Ficus is probably the most famous (and most unassuming) of all houseplants. The genus has about 600 species, including edible figs, and is widespread in all warm regions of the world. Rubber ficus comes from India, where in natural conditions it reaches a height of 30 m and more. In the store, most of the plants are about 46 cm tall and have 5 to 8 leaves formed. You can also buy more mature plants, about 1 m in height. Indoors, they grow up to about 10 m. In nature, the height of a tree can reach 30-40 meters. On how to care for rubber plants at home, see our article.
Ficus is rubbery. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com succulove
Contents:
Growing requirements
Ficus rubber, Ficus elastic, Latin – Ficus elastica.
Growth. In comfortable conditions, Ficus rubbery can give an increase from 60 cm to 1 m per year.
Flowering period. Only very large, old plants bloom and produce fig-like fruits.
Lighting. Ficus are rubbery light-loving plants, but they also adapt to darker places. Lack of light slows down growth.
Temperature. In winter, the minimum temperature is 15 ° С, in summer – no higher than 29 ° С.
Watering. In winter, keep the soil slightly moist by watering the rubber plant no more than once a week. Water more often during the summer, at least twice a week.
Top dressing. Add liquid fertilizer to the water every 14 days in summer.
Humidity. Ficus rubber is adaptable to central heating, but it must be sprayed on top at least once a week, and every month the leaves should be wiped with a sponge.
Cleaning. Cultivars with smooth leaves are cleaned by hand. The fleecy leaves are cleaned with a soft brush. For Ficus rubber, you can use a cleaning agent every two months.
Atmosphere. Airing, but not drafts.
The soil. Potting soil based on peat or turf, good drainage.
Transfer. It is necessary in two cases: the plant has become too tall and large for its pot, or the water immediately passes through from top to bottom. The latter indicates that the soil is depleted. Repot the rubber plant in the spring.
Trimming: Only for limiting the growth of ficus. Don’t forget to support young plants. When a leaf or stem is torn off, a white thick liquid flows out. The wound should be anointed with petrolatum or insulated with a piece of tissue.
With good care, the plant will live long and grow until it reaches the ceiling. With waterlogging, it can die in 6 months. Ficus is a rubbery plant requiring minimal care. Do not overmoisten, especially in winter.
Ficuses propagate by apical cuttings with leaves or pieces of stem with one leaf. If you put such a stalk in a jar of water on a sunny window and change the water often, then after a while roots will appear on it. Reproduction of ficuses can be achieved in another way: cuttings are rooted in damp sand. In this case, the stalk is washed from the milky juice that is released from the cut, allowed to dry a little and planted in small pots with wet sand, which are placed in a warm place, best of all, in a greenhouse.
Ficus. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Maja Dumat
If the ficus has lost its foliage, and the leaves are only at the top, it can be renewed by resorting to propagation by air layers. In this case, a circular incision is made or a narrow strip of bark is removed under the layering and moss is attached to this place, which is constantly moistened. After 1-2 months, roots develop around the incision. The stalk, along with the roots, is cut off and planted in a pot. The best time to breed ficuses is summer.
Ficuses are quite resistant to diseases and pests. If you follow the basic rules of care, water the ficus correctly, diseases will bypass it. So, if the ficus suddenly began to lose foliage, the reason for this may be excessive soil moisture or a strong drying out of the earthy coma, cold drafts, and lack of light. If the tree-like ficus is gradually losing the lower leaves, then this is a natural process and there is nothing to worry about.
In ampel and bush ficuses, dry and wrinkled leaves indicate insufficient air humidity and drying out of the soil. It is necessary to spray the plant more often and water it correctly. The same symptoms can occur with a sunburn. In this case, it is necessary to find a more suitable place for the plant, where there is no direct sunlight.
If you notice small spiders on the underside of ficus leaves, this is a spider mite. It multiplies very quickly in dry air and at high temperatures. It is destroyed by thorough washing, especially of the lower part, of the leaves with a weak infusion of tobacco dust (4 tablespoons per 1 liter of water), to which soap or infusion of Dalmatian chamomile with soap is added. After two hours, the leaves are washed with warm water.
If dots and spots appear on the leaves, it may be a shield aphid. This pest is also destroyed by soap-tobacco infusion, to which it is good to add a little denatured alcohol or kerosene. In this case, it is necessary to carefully examine the plant and remove all the shields from the leaves and stems with a cotton swab. The purity of the leaves is the main protection of ficuses from diseases and pests.
Rubber ficus is a completely unpretentious plant! Excellent appearance and low requirements make this flowerpot very attractive for indoor plant lovers.
