Graceful ficuses grown at home are relatives of mulberry ground cover plants. These dwarf flowers have small leaves and long shoots, effectively hanging from a flower pot. Ficus ampel, grown in a room, cleans the air well, enriching it with oxygen. In order to create favorable conditions for a delicate flower that needs care and care, certain rules must be observed.
Flower description
The dwarf plant, called ficus ampoule Pumila, has interesting and unusual forms. The exotic flower was called dwarf due to the size of leaves, reaching a length of not more than 4 cm and a width of about 2 cm. In addition, the plant has no trunk and does not grow vertically. It creeps on the ground, clinging to the surface of the soil with external roots located on the stems. It can also braid tree trunks. Ficus refers to long-living plants and is common in warm countries with high humidity: China, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan. In different varieties, the color of the leaves can be light green and have a white edge along the edge, and the leaves can also be strewn with white spots on the entire surface. And, for example, the ampoule ficus Anuk, which is considered one of the rarest varieties, has leaves of a juicy green hue.
Indoors, dwarf ficus can grow in a pot, gracefully lowering the stems to the outside. It can be placed crawling along the wall, having previously prepared special supports for the stems. It is also placed next to the pegs, thereby forming a low shrub.
Place for the plant
A flower like dwarf ficus loves to live under a faint shadow with diffused light. Direct sunlight is best replaced with artificial room lighting. With a lack of light, the plant acquires a green color of the leaves, while the spectacular pattern is lost and its brightness decreases. The flower feels comfortable on the windowsills on the east or west side of the room. If sunlight gets into the room most of the time, you will need to create a shadow or place the pot away from the window. The main thing is not to leave the ampelous ficus without any light at all, otherwise it will lose its decorative appearance and shoots with no leaves. In addition, the plant does not like movements, so the place must be selected in advance. If the ficus is placed on the windowsill, it is recommended to periodically rotate it. This will contribute to the uniform growth of the plant.
The green pet feels comfortable and grows abundantly at a room temperature of +18 ... + 25 ° C. In winter, the temperature should be reduced to +14 ° C, reduce the amount of watering and top dressing. In this case, the illumination must be maintained unchanged.
Ficus ampelous: home care
This exotic flower requires careful and regular care. These plants consume a lot of water, so they need to be watered after a dry crust forms on the surface of the soil. Weak roots of dwarf ficus are located in the upper part of the soil and are not able to absorb moisture near the bottom. In this regard, it is necessary to moisten the soil surface evenly and in a timely manner. But you should not allow stagnation of the liquid in the pot, this will lead to decay of the roots and death of the plant. It is also recommended to carefully loosen the ground for air to reach the root system.
In winter, the number of irrigations is reduced, waiting for the land to completely dry. The fluid for the plant must be warm and settled or purified from chlorine.
Leaf care
What else does ficus ampelus need? Care at home for this handsome man involves not only watering the soil, but also spraying the leaves. They lose moisture very quickly, so they need to be moistened periodically with a spray bottle. Weekly spraying nourishes the leaves and helps the plant carry out photosynthesis. In addition, thanks to this procedure, the external roots of the ficus grow well, clinging to vertical supports.
What soil is needed
The soil for dwarf ficus should be fertile, slightly alkaline or acidic, the pH level in which does not exceed 7.5. Every year in the spring, young flowers are recommended to be replanted before the start of vegetative activity. For adult plants, it is enough to change the top of the soil, being careful not to damage the roots of the ficus. The onset of the transplant is indicated by bulging plant roots and rapid drying of the soil.
Soil for ampelous ficus should be thermally treated and contain sand, ash, rotted compost with peat or sheet soil. You can purchase universal soil for indoor plants in special stores. Experts recommend twice a month to add complex top dressing for ornamental plants to the soil. In winter, fertilizer can be reduced to once a month.
How to choose a flower pot
When choosing a pot, you must pay attention to the presence of special holes for dropping excess fluid. The material the container is made of can be anything: glass, plastic, clay. The main thing is not to acquire a deep and large pot for decorative ficuses, in which the stems will slowly grow. For dwarf ficuses, you can use a cache-pot. Before transplanting the plant, a well-ventilated drainage layer is placed at the bottom of the tank, and then special soil is poured.
To carefully and accurately remove the ficus from the tank, you need to water it in advance. A healthy flower can be transplanted into a new pot without freeing the roots from the ground if the soil has not been contaminated. If this happened, then, of course, it is worth removing all the lumps. An overgrown plant can be divided into several bushes, damaging the roots as little as possible. Then fertilizer is added to the ground and a flower pot is placed in the light. If the ground is wet, then additional watering after transplantation is not required.
What could threaten a flower
Ficus ampelous, like other plants, is susceptible to various fungal diseases and the attack of insects, such as spider mites, nematodes, garden thrips, aphids or scale insects. Their activity can be guessed by the presence of brown or gray spots, as well as individual growths resembling cotton wool. Pests are removed during wet cleaning with a soap-and-ash product or using special solutions.
The leaves of the plant may dry or curl due to the low level of humidity in the air and an insufficient amount of liquid for drinking. If we allow acidification and compaction of the soil, all leaves of the plant turn yellow and crumble.
If the leaves lose their shape during growth, become smaller and fade, then the earth is empty and all useful trace elements are exhausted. The plant must be transplanted into a new fertile soil. Also ficus ampelous (photo presented in the article) is afraid of drafts, a sharp change in ambient temperature and insufficient lighting. High levels of soil moisture can also lead to the loss of leaflets. If the plants after the disease begin to give leaves not variegated, but pure green, then it is better to cut them off.
Reproduction of ficus ampelous
The rooting process in dwarf plants is faster than in tree-like ficuses. The plant can be propagated by upper cuttings or layering. They easily take root both in soil and in water. The best time for the procedure is considered to be the spring period. It is better to keep the container with cuttings in the shade, since in the sun they do not take root well. It is better to choose a container from dark material, this will prevent the appearance of algae. The temperature in the room should be at least 25 ° C, and the humidity level - about 80%.
In the process of propagation by layering, the shoot must be attached to the ground with wire or metal brackets in a nearby container. Thus, the plant is kept until the roots appear. After rooting the shoot, it is separated from the main flower and taken care of as the rest of the plants.