Ficus is well adapted for growing in apartments, offices, government offices, but has a number of care features related to its origin. Learn how to create optimal conditions for the growth of ficus, achieve its flowering and effectively deal with plant diseases and pests.

The origin and homeland of ficus

In nature, varieties of ficus are found on 4 continents: in Asia, Australia, Africa and America. An insignificant part of the variety of varieties grows in the Crimea, Central Asia, and the countries of the Caucasus. The preferred climate of the plant is subtropical and tropical, but some specimens are adapted to temperate latitudes. In the world, the genus of ficus is represented by 841 species, but not all are used for home cultivation.

Did you know? In India and Indonesia, ficus is revered as a sacred plant. They believe that he can bestow enlightenment and spirituality, so he is widely used in landscaping temple areas.

If home specimens of ficus reach a maximum height of about 2 m, then in nature there are real giants of the species. In New Guinea, the largest representatives are registered: trees up to 40 m in height and 4-5 m in girth.

Archaeologists have confirmed the fact that people learned about the existence of this plant many millennia ago: the tombs of mummies of Ancient Egypt, for example, are made from ficus, which grew in Africa at that time. The inhabitants of the Mediterranean know another species - fig tree (Ficus Carica) or fig (fig tree) because of its wonderful fruits.

All species of ficus belong to the mulberry family, so you can often hear their other name - "rubber tree". The average rubber content in the milky sap of some plants is 15% or more, for this reason Ficus elastica has long remained the main source of latex in rubber production.

Juice also contains rubber in home specimens, and due to their well-developed immunity, rubber ficuses are the most popular and suitable for growing indoors. Dwarf species in home cultivation appeared due to ficuses from the tropical forests of China and Japan.

Description and features of flowering

Ficus is characterized as a decorative leafy shade-tolerant plant that can develop into a bush or small tree. The leaves are whole, most often glossy. The color scheme, shape and size of the leaf directly depends on the type and variety selected for growing the plant, but even in this case there may be options.

The popularity of ficus came not only because of its decorative properties, but also because it is a great air purifier that can absorb and process harmful fumes from plastic surfaces, laminate, linoleum and others. Experts also argue that the plant has powerful positive energy that has beneficial effects on people, their well-being and peace of mind.

The most common types of ficus in home breeding are:

• rubber;
• Benjamin;
• lyre-shaped;
• Binnedi Ali;
• deltoid;
• microcarp;
• dwarf;
• Bengal;
• religious or sacred.

In home cultivation, ficus is unpretentious, can live up to 15 years, but far from all growers can see how a plant blooms at least once during this period. Indoor varieties bloom extremely rarely even with perfect care, although in natural, natural conditions you can observe a riot of colors and shapes of ficus flowers. The flowers of a houseplant are very specific. If you expect to see the inflorescence in its usual sense, then you are deeply mistaken. Ficus produces inflorescences spherical or pear-shaped, which can be mistaken for fruits. They are called Siconia. The colors most often have are orange, yellow or green. May appear on the trunk of the ficus, on branches or in the axils of the leaves.

Inside, this inflorescence is hollow, and at the top there is a hole specially designed for pollination by insects.

The flowers are inside the inflorescence, they are extremely small (about 1 mm) and have 3 varieties at the same time:

• male (stamens);
• female (pistils);
• long pistils (gall flowers, capable of becoming fruits after pollination).

Ficuses are pollinated only by the only species of wasps that can crawl into a small hole in the inflorescence. In our latitudes they are absent, and other insects are not able to pollinate the plant. For this reason, it is impossible to obtain seeds, even if you have managed to achieve flowering.

Flowering and the appearance of siconia requires a large return of vitality from the plant. Some experts advise not to amuse your curiosity, but to rid the ficus of inflorescences so that it does not die prematurely.

Important! Do not buy ficus in the store during the cold season, otherwise it may die due to a sharp temperature drop.

Houseplant care at home

Growing a ficus of a certain type has its own nuances.

However, all varieties are characterized by the following general care rules:

1. Before buying a plant, immediately determine the place for it, since the flower does not like changes in dislocation.
2. It is necessary to provide good lighting, especially for varieties with a heterogeneous, colorful crown color. Ficus can tolerate partial shade, but with a strong lack of lighting, branches are stretched, the deciduous cover becomes thinner, and the contrasting color of the leaves, if any, disappears.
3. The plant needs fresh air, but drafts are fatal to it.
4. Recommended maintenance temperature: in summer - +22 ... + 25 ° С, in winter - not lower than +16 ... + 20 ° С.
5. It is dangerous to overcool the soil, so it is not recommended to put the flower pot on the floor.

   Video: Ficus Care at Home
6. Watering needs to be organized regularly, the indicator is a dried out top layer. Water for irrigation is used for at least 12 hours. Watering abundantly, they get wet the entire coma of the earth, that is, until water flows from the drainage hole of the pot. Water is not left in the pan: it must be drained about 30 minutes after watering. As with a lack of moisture, and with its excess leaves turn yellow and fall off.
7. A large leaf needs additional moisturizing and care. Regular measures are taken to spray the crown and wipe the leaves with a damp sponge or soft cloth.
8. Every 2 weeks, top dressing is required. Use any mineral or organic fertilizers for this type of indoor plants in the spring-autumn period. It is allowed to alternate fertilizers. The dose used is that recommended by the manufacturer.

If you grow tall varieties, then they need periodic pruning, which will form a beautiful crown. Trimming is performed only in late February - early March every 2-3 years. The crown of the head can not be shortened or done once. The branch is cut strictly perpendicularly, shortening it by 5-6 kidneys. Edged material can later be used for breeding plants.

Did you know? To cause active growth of ficus, you can “give it a drink” with vodka. Florists are advised to dilute 50 g with 50% water and pour the solution into the soil gently, avoiding getting into the root system.

For normal development, ficus needs periodic transplants. When the plant is young and grows rapidly, it is transplanted annually, then you can do it in a year. The procedure is performed only in spring or summer. Each new transplant container should be approximately 3 cm wider than the previous one.

Pest and Disease Control

Like any other indoor plant, ficus with improper care can get sick.

However, most species are more sensitive to pests:

1. Shield. Its presence will be indicated by convex brown spots on the inside of the sheet. They are eliminated by washing the leaves with a soap solution and subsequent treatment with insecticides, for example, Actellic.
2. Mealybug is able to clearly deform leaves, so his presence will be clear. At the initial stage they are also disposed of by washing with soap and water, carefully treating the leaf sinuses, then special chemicals, for example, Confidor, are used.
3. If gray or brown spots are found on the leaves, and their rapid drying is also observed, then these are sure signs of a spider mite. From folk remedies used to fight the infusion of garlic, fix the action of insecticides.
4. Small black insects on the leaves are called thrips., they increase activity in conditions of high humidity and temperature. Signs of leaf damage are white or yellow spots, after which the leaf falls off. Chemical agents help to get rid of (Actellik, Aktara and others).
5. Yellowing, warping, or falling leaves may indicate the presence of aphids. Methods of struggle are used as for scale insects.
6. Nematodes - these are pests that can penetrate the roots, forming growths on them. A large amount of toxins is secreted, which, when passing into the stem, quickly destroy the plant. The affected bush is removed from the pot, the roots are lowered for 2-3 hours in an insecticide solution, the pot is disinfected and the soil is completely replaced.

Ficus is most sensitive to fungal diseases of plants.

The most common of them:

• gray rot affects leaves: large brown spots appear;
• sooty mushroom Covers leaves with a black sticky coating, is, as a rule, the result of aphid damage, scabies;
• powdery mildew forms a white coating on the leaves;
• cercosporosis it can be caused by increased humidity of the content, it begins to hit the leaf from the back, first small brown or black dots appear, which quickly grow;
• anthracnose - fungal disease, which manifests itself in the formation of brown spots along the edges of the leaf, ulcers form in advanced cases.

With these diseases, control measures are the same. First, all affected leaves are completely removed. Then the plant is treated with fungicide (Ridomil Gold, Skor and others). All activities related to the cultivation of ficus are based on creating conditions for the plant as close as possible to its natural habitat. Following these recommendations, you can achieve a dense crown, saturated foliage, longevity of the plant and even see its rare flowering at home.