Ficus Benjamin - home care, the basic rules of growing

To decorate houses and offices, many use ficuses, which are distinguished by elegant foliage and a variety of colors. What is Benjamin Ficus, home care, breeding methods and transplant rules are important information for people who want to get a beautiful plant.

How to care for the ficus of Benjamin?

There are several features that you should pay attention to when growing a flower:

1. In order for the plant to develop well, it is necessary to choose the right place for it. It likes good lighting, but the direct rays of the sun are contraindicated. It is better to choose diffused lighting, so the pot should be on the west or east side.
2. It is important to know how to properly care for the ficus of Benjamin at home, so you need to consider that the flower will grow well at a temperature of 18-23 ° C. In winter, the value should be at least 16 ° C. Fresh air is important for him, but drafts are dangerous.
3. Ficus grows well when humidity does not drop below 50%. If the air is more dry, then the leaves will begin to dry. Well the flower reacts to spraying, which is especially important in hot weather and in the heating season. Ficus will be happy if you do a couple of times a month under a warm shower. It is important during this procedure to cover the ground with film.

Want to grow a healthy ficus Benjamin, care at home should be done taking into account a number of features. In some situations, a flower can be "capricious," so you need to know what to do:

1. The flower turned yellow. A similar situation is the norm in autumn, but this happens in the spring due to lack of light. In other cases, such a condition indicates errors in care. This can be an excess of water and a decrease in air temperature.
2. The plant dries. If the tips of the leaves are dry, then this is a characteristic feature of the tree in winter. This is due to lack of light and air dryness. To take care of the Benjamin ficus, home care means periodic spraying, and additional light should be taken care of. Due to this, the drying process will slow down.
3. Ficus does not grow. First, evaluate the proportionality of the pot, so if the container is too large, then the roots cease to develop, and if the tree is dough, then the growth of the crown is slowed. In addition, it is worth considering that the main stimulating factor of growth is sunlight, and penumbra will worsen growth.

How to water the ficus of Benjamin?

For the flower, the correct watering is very important, which is selected taking into account the growing conditions and individual characteristics of the tree. Use must be boiled or stand-by water. The periodicity of watering affects the temperature of the surrounding air and its humidity, and even the illumination and seasonality. Watering the fig tree of Benjamin in the summer at home conditions, carry out, focusing on the state of the earthy coma. Normally, if it dries for 2-3 cm. If water has been left in the pan after adding water, it should be drained.

Trimming Benjamin's fig tree

This plant belongs to those whose shape must be selected independently. In one pot, several plants can be planted at once, the trunks of which can be interlaced and fixed using an additional support. When the plant is formed, the retainers can be removed. Spring pruning and the formation of Benjamin's figurine at home means a periodic shortening of shoots. Note that the trunk of the cut branch must be long, otherwise it will dry out. If you want to form a stamping tree, leave the center shoot, and remove the side branches.

Benjamin Ficus transplantation at home

Conducting a transplant is allowed from the end of February and throughout March. It is better to do this every day, completely changing the soil and increasing the diameter of the container by 4-5 cm. Benjamin ficus transplantation at home is done as follows:

1. On the eve of a good pour the bush to wet the earthen cloud. At the bottom of a new pot, fill the drainage and cover it with a small layer of soil.
2. Take the plant from the pot by transfer. It is important to try not to touch the roots and not drop the ground from them. If there are rotten and dry roots, then they should be removed.
3. Move the bush to a new place, fill the voids with the substrate and press it with your fingers. After that, pour a flower.

Soil for the ficus of Benjamin

Planting and transplanting is carried out in the correct soil, which must have a reduced or neutral acidity. There is a special soil for the Benjamin ficus, but you can also prepare the substrate yourself, for this you need to connect two parts of turf and deciduous land, part of sand and the same amount of peat. You should also put some chopped pieces of charcoal there. Note that a fresher soil is suitable for a young flower, and for an adult it is dense.

Pot for the ficus of Benjamin

This plant loves cramped, so a large pot is not needed for it. Choose a container that will be 2-3 cm in diameter larger than the previous pot. Note that if you want to stop the growth of the bush, then buy a tight vessel and cut the root in the transplant. Another important point - the vase should have drainage holes. Finding out which pot to choose for the ficus of Benjamin, it is worth noting that for him, the options are made of clay or plastic.

Fertilizer for Benjamin Ficus

To the plant grows well and does not hurt, it is important to carry out fertilizing and do it in March and April, not more often than once a month. In May, the procedure can be done every three weeks, and in the summer - every two weeks. It is important to know what to feed the Benjamin Ficus at home, so you can use either a special fertilizer or complex mixtures. It is better to choose options with organic, for example, ash, bird droppings or sapropel.

Ficus Benjamin - reproduction

You can increase the number of ficuses in several ways, so, we'll talk about the cuttings later, but here we'll talk about two other methods:

1. Use of seeds. Spring is sowing and the top is closed with a film. After that, take it to a warm and bright place. Seeds sprout in 3-4 weeks. When a pair of leaves appear, you can make a transfer.
2. Use of air layers. All the methods of reproduction of the Benjamin ficus are acceptable for household conditions, and for this method on the bark it is necessary to make a circular incision and wrap the trunk with peat moss, which should be pre-moistened. Top cover with film. When the roots are formed, then the outflow from the mother plant is separated and planted in the ground under the film.

Ficus Benjamin - reproduction by cuttings

For reproduction, you can use a stem bud with sleeping buds. Cuttings of Benjamin ficus in the home are carried out according to the following scheme:

1. Select the stem that should be semi-benign at the base, and it should have 4-6 unfolded leaves. After cutting, the lactiferous juice appears on the stem, which should be removed with a tissue.
2. To stimulate the process of root formation, it is necessary to make an accurate notch along the stem on the cuttings. You can make several cuts. Between them, insert a match or toothpick, as shown in the picture.
3. Root can be rooted in water, pearl or loose ground, for example, it can include peat, chopped charcoal and sand.
4. Capacitance should be covered with a bulky package to create greenhouse conditions. Important high humidity and a temperature of at least 20 ° C.
5. Roots will appear in 2-4 weeks and when they grow to a few centimeters, you can land on a permanent place. In the first days of acclimatization, cover the seedling with a package that needs to be removed when new leaves appear.

Ficus Benjamin - winter care

With the onset of cold weather, it is recommended to make adjustments to the care of the plant.

1. Since there is not enough sun in winter, it is better to move it to the most illuminated place. It will not be superfluous to use additional illumination.
2. It is important that in the winter, the ficus of Benjamin did not get into drafts. If he is standing by the window, then hold your hand on the windowsill and if the cold is felt, then put a foam or a wooden board under the pot.

How to water the Benjamin Ficus in winter?

If in the cold season it is wrong to water the ficus, but the plant can die. Watering should not be abundant, but it is important to monitor the condition of the upper layer of the earth. To water the Benjamin ficus in winter, use warm water. Pour it in such quantity that the rests have left through the pallet. Always merge them. Water the plant better in the morning. If the air is too dry in winter and the flower is in the battery, then it is recommended to spray again.

Ficus Benjamin drops leaves in winter - what to do?

A common problem is the loss of foliage and more often it occurs in the winter. It is important to determine why the leaves of the Benjamin ficus fall in winter, and so it happens for various reasons.

1. Examine the plant so that it does not have strange stains or signs of pest attack. If the plant was not overdried and too generously fed, then the loss of foliage is normal and in the spring the flower will quickly restore it. In the presence of diseases, treatment with special preparations or a transplant with complete replacement of the soil is carried out.
2. The loss of leaves is also due to the fact that with the onset of cold weather, the growing conditions also change, as the illumination and air temperature drop sharply. To reduce the fall of the fall of the ficus of Benjamin, care at home for which changes in winter, you need to move to the brightest and coolest place. It is important to orient the ficus to light as it was before, that is, it is better not to turn it.

Diseases of the ficus of Benjamin

If the care is wrong, the plant can get sick, and the attack of different pests is not ruled out. In order not to lose the ficus of Benjamin, diseases and pests should be removed as soon as possible:

1. Gray rot - mold forms, leaves are visible brown spots, and then they darken and fall off. Problematic foliage should be removed and treated with fungicides.
2. Powdery mildew - appears on the leaves as a plaque in the form of flour. If Benjamin Ficus is sick, home treatment will include treatment with a soap solution, but if the problem is started, then the leaves need to be removed and sprayed with fungicides.
3. Cercosporosis - on the underside of the leaf plate, small patches of brown or black are visible, which become larger after a time. For treatment, antifungal agents are used.
4. Root rot - arises from excessive irrigation. Need a transplant.
5. Anthracnose - the disease is characterized by the appearance of rusty spots on the leaves, which become ulcers. Fungicides are used for treatment.
6. Shield - on the reverse side there are prominent brown spots. To get rid of pests, walk through the leaves with a solution of soap on both sides and perform the treatment with "Actellikom."
7. Powdery worm - drink the juice of the plant, because of what leaves are deformed. Mechanical cleaning and treatment with soap and tobacco solution is carried out.
8. Spider mite - on the leaves are visible patches of brown and gray. To save the Benjamin ficus, home care means an increase in air humidity and treatment with soapy water.