The close relatives of tropical fig trees, Ficus Plants are one of the most gorgeous indoor plants to have in your house or office. While the ficus tree is easy to grow, it still requires certain needs to thrive more effectively. If you are wondering about growing a ficus tree in your home, then this article will give a few handy tips that will help you to grow and maintain your ficus tree. But before you go into that let’s take a look at the introduction.
Ficus Tree
Ficus trees are often known as weeping trees. The Plant family from where it belongs has a very large number of species. Here’s a fun fact, the tree where Gautam Buddha achieved his enlightenment is also a species that belongs to the same family. However, unlike their counterparts, indoor Ficus trees are smaller and you can easily plant them in a pot. As mentioned earlier, the needs and requirements to grow a healthy ficus tree are extremely precise and necessary, From a precise amount of sunlight to fertilizer.
Now let’s take a look at the tips to grow your ficus tree more effectively.
Suitable Soil
To grow ficus plants, you will need well-draining fertile soil. You can also opt for a moisture soil-based potting mixture since it provides all the necessary nutrients that your plants will require. However, don’t use degrading soil for your pot mixture. The soil has a pH between 6.0 to 6.5 and is considered to be one of the best soils for ficus trees to thrive more profoundly. Avoid using soil that has a lower pH level, since it will supply more acid to the plants your tree will decline and would take a long time to grow. Make sure you do a soil test before you pot your plants, to ensure their effective growth.
Suitable Light
Ficus plants require bright lights, however, exposing them to direct sunlight will scald their leaves and can cause leaves to fall. To ensure they get bright light while not being directly exposed to the sun, keep them in a place where they can get indirect lights. In addition to it, the ficus tree can also tolerate low lights.
Water Requirements
In the summer days, make sure to water the plant evenly and reduce the amount by winter days. Check the moisture in the soil before watering the plant and make sure that the roots of the plant don’t dry out. These plants require stable yet moderate watering to grow more effectively.
Fertilizer Requirements
At the initial phase of the plant, when your tree is in the phase of actively growing, you can consider providing fertilizers to grow your plant. Use a moderate strength fertilizer, or it can take quite a toll on your plant. Once the tree grows up to a certain size, you should reduce the number of fertilizers you are giving the plants. Then you can apply fertilizer once a month. However, make sure to water it daily.
Additional Requirements
Ficus Plants require high maintenance. Here are a few tips that you should follow to ensure your plant’s well-being.
- Keep The leaves of the plant clean, by using a piece of cloth along with water
- Mist the plant with water spray
- Wash your plant with insecticide to prevent any bugs or pests to harm it
- Prune your plants at the end of the summer. Make sure to remove more than ⅓ of the growth from the plant
MaintainingFicus plantscan be difficult. However, if you follow the procedure correctly and provide the plant’s requirements, it’s not that hard. Make sure your plants get the required attention and care to see them growing more effectively.