How to propagate ficus

Propagate the ficus with cuttings that easily take root in a bottle of water. To this end, in March-April, the tops of shoots, carrying 1-3 leaves, with a growth point are cut on adult plants. Milky juice is washed off with lukewarm water. Roots develop in 3-4 weeks, and after that young plants are planted in pots with a diameter of 7-9 cm in the prepared soil mixture( turf, peat, leaf land in equal parts with the addition of a small amount of sand).

The method of propagation by air layers is also quite simple. Especially it is appropriate if you want to prolong the life of the old ficus. In the spring on the shoot, intended for detachment, the

makes a circular cut around the trunk or a narrow strip of bark is removed. To this place attach a flower pot with a diameter of 7-9 cm. Preliminary, it is sawn in half or sawed strip from the side to the middle of the bottom so that you can put the trunk of the retracted shoot into the pot. The notched trunk should fit in the middle. The pot is strengthened on the plant with the help of two stakes pinned to the ground, to which it is tied with twine. Cut into the pot laid plywood or a piece of roofing so that the earth does not spill out. The bottom of the pot and the walls are covered with moist moss and poured peat or leafy soil into it. The earth should cover well the incision on the trunk, moss serves to maintain a constant moisture. Instead of a pot for the same purpose, you can use a piece of matting, polystyrene, polyethylene, rolled up with a pound around the trunk;fastened with a mildew, cord, etc.

The method of obtaining air layers provides excellent results. After 1.5-2 months around the incision, the roots develop;Carefully remove the wrapper, the rooted apex below the root formation site is cut off and planted in a suitable size bowl. As a result, very decorative, not elongated, with a dense, well-leafy plant crown are obtained. With large copies of the ficus, several air outlets can be removed. The remaining leafless truncated trunks for a while water very little, copiously sprinkling with water, until new sprouts from

of sleeping buds appear. Then watering is intensified, and the plant is covered with new shoots.

When multiplying by leaf and kidney, the mature cut shoot is cut into segments with one sheet. Leaf carefully rolled into a tube, tied and planted in the sand, through the tube of the rolled sheet pass peg, which is stuck in the sand. Before planting, the lower cut of the cuttings is split and a grain of sand, a pebble, a piece of wood chips is inserted into the cleavage to ensure that the cleavage does not close.

Causes of leaf dropping in ficuses Although ficus is a fairly hardy plant, the same factors as other indoor plants can damage it. It is important to remember them:

depletion of plants in winter in rooms with excessively high temperatures;

excessively dry air in the room;

overdrying the soil in the pot, where the ficus grows;

watering with cold water( below 12 ° C);

excessive amount of moisture in the pot;

lack or excess of nutrients, lack of trace elements;

depletion of the plant by pests( spider mite and scab);

untimely removal of dust from leaves;

decay of the root system;

undercooling of soil in the pot from drafts in winter;

mismatch of the root system of the plant to the volume of the pot;

sharp lighting changes, such as a lack of light in the winter and very bright lighting in the spring;

a sharp rise or fall in the temperature of the

in the room.