Good afternoon, my reader. The ficus in the house personified harmony and prosperity, then it was a symbol of philistinism and even a reason for jokes. Time passed, morals changed, and ficus still adorned windowsills and still remains one of the most popular indoor plants. There are different species in homes and offices, but Benjamin ficus is more often grown.
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Types and characteristics
In the wild, ficuses live in the Solomon Islands, New Guinea and Southeast Asia. These are evergreen trees and shrubs from the Mulberry family. Their genus numbers about a thousand species.
Description of ficus benjamin
There is a version that the specific name comes from the Indian "benyan / banyan", because the Benjamin ficus looks like a banyan tree (the famous Bengal ficus).
Benjamin has a spreading crown of the correct shape. Erect shoots. Leaves are thin-skinned with gloss, oblong-oval shape with a pointed tip. 6-13 cm long, 2-6 cm wide. The color is dark green or two-tone: green and white. Petioles up to 2 cm. The round trunk is covered with gray bark.
Other types of domestic ficuses:
- Pumila White is a liana with long shoots. Leaves are oval-heart-shaped, arranged asymmetrically. The surface is rough, with a mesh pattern. Stems are about 5 cm thick. The plant is creeping, attached to the surface with the help of aerial roots.
- Rust-leaved ficus is a compact tree with a lush crown. Shoots are reddish in color. At the apex forms pubescent pink buds. The leaves are large, dark green, and the underside is reddish brown.
- Various-leaved - in the form of a shrub with a tree-like stem. Leaves of different shapes. The surface is leathery. Painted in juicy green with brown spots.
- Ficus Melanie is a compact type of rubber. The leaves are large, glossy, elliptical. Long aerial roots on the stem.
- Lyre - a tree with large leaves that resemble a lyre or violin in shape. The length of the leaf reaches 50 cm, and the width is up to 30 cm. The surface is densely waxy, with wavy edges.
Conditions and care
The plant is considered unpretentious. The main thing is to choose the right place and water it on time.
Lighting
Ficus needs diffused, bright light, but not the direct rays of the sun. It tolerates a little shading, but growth in such conditions slows down. A window sill with an east or west exposure would be a suitable place.
Temperature and humidity
Suitable mode for summer is + 25... 30 ° С. In winter, the temperature is lowered to + 16... 20 ° С.
The culture tolerates normal room humidity well. To maintain the usual microclimate during the heating season, the flower pot is placed on a pallet with damp moss.
Watering and feeding
Watered with very warm water as the topsoil dries. In the heat, the crown is sprayed daily. Only boiled water is suitable for spraying, otherwise white streaks remain on the leaves.
They are fed in the summer, once every 10 days, with a special fertilizer for ficuses or universal for decorative deciduous plants.
Transfer
Young ficuses are transplanted annually, and adults as needed (once every 3 years). If the tree is large, the top of the soil is changed instead of replanting.
The soil is prepared from peat, leafy earth and sand in equal proportions. The size of the new pot is selected 2 cm larger than the previous one.
Ficuses will fit into any interior. And so that the plant is always healthy, it should be kept away from drafts and often watered with warm water.
Do ficuses grow in your house?
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