Evergreen Ficus rubber. Home care

Many of us like houseplants. Someone more sympathetic to succulents, someone - beautifully flowering, and some like evergreens. Whatever it was, but if analyzed, then the most frequent guest in homes, apartments and offices is the rubber locus. Care at home is not particularly difficult even for inexperienced growers, and the plant itself will become a real decoration of any room: whether it is a living room, a hall or a bedroom.

In nature, there are about 800 species of ficus, among them there are trees, bushes and lianas. Many of them are grown at home. Rubber ficus is the most popular, because it is not very moody and has a presentable appearance. In natural conditions, it grows up to 30 m, at home its dimensions are much more modest, but if you do not really want a green pet to wave under the ceiling, you need to prune the crown in time.

All indoor flowers require care. And ficus is no exception. This handsome man can celebrate a half-century anniversary provided proper irrigation, feeding and sprinkling of leaves. His homeland is Nepal, Burma, northern and eastern part of India, so it is considered a heat-loving plant. In summer, the temperature in the range of 20 - 28 ° C is quite acceptable for a plant such as rubber locust. Care at home assumes that in winter the temperature does not drop below 12 ° C. This species is very hygrophilous, so when the air is dry, the leaves can curl around the flower, the tips can dry up. For this reason, it is necessary to spray the ficus all year round with soft water at room temperature. Virtually all types of indoor plants from this family love good lighting, especially for variegated varieties. Ficus with dark foliage is suitable and diffused light. Watering plants should be moderate, because they react negatively to both drying and wetting of the earth coma. When the soil dries two fingers deep, it can be watered.

Neutral or weakly acidic earth is ideal for such a flower as a rubber-ficus. Home care involves the purchase of a ready-made substrate or the preparation of soil from soddy, deciduous land, charcoal, river sand and humus. At the bottom of the pot, it is necessary to put drainage from expanded clay or broken bricks. Ficus should be fed only in the summer, every two weeks. It is necessary to alternate organic and mineral fertilizers.

Annually it is necessary to transplant the young ficus rubber. Care at home requires an annual pruning of the upper shoots, this procedure will allow the plant to become more lush. If there is no need for a too high indoor flower, then it does not need to be transplanted into a large pot. To have lateral shoots, there is no need to prune the tip, for this it is necessary to tilt the branch, after which the lateral bud will wake up. Ficus is very resistant to diseases, but can still suffer from scabies, mealybugs, false-nails. If it suddenly turns yellow and leaves fall, you need to make sure that there is no draft and the plant is not cold.