers will cope with this task. There are several varieties of ficus, which differ in size, color and shape of foliage. Of the indoor species, Benjamin's ficus is the most popular, on the example of which we will consider the intricacies of caring for indoor ficus at home.
Features of ficus
This amazing plant will decorate any interior, in addition, it has a beneficial effect on the he alth of people living in the house. Especially important is the cultivation of this flower, which emits oxygen and absorbs carbon dioxide, in a big city, where oftenthe ecological situation is not encouraging.
Many novice flower growers are wondering if it is possible to keep a ficus in the house. It would seem a strange question, how can a plant known to our great-grandmothers harm someone. Turns out it can sometimes be harmful.
We talked about the fact that there are several varieties of this plant. The most commonly grown species are:
- Benjamin.
- Rubber-bearing.
- Bengali.
- Dwarf.
- Lyrate.
- Triangular.
- Binnedijka.
- Retuza.
- Ginseng.
If you decide to have a ficus in your home, home care for which is easy even for beginner flower growers, it is necessary to exclude the occurrence of allergic reactions to it in households. In addition, you need to know that some types of ficuses aggravate the condition of asthmatics. Rubbery varieties secrete milky juice, which is poisonous, so it should not be allowed to get on the skin. Children and pets should be kept away from such plants. Families with young children are better off growing safer varieties.
Ficus bloom
Many flower growers are interested in how to properly care for ficus at home (photo below) so that the flower blooms. I must say that this question is of interest not only to beginners in indoor floriculture, but also to experienced plant lovers. I hate to disappoint you, but you won't be able to. Ficus blooms only in natural conditions.
Inflorescencesficus are not very attractive: they are small balls, hollow from the inside, which are called syconia. Each of these balls has a tiny hole into which a pollinating insect inserts its proboscis. After pollination, the syconium turns into a drupe. An example of such a process would be the fig, beloved by many, which is a close relative of the ficus.
Ficus growing
Without a doubt, ficus is one of the easiest houseplants to care for. With minimal care at home, Benjamin's ficus, for example, needs only regular watering and crown formation. For this reason, it is suitable for beginners in floriculture or busy people.
Choosing a seat
This is a fast growing plant (with proper care) It grows about 20 cm per year, and can grow up to three meters in height, of course, if you can afford to have such a giant in your house. It is necessary to choose a place for the plant where direct sunlight will not fall on it, away from drafts and heating appliances. The room should have an average humidity.
Ficus: home care, photo
Despite the unpretentiousness of this plant, you should follow some rules, following which you can grow a luxurious tropical plant.
Ground
Today, in specialized stores, you can buy ready-made soil for ficuses. If you do not have the opportunity to purchase it, make up the mixture yourself. The soil should be loose, fertile, slightly acidic orneutral. Drainage is required, for which crushed stone or expanded clay is used in the lower layer, and coarse river sand for the upper layer.
Temperature
When caring for ficus at home, it is very important to maintain a comfortable air temperature for the plant. Do not forget that your new pet comes from the tropics, and therefore he loves warmth, has a negative attitude towards drafts and hypothermia of the soil. In summer, it is necessary to maintain the temperature around +28 °C.
Caring for ficus at home in winter is somewhat different. Do not place the plant pot on a floor that is too cold. The most comfortable temperature for this plant in winter should be at least +16 ° C. The minimum, although undesirable temperature is +12 °C. A plant that is in a cool room is watered less often. And you also need to know that varieties with variegated foliage are much more difficult to tolerate temperature drops than green ones.
Lighting for ficus
Ficuses are light-requiring, however, they should be protected from direct sunlight. In winter, home care for ficus involves the use of additional lighting so that the plant receives a "portion" of light for twelve hours. Often, when a ficus sheds foliage, the reason lies in the lack of light. Periodically, it is necessary to turn the ficus pot to the window so that the crown develops evenly.
Humidity
This plant needs high humidity, so spray crown irrigation will be useful for ficus. Leaf care at homeconditions comes down to regular wiping the plates with a damp sponge or napkin: the plant will not only look much more attractive, since large leaves collect dust, but also feel much better.
Irrigation
The soil should dry slightly between waterings, but not dry out. In a ficus flower, home care involves the use of settled clean water at room temperature. In summer, ficus needs more frequent and plentiful watering than in winter. But do not overmoisten the soil - this can provoke rotting of the roots and stems. In summer, ficus is watered two to three times a week, but with the onset of autumn, the volume of water is gradually reduced. With the onset of winter, watering should be done no more than once a week.
Feeding
Many flower growers dream of growing a he althy and beautiful indoor ficus. Home care should include fertilizing with natural fertilizers twice a month, starting from the first days of March and ending with the last days of September, during the period of active flower growth. Nitrogen-containing compounds are used as fertilizers, as well as natural ones - nettle infusion, wood ash. In a specialized store, you can buy complex compositions of trace elements that are intended for ficuses.
Ficus transplant and home care
Another important condition for the proper care of this plant is a timely transplant. As soon as you find that roots have appeared from the holes of the pot, or the soil has begun to dry out too quickly after watering,this may indicate that the plant needs a more spacious pot. Until the age of four, ficus is transplanted annually. Then this procedure is carried out no more than once every two years. You can always add new nutrient soil to the container, if circumstances so require.
When should ficus be transplanted
Experienced flower growers recommend doing this work in the summer or spring, so that the plant can easily endure the transplant and take root faster in a new place. Do not worry if, after this procedure, the growth of the ficus slows down somewhat, sometimes the flower can even shed its leaves. This is perfectly normal, as the plant goes through a period of adaptation so much, the roots grow much more slowly in a larger pot. The larger and wider the capacity, the slower the root system grows.
Each new pot should be five centimeters larger than the previous one in diameter. For very large varieties of ficuses, only the top layer of soil is changed, replenishing its volume. Transplantation is done as follows:
- moisten the soil well so that you can remove the plant from the pot without injuring it;
- very carefully remove the top layer of soil;
- put drainage at the bottom of the new pot and sprinkle it with soil;
- remove the ficus, free the roots from the soil and move it to a new container;
- add potting soil while maintaining plant depth.
If you do not want the ficus to grow to its natural size, then it should not be transplanted at all. Once every three years will sufficeform a crown and remove shoots. You can cut the roots a little when transplanting and place the flower in a cramped pot.
Cutting
Ficus pruning for home care is extremely important. First of all, it is necessary to regularly remove dry branches and leaves (sanitary pruning). To rejuvenate the plant or give it the desired shape, you should thin out the crown and shorten the shoots both from the inside and outside. The main stem is cut once a year by 20 cm. When the plant reaches the required height, pinching is performed. When shortening the branches, at least five sheets must remain on each of them. Photos of pruning ficus when caring for at home are often published in special publications on indoor floriculture.
How to cut ficus correctly
It is better to start pruning in early April. Use a garden pruner for this, which must first be treated with alcohol. In addition, crushed activated or charcoal should be prepared in advance for processing sections. To form a crown, it is necessary to cut the upper part of the ficus stem - this will cause the active growth of side shoots.
Wishing to give the flower an elongated silhouette, it is necessary to cut the side shoots by 4-6 cm and pinch off the leaves from them. The juice that appears at the cut site should be immediately removed with a damp cloth. The cut is treated with activated carbon. After pruning, after two weeks, the plant is fertilized.
In order to make the plant thicker and stimulate the growth of new buds, the crown of the plant is thinned out andpruned annually.
Reproduction
Sooner or later, every grower is interested in how ficus is cared for and propagated at home. The two methods of propagation of these plants are most popular among flower growers - air layering and cuttings. The simplest of them is cuttings, the second method is more suitable for experienced flower growers.
Propagation by cuttings
During the active growth of the plant (spring or summer), cut cuttings 15 cm long from the apical shoots from the bush. At least three leaves should remain on the cutting of the stem shoot. So that the cuttings do not lose moisture, their leaves are folded into not tight tubes and tied with a soft rubber band. Often, balloons are used for this, which are cut into strips.
A milky juice stands out on the cut. To remove it, hold the cuttings for a while in water at room temperature, to which you can add Kornevin. Prepare containers and soil mixture in advance: mix earth with sand or perlite, add peat. Plant cuttings in it, deepening one and a half centimeters, and then cover them with cling film, creating a mini-greenhouse. Place the container with the cuttings in a warm room. For rooting cuttings, the optimum temperature is about + 25 ° C.
The greenhouse should be regularly ventilated so that the cuttings do not rot. Rooting occurs within a month. Then the seedlings can be planted in pots.
Propagation by layering
For this method, you need to choose a he althy straight growing shoot, remove the leaves in the placewhere the incision is to be made. With a thin and sharp knife or blade, make two cuts at a distance of 3 cm. In the place between the cuts, remove the bark, you can additionally sprinkle this place with Kornevin. Apply wet sphagnum moss about five centimeters thick to the prepared surface. Wrap tightly with cling film to the sphagnum shoot and fasten well. It must be constantly wet. After some time, roots will appear in this place and braid the moss.
When the roots are felt through the film or even break through it, the ficus stem is cut a little below the roots that have appeared. After that, the cuttings are planted in a separate container. Both described methods show good results.
Diseases of ficuses
It would seem that all the rules for growing ficus have been observed. Why do home care (photo - below) sometimes does not give the desired result and plants are affected by various diseases that can be divided into two categories - parasitic and fungal origin? How to deal with them and is it possible to protect a flower from them?
Fungal diseases include:
- grey rot;
- black fungus on leaves;
- root rot.
Parasitic diseases of ficus when caring for at home include spider mites, mealybugs, aphids, nematodes, thrips, scale insects. If the ficus is attacked by parasites, then it should be processed as soon as possible, although it must be recognized that it is extremely rare to save a flower. howas soon as you see traces of parasite activity on the ficus, take action immediately.
One of the best drugs in the fight against them for ficuses is "Aktara", you can use "Confidor" or "Aktellik". It must be recognized that diseases of fungal origin most often occur due to the lack of proper care for the plant. Excessive watering, high temperature and dry indoor air provoke gray rot (botrytis). This disease is treated by removing the affected fragments and further treatment with copper-containing preparations.
When a plant is affected by a fungus, the affected parts should be removed as soon as possible, and then the flower should be treated with an antifungal drug ("Fitosporin-M" or "Gamair"). Unfortunately, root rot cannot be cured, the plant must be discarded along with the pot in which it grew.
Insufficient lighting, sudden changes in temperature, excessive or insufficient watering, abuse of top dressing - all these factors can provoke the development of diseases. Even an unsuccessfully chosen place for a plant can contribute to the manifestation of diseases. To protect the plant, it is necessary to provide competent care, which is actually quite simple. Preventive treatments are carried out using fungicides that provide reliable protection to the plant and reduce the risk of disease.
Many flower growers are interested in why ficus leaves fall. Home care is not always the reason for this. For example, a plant may shed its leaves during the seasonal fall of the lower leaves of lateautumn. If this happens in summer or spring, then most likely the plant does not have enough lighting or it is watered incorrectly. Even the frequent movement of a flower from place to place, sudden changes in temperature or lack of top dressing can also cause leaf fall. And, of course, diseases and parasites should not be discounted, which also cause leaf loss.
Quarantine for new plants
When purchasing a ficus in a flower shop, carefully inspect the plant to identify possible diseases and pests. The same can be said about plants donated by familiar flower growers. It is advisable to place a new flower separately from other plants for about a week. If during this time no pathologies and parasites are detected, the flower can be placed with other houseplants. If you follow these rules, the ficus will decorate your home for many years.
