Ficus bengali - growing and care at home, photo

Ficus bengal (Ficus benghalensis) - an evergreen tree of the mulberry family, with pubescent dense leaves up to 20 cm long and 6 cm wide. The birthplace of ficus bengal is India, namely, the territory of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In nature, it grows to gigantic proportions, has aerial roots, falling to the ground, able to take root, forming new full-fledged trunks.

This feature gave the plant a second name - ficus banyan tree. The largest banyan tree grows in the Indian Botanical Garden and occupies about one and a half hectares of area. Cultural indoor specimens reach a height of not more than 1.5-3 m. They have a high development rate - about 60-100 cm per year, and are also perennials.

Also see how to grow Benjamin's ficus.

Useful properties of ficus bengal

Ficus not only decorates the interior of the house. This plant is known for its powerful filtering properties, thanks to which the room air is purified from such harmful impurities as benzene, ammonia, phenol, formaldehyde.

In addition, the tree enriches the environment with active substances that have a beneficial effect on human well-being. Also, ficus is used in the manufacture of certain cosmetics, drugs in the form of ointments and tinctures for the treatment of many diseases.

Ficus Bengali: home care. Briefly

Ficus Bengal at home grows easily and seamlessly with the following nuances of content:

Caring for Bengal ficus at home. In detail

Bloom

When indoor breeding, homemade Ficus Bengal does not bloom. But in the conditions of the greenhouse there are specimens with siconia - round orangeish seed fruits that are not of decorative value.

Temperature mode

The optimum content temperature for ficus is 18-22 ° C, both in summer and in winter. Ficus is a tropical tree, therefore, a slight temperature rise will not harm the plant if you maintain a sufficient level of humidity.

Spraying

Caring for Ficus Bengal at home provides for the constant provision of a plant with the necessary degree of moisture. There are several ways to achieve this:

• by spraying once a week, especially in hot weather or in winter, if the tree is near heating systems;
• moisturizing ficus leaves by regularly wiping them from dust, or rinsing in the shower;
• placing the flower in a bowl with wet expanded clay.

Spraying and other hydration of ficus is preferably carried out with warm, softened water.

Lighting

Bengal ficus prefers well-lit rooms, but also grows well in rooms with diffused light. If partial shade is created on the windowsill with ficus, it is recommended to periodically rotate the plant from different sides to the sun, which will contribute to the uniform development of the crown.

In winter, sunlight can be replaced by artificial illumination.

Watering Ficus Bengal

Watering is carried out no more than two to three times a week, as soon as the surface layer of the soil dries by about 2 cm. Stagnation of moisture should be avoided, so excess water is always poured from the sump. In winter, the plant is watered much less frequently - once every 7-10 days.

Bengal ficus pot

As a rule, there are no special requirements for a ficus pot. It is enough to choose a container of usual proportions suitable for the size of the plant.

Too large a vessel will provoke stagnation of moisture and, as a result, the appearance of rot.

Priming

Ficus Bengal at home is planted in the soil of the following composition:

• sod (2 parts)
• leaf soil (2 parts)
• sand (1 part)

It can also be a slightly acidic universal substrate.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

Ficus is fed year-round with the exception of the winter period. It is recommended to alternate mineral and organic fertilizers, feeding the plant every 14 days. In winter, only ficuses growing in inert soil are fertilized.

Transfer

The transplantation of ficus bengal is carried out as soon as the earthen lump of the plant is completely braided by its roots, protruding from the pot. For adult trees, the period between transplants is 2-4 years.

During the transplantation procedure, the roots are slightly shaken off from the old substrate, placed in a more spacious container and covered with prepared soil without deepening the root neck. Immediately after the transplant, one should not expect rapid growth of ficus. It will resume its development only in a month.

How to Cut Bengal Ficus

Pruning Bengal ficus is necessary to slow down the growth of the main branch, trunk, since the plant has the ability to stretch sharply, without increasing the lateral branches. All formative manipulations should be carried out in the phase of active growth of the tree, that is, in spring or early summer.

When it is noticeable that the plant has started to grow, the branch is cut at the right height by secateurs and, after washing off the milky juice, is sprinkled with charcoal. Such a procedure will give an impetus to the awakening of other "sleeping" buds and after a while, branching of the tree can be expected.

Rest period

Ficus bengal plant at home does not need a well-defined rest period. Only certain varieties of ficus can "show" the need for rest due to low light and temperature.

Propagation of ficus bengal layering

Propagation by layering is practiced only in tall tree-like specimens of ficus. To do this, leaves and branches are removed from the selected section of the trunk, and in the middle an annular cut of the cortex is made with a width of 1.5 cm. Two transverse and one longitudinal cut located between them should be obtained.

All sections are processed by root activators, then they turn around with moistened sphagnum with a margin of 2 cm on each side of the incisions, and all this is fixed with polyethylene. Periodically, sphagnum gently moisturize. After a few months, you can observe the appearance of the first layering, which is cut and planted separately.

Propagation of ficus bengal cuttings

For this method, apical cuttings with a size of 15-20 cm are used, cut with a knife at an angle. The lower leaves of the shoot are removed, the large upper ones are folded into a tube to prevent evaporation of moisture.

Slices are washed from the juice with warm water, then dried. Thus prepared cuttings can be rooted in the following ways:

1. Rooting in the ground. Shoots treated with stimulants are buried in the soil only 1-2 cm and covered with a package. It is advisable to organize a lower heating of the soil, for example, put the handle in a pot on the battery, while maintaining high humidity. If you propagate a tree with large leaves, then you can use the middle part of the stem, which has several internodes.
2. Rooting in water. In order to avoid the appearance of putrefactive processes, coal is added to the tank with water first. After which, the vessel with the handle is placed in a warm, well-lit place. You can arrange greenhouse conditions. The emergence of roots occurs after 2-3 weeks.

Diseases and Pests

Common difficulties in growing ficus banyan at home:

• leaves of ficus bengal fall as a result of constant excessive soil moisture;
• falling of lower leaves in old plants occurs as a result of the natural process of leaf change;
• withered ficus bengal leaves from insufficient moisture;
• brown spots on ficus bengal leaves appear at a low air temperature, from an excess of fertilizers or when in a dry environment;
• leaves sag and wilt in too waterlogged soil or an overly bulky pot;
• pale leaves of the plant talking about a lack of sunlight;
• ficus bengal grows slowly without regular nutrition with nutrients;
• new leaves are small, when the ficus is constantly standing in a shaded place;
• ficus bengal is stretched from insufficient lighting.

If you stay in a too dry environment for a long time, Ficus Bengal can be parasitized by pests such as thrips, mealybug, scabbard, and spider mites.

Watch the video: Ficus Bonsai Care and Pruning (May 2024).