Flower growing is one of the most common hobbies in our country. People want to feel closer to nature by creating a small corner of it in the apartment. Living greenery allows you to escape from everyday problems and worries, relax and unwind.
Of course, as with any hobby, there are subtleties. For example, even many hardy plants suffer if they don’t receive nutrition on time. Oddly enough, but troubles happen even with ficuses. It is generally accepted that they do not need any special care at all, managing only occasional watering.
Alas, it is not so. In particular, many novice plant growers often have a question about why ficus leaves fall. Let's try to analyze in more detail all the possible reasons within the framework of this article.
Physiological causes
If in the autumn or winter a few leaves of your ficus suddenly fell off, you should not panic: most likely, this is a completely physiological phenomenon that does not pose any danger to the he alth of the plant. This is especially true when the ficus simply lacks lighting, which can happen very easily in the northern regions.
But if such leaf fall occurs more than once a year, then this is a serious cause for concern.
When to worry?
When wondering why ficus leaves fall, you should not lose sight of the main symptoms that clearly indicate the poor physiological state of the long-suffering plant. Everything is simple here: if you missed about 20-25 leaves on a medium-sized flower, then this indicates some serious problems.
Causes of leaf fall
We used to think that plants are a kind of home decor that can be changed and rearranged from place to place as you wish. Alas, this is not so. The concept of "stress" is typical not only for people or animals, but also for plants.
If you have recently moved to a new home, especially if it is located in a completely different region, then you should not be surprised at the fall of the leaves. So the plant shows stress. This phenomenon is not fatal, but for the period of acclimatization of the ficus, it is desirable to provide top dressing and normal illumination.
In addition, do not forget about drafts and the general temperature of housing. When the ficus leaves turn yellow and fall off, forming bizarre heaps on the floor, check the temperature regime: if the plant stands in a corner blown by all the winds, then this phenomenon is quite expected.
In the case when all thiscombined with poor watering and insufficient lighting, leaf fall can become catastrophic.
Prevention
It is known that the best treatment is prevention. This statement is quite true also for this case.
First of all, pay attention to the watering regime. Ficuses love moisture, but this does not mean at all that they can be poured from a water hose. In general, experts advise moistening the soil in a pot only when it is completely dry. Please note: if water accumulates in the pan the day after watering, reduce the amount of watering liquid used at a time.
Fertilizers
If the ficus leaves turn yellow and fall off even under normal humidity conditions, top dressing is probably to blame. More precisely, its complete absence. It is not uncommon to see how these plants grow into huge trees in people, while being in the same pot, in which the earth never changes.
This gave the impression that ficuses are incredibly hardy and do not need any care. Believe me, it's not like that at all. If for a couple of years you did not bother to feed the plant with special mineral fertilizers, then over time the leaves will begin to fall from it, and this process may well begin suddenly.
Temperature conditions
In the case when everything is in order with top dressing, you should pay attention to the temperature regime. The fact is that ficus to himin general, not too demanding, can grow well at temperatures even 20-22 degrees Celsius.
But he does not tolerate sudden temperature fluctuations and drafts at all (as we have already mentioned above). Ficus Ginseng is especially capricious in this regard. His leaves often fall for much less serious reasons.
If it grows in a pot that stands on a rotten and leaky windowsill, from which the wind whistles in all directions, then the fall of all the leaves will not take long. In the case when you simply have no other choice, at least lay felt or other heat-insulating material on the windowsill.
And more. Banal pests do not rarely infect flowers. Ficus (leaves fall from him in this case too) suffers as a result of the activity of aphids, spider mites and other "evil spirits". Pests enter homes on fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products. Even more often, they "arrive" on flowers bought from dubious stores that do not closely monitor the quality of their products.
What to do?
First of all, hurry up. If you start the process, the plant will no longer be able to recover. In the case when we are talking about banal pests, it is worth immediately treating the leaves with special compounds, which are sold in many in ordinary gardening stores. By the way, spider mites often infect Benjamin's ficus. Why are the leaves falling? Yes, simply because the parasites simply suck all the juices out of the leaf.
Hereafter that, it will be necessary to deal with the restoration of the crown. In order for new leaves to grow faster, it can be treated with the excellent Epin preparation. It is specially designed for "resuscitation" of indoor flowers.
Used as an aerosol. Before spraying, the composition is prepared: a couple of drops of the substance in a glass of water. You can spray from a regular home spray bottle, which is probably in every apartment. At first, treatment should be done once a week.
If that doesn't help?
Why do ficus leaves fall if all the above problems have already been eliminated? Well, it happens, but don't despair. In this case, you should try to completely replace the earth. Often, a whole colony of nematodes starts up in the old soil. In addition, if you took the soil from your garden, a harmful earthworm can safely live there.
All these "guests" are engaged in eating the root system with appetite. Of course, asking why ficus leaves fall is stupid in this case. Completely clean the roots from the ground, wash them in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and then plant the flower in fresh soil.
