Ficus rubber, or ficus elastic , though, more often called simply ficus, prefer to grow a lot of florists. Despite the fact that this plant does not bloom, it is loved for oval glossy leaves, similarity with a small tree and unpretentiousness. It is not surprising that the owners of the ficus decide to learn more about the reproduction and care of the fig tree rubber.
In general, the rubber-fig tree can only vegetative reproduction - cuttings. To do this, use apical cuttings and fragments of the central stem. Are engaged in reproduction of a ficus usually in the spring or in the beginning of summer, in fact during this time the plant actively grows. Let's look at each method in more detail:
- Upper cuttings . In this type of reproduction, the tips of lateral shoots with a length of up to 10 cm are cut from the rubber ficus, so that 2-5 leaves are placed on them. The upper leaves are left in the cuttings, the lower leaves are cut off. First, wash the milky juice, which is released by cutting, placing the stalk in a jar or glass with water. Then the apical cuttings are placed in a box or pot with a moist mixture of sand and peat, taken in equal proportions. In order to accelerate the rooting, the container with the cuttings is neatly covered with a plastic bag, and then placed in a room with an air temperature of + 23 + 25 degrees and with diffuse lighting. Periodically, the pot with apical cuttings should be ventilated and, if necessary, watered. After the young plants sprout (this will take about a month and a half), they can be transplanted into separate pots with a suitable primer.
- Sections of the stem . Sometimes ficus grows, forming a crown of an ugly form. In this case, it is possible to use the multiplication of the ficus of the rubbery cuttings, cut by
the main stem, and thereby renew the plant. True, for this purpose only neodrevesnevshie sites length of 5-6 cm, which have one node, that is, a sheet. And fragments are well received, which have a diameter of 4-5 mm in the cross section. Cut off cuttings must be placed in the water in order for the leakage of milky juice to occur. Root stimulators can be used, after which the cuttings are deepened with a leaf top into the sand-peat mixture, folding the sheet into a tube and fixing the thread.
Unfortunately, the attempt to reproduce the ficus of a rubber leaf leaf usually ends in failure. Sometimes a leaf placed in the water appears roots, but in the ground it still does not survive.