Ficus Robusta is an attractive indoor flower that is easy to care for and does not require the creation of specific growing conditions.
What does the ficus Robusta look like, to which family
Robusta refers to the rubbery species of ficus or, as they are also called, Elastica. Family - Ficus.
Description of appearance:
- Leaves are evergreen, slightly down. The shape is oval, pointed at the ends. The color is dark green, the surface is glossy. A core passes through the middle of each sheet plate; its color may be light green or red. Sheet length - up to 25 cm, width up to 15 cm.
- The trunk is green.
- Height - from 1 m.
- Flowers are inexpressive, with a diameter of not more than 1 cm.
Ficus - one of the most common indoor plants with an evergreen lush crown
Additional Information! Ficus Elastica Robusta is a very massive representative of its kind. In the natural environment of growth, its height can reach 60 m, diameter - up to 2 m.
Healing properties
Robusta is a plant that is recommended to be placed in every home. It is able to absorb negative energy, clear the atmosphere of anxiety.
Robusta cleans the energy, bringing peace and comfort
Leaf plates of the plant are used for the preparation of tinctures, which are used in the treatment of arthrosis, rheumatism and arthritis. Folk remedies based on ficus help get rid of papillomas and warts, wen.
Briefly about the history of the appearance
It is not known exactly how and when the flower came to Europe. The birthplace of ficus is India, the southern regions of China, Nepal, Burma, Indonesia.
Ficus Robusta: home care
Caring for a flower is easy. It is only necessary to adhere to certain rules.
Temperature
The optimum temperature for the flower is +18 ° C ... +25 ° C.
Attention! At higher or lower temperatures, the ficus leaves begin to fall off the leaf plates.
Lighting
The light must be diffused. The most comfortable thing is the ficus on the north side of the room. In winter, you can additionally use fluorescent lamps.
Watering
Water the flower should be moderate and regular. The soil should be allowed to dry a little. Recommended watering regime: in summer - every 3 days, in winter - every 5 days. Water from the pan must be drained so as not to provoke rotting of the roots.
Spraying
In summer, the plant should be sprayed once a week, in winter or with dry air - 2 times.
Humidity
Ideal humidity for ficus - from 50%.
Priming
The soil should have a neutral indicator of acidity. It is important that the soil is light, loosened, with the addition of sand. The best solution is to purchase special soil for ficuses.
Top dressing
Complex mineral fertilizers are applied under the flower every 15 days from March to the last days of November.
Features of winter care, the resting period of Robusta ficus
In winter, ficus is not fed, it reduces the frequency of watering, but increases the frequency of spraying if the air in the room is dry.
When and how it blooms
Flowering ficus robusta has no decorative significance. Its inflorescences are small, not more than 1 cm in diameter, collected from several yellow flowers with a green tint and are almost invisible among massive leaf plates.
Blooms Robusta extremely rare and barely noticeable
In the natural environment, flowering can begin in May - June.
Additional Information! At home, ficus blooms in rare cases.
Changes in flowering care
If the rubber ficus Robusta bloomed in the room, he needs to increase watering and more often spray the bushes.
Pruning
The rapid growth of ficus must be restrained by regular cutting of the apex. This measure helps to form a beautiful crown and rejuvenate the plant.
The procedure is carried out in early March, when the growing season begins. Rules:
- shoots are removed at a height of 3 to 5 leaf blades;
- thin branches are cut straight, thickened stems - at an angle;
- places of cuts are processed with crushed activated carbon.
When removing shoots, you can not leave hemp, so as not to provoke the development of fungal diseases.
If the ficus is not cut, it will grow very quickly to the ceiling
How ficus Robusta propagates
Reproduction of ficus is easy, carried out by seeds, cuttings and air layers.
Seed germination
Purchased seeds are soaked for several hours in a growth stimulator. It is necessary to spread the seed on a nutritious soil, moisten with a spray bottle, fill it with a thin layer of soil. The first shoots appear in about 7-10 days.
Attention! You can expect seedlings only when using high-quality seeds.
Rooting cuttings
This is the most convenient and frequently used method. Procedure:
- Cut the stems from the top, each should have 2-3 leaf plates.
- Wash off the plant juice from a slice and dry it for 1 hour in air.
- Plant the stalk in nutrient soil mixed with sand, dropping it into the ground at an angle.
Under each stalk, it is recommended to put a backup, for example, a thin stick.
Air lay
Old stems and woody shoots are suitable for layering. How to propagate ficus by air layers:
- Make a slice on the branch oblique.
- Insert a match in it, so as not to overgrow, wrap it with moistened moss, wrap it with a film on top.
- Spray moss regularly to keep it moist until roots appear. Under the film, water is added through a syringe.
Roots will form in about 2 months. A branch with roots is cut and inserted into nutrient soil.
The preferred method of breeding ficus is cuttings
Other options
You can plant ficus using a leaf plate. Only strong specimens need to be selected, without any damage.
The leaf plate is cut off with part of the shoot, the scrap is placed in a container with clean water or wound in wet cotton wool.
Attention! Contact with water should only be at a piece of the shoot. The sheet plate should not touch water. When the roots appear at the shoot, they are planted in a small container with nutrient soil, and covered with a plastic bottle from above. After rooting, the leaf needs to be planted in a permanent place.
Transfer
A transplant should be done as the flower grows, when roots are visible on the surface of the soil. Rules:
- The next pot should be 2-4 cm larger in diameter from the previous container.
- Young ficus is transplanted annually, flowers from the age of 4 years - 1 time in 2 years.
- The root neck does not go deep into the ground.
Attention! The ficus purchased at the store is transplanted without fail after a few days, when the plant is acclimatized to a new place.
Possible problems in growing and disease
It is easy to care for a flower, but a gardener may still encounter certain difficulties.
From the state of leaf blades, you can understand what the plant is worried about
Flower drops buds and leaves
The appearance of such a symptom may be due to the fact that the plant renews itself. But more often this symptom occurs due to improper watering and lack of nutrients.
Leaves turn pale
This suggests that the room temperature is too high.
The tips dry on the leaves
The causes of the condition are excessive lighting, lack of watering.
Lower leaves fall off
This indicates pests or soil depletion.
Pests
Most often, the plant affects a spider mite or scab. The flower is treated with a soap solution. In the advanced case, insecticides are used.
Other problems
If the leaf plate begins to turn yellow, then the flower lacks iron. If blackness appears on a green surface, these are burns from sunlight.
Robusta is a beautiful, fast-growing ficus with a lush and sloping crown. The plant is completely unpretentious. But even when creating the most comfortable conditions, the probability of its blooming in captivity is extremely small.
