Preparatory procedures
Flower growers and lovers of home crops choose ficus plants due to the fact that this flower is completely unpretentious in care and does not require specific conditions.
Before planting a ficus, preparatory procedures are carried out that are of great importance for the success of the operation.
Planting a ficus developing from a shoot is considered safe and easy to perform. At the initial stage, you will need a clean, sharp tool, such as a knife or blade, or an open vessel with warm water.
The selected shoot must have one or more viable buds and leaves, which is the key to successful completion of the procedure. Seating is carried out preferably in the spring and summer, since conditions at these times of the year are most favorable. A cutting is cut from an adult and completely healthy bush. It is important to know that its size should not exceed 15 cm. The cut is made at an acute angle.
Important! Making a cut with scissors or trying to carefully break the shoot will lead to a long recovery of the flower, as well as slow rooting of the new plant.
The cut shoot is placed in a container with water for 1.5-2 hours. After this, the sections are sprinkled with charcoal powder or treated with special antiseptics.
In addition to installing the cuttings in water, the following method is also practiced. The small tops of a flower, for example, ficus benjamina, are wrapped at the base in cotton swabs soaked in water and a mixture of fertilizers. These structures are installed in a saucer with a small layer of water. The cutting can remain in this position for a long time until the first roots appear. Next, it is strengthened in a pot.
Rooting
In order for the ficus shoot to produce roots, it is placed in water or in the ground. If you choose the first option, then to improve the conditions under which roots appear, nutritional supplements that stimulate growth are added to the water.
For planting, choose a small container and immerse a smaller part of the shoot in it. Experienced gardeners recommend applying a small amount of honey to the submerged area.
To avoid rotting of the submerged shoot, dissolve 1 tablet of activated carbon in water.
When choosing to grow roots in an earthen environment, first also keep the cutting in a container of water for several hours.
The pot where the cutting will be planted is chosen to be small, with a good drainage system and holes for air circulation. As the root system grows and the overall growth of the flower, transplants are carried out to increase the volume of the pot.
The mixture can be purchased at a specialty store. Many gardeners prepare it themselves.
The following components are usually used:
- Peat;
- Sand;
- Perlite;
- Vermiculite;
- Expanded clay.
This composition guarantees moisture capacity and good aeration of the root system. Perlite is poured into the pot where the cutting will be planted, and then soil is added. Select a slightly damp mixture. Then a recess is made, the depth of which varies depending on the length of the cutting. The shoot is strengthened to the level of the first leaf on it.
Ficus should be planted in moist soil. The shoot is placed on the ground and covered with earth. In some cases it is necessary to install a support.
Planting ficus trees does not seem to be a complicated procedure, but neglect and carelessness should not be tolerated.
Ficus transplant after purchase
The specimens that are sold in stores are grown in soil, whose composition is designed to maintain the presentation of the green mass for a short period of time, so the plants need to be replanted with a complete replacement of the earthen coma.
Step-by-step instructions for replanting a ficus:
- Water the plant 24 hours before transplanting. Disinfect the new container with a 1% solution of copper sulfate and dry it.
- Place 3–5 cm of drainage in a new container. Lay sand on top of the drainage in a layer of about 2 cm. Push the walls of the pot with the plant with your hands, lightly tap on the bottom.
- Having tilted the pot to the side, carefully dump out the ficus along with the earthen lump. Move the flower to a new container. Level the plant so that the root collar rises 5 cm above the soil surface.
- Fill the voids with nutrient soil. Water the plant with settled water at room temperature (+20–25°C).
- If the root of the plant is damaged by pests or fungus, replanting is not carried out using the transshipment method, but with a complete replacement of the earthen clod.
- In addition, you need to remove the damaged parts of the plant, immerse the roots for 30 minutes in a solution of “Fundazol”, diluted according to the instructions.
- After drying the roots, they are powdered with charcoal and only then the plant is moved to a new pot.
When to replant a ficus after purchase depends on the condition of the plant. Typically, a ficus should spend a month in a new place before transplantation: this is how much time it will need to adapt to the microclimate of the room. But if there are signs of disease in the root system or the spread of pests, replanting is carried out urgently.
Care after landing
Since it is recommended to plant in spring or summer - during a period of very high average daily temperatures, watering plays an important role, which is carried out 2 times a week.
Excessive watering leads to rotting, so it is important to carefully monitor the volume of liquid applied. The location of the pot with the young cuttings is also of great importance. The young flower is harmed by drafts, and is benefited by humidity and sunlight. At the same time, direct sunlight is detrimental to a young plant. To avoid drying out, create diffused lighting.
Since planting a ficus with a shoot is not difficult, the emphasis is on care after rooting. In some cases, a greenhouse is organized. To do this, the top of the container is covered with cellophane or a plastic container, which allows you to maintain a constant temperature and humidity inside the system.
The temperature and quality of the water used for irrigation play an important role. Experienced gardeners recommend soft warm water. Usually the water coming out of the tap is hard. To soften it, boil it or leave it for 24 hours.
The average temperature at which all vital processes in a flower proceed at a good pace and development progresses according to schedule: + 25 °C.
It takes from 2 to 4 weeks before the first roots appear. This method is convenient for propagating ficus at home.
Final work
Caring for a newly planted plant requires sufficient watering. Both a lack and an excess of moisture are detrimental to ficus. Watering frequency – 1 time per week. The water is pre-settled or filtered. It’s easy to check the need for the next watering - the soil should dry out in the top layer and in the upper third of the pot. By growing this amazing plant and caring for it at home, you will later feel when your pet requires watering. You need to regularly wipe the leaves with a damp cloth and spray the plant from time to time.
When it is hot outside, the spraying procedure should be done daily. Fertilizing is applied once every 2 weeks. Infusions of nettle and wood ash have proven themselves to be excellent. Remember that a ficus can become severely stressed if its location and conditions are frequently changed. Therefore, it is better to immediately allocate a permanent corner for it, where all the needs of the plant will be taken into account.
Fertilizers, fertilizing, stimulation
After the initial period of the rooting process, structural changes begin in the shoot, which affect several outer layers of tissue. Experienced gardeners recommend making 2-3 small cuts on the part of the cutting that will be immersed in the ground. This accelerates the development of the young root system.
In addition to physical methods of stimulating root growth, there are also chemical ones. These include various types of fertilizers and fertilizers that are used to improve the functional state of flower tissues.
You can soak the lower part of the shoot in a fertilizer solution for several hours, and then strengthen it on the ground. You can also apply powdered fertilizer to the cut instead of ash. This local application gives excellent results.
Ficus propagation by air layering
The ampelous or climbing type of ficus (pumila) can be propagated well by layering. As for other types of ficus, this method of propagation can also be used. To do this, you need to select the desired shoot and dig it in the same pot. If the shoot is long and bends well, it can be buried and secured in a separate pot, which will be located at a close distance from the main ficus pot. The shoot should be fixed in the ground. As soon as, after a while, this shoot forms roots, it can be cut off from the mother plant.
You can also use another method: for this you need to select the desired stem from the plant. and we will propagate it by air layering. We make an incision on the shoot. The juice that comes out after the cut must be removed with a napkin. We also determine the height of the cut. Typically, this method is used to rejuvenate ficus, which for some reason has lost its decorative appearance.
In the chosen place we remove the leaves; the cut should not be deep and not too long. Try to carefully insert a sliver of wood or a piece of toothpick into the cut. This will prevent the plant from tightening the cut. We treat the cut site with a root formation stimulator. Next, wrap the area with damp moss (you can use sphagnum). The area should be wrapped in film or a bag and secured. So that he doesn't fall down and move out.
We use tape or rope, but try not to overtighten. This can disrupt the sap flow in the main shoot on which we carry out the propagation method. Allowing the moss to dry out is not allowed, so we will moisten it only in one place. This place is the upper part, so there we will sometimes have to open the film and additionally moisten the moss. After a month, roots will form on the cut. You should wait until there are enough of them.
Then we cut off the shoot and plant it in a permanent place in a separate pot. We take careful care of the new shoot. It also needs high humidity and a lot of light and heat.
Decorative techniques
From the material it becomes clear that planting a ficus shoot and growing a full-fledged plant is not so difficult. In one large container you can plant and grow several cuttings at once. Over time, the planted shoots branch and develop. When a large number of branches appear, the main stems can be intertwined. This will visually increase the volume of the flower. And when the ficuses reach large sizes, they will improve the decorative component of an apartment, flower garden or greenhouse.
Ficuses are unpretentious flowers that harmonize with almost any home interior and are easy to plant in shoots. Since growing ficus plants from shoots is a task that even an inexperienced gardener can cope with, you can carry out the procedure at home, guided by common sense and the instructions described above.
