What is the best Ficus plant for indoors?
Weeping ficus is perhaps the most popular indoor tree. Its shiny leaves and gracefully arching branches give the tree a delicate, elegant appearance. Rubber trees are also popular upright types; they have large leaves, which are often flushed with shades of red and purple. A ficus tree, belonging to the genus Ficus, is a diverse family of over 800 species, ranging from woody trees to shrubs and vines. Many are popular as indoor plants due to their attractive foliage and ability to thrive indoors.However, there are serious issues with ficus trees. Their height, structure, canopy size, pruning history and roots can make them more susceptible to limb failure and/or collapse, putting people and property at risk.
Do Ficus plants like full sun or shade?
Light: Place your ficus houseplant in a window that receives indirect bright light. Plants can be placed outdoors in summer, but avoid placing in direct sunlight to prevent leaf drop or scalding. Temperature: Optimal indoor temperature range for ficus plants is between 70-85 degrees F. Indoor ficuses need regular pruning to remove old leaves and shape the plant to its living space. Avoid pruning your indoor ficus in mid-spring, however, particularly when it is forming new leaves and buds. Shape ficuses in winter. For extensive shaping, wait until your plant’s dormant season in winter.Leaf drop during winter is common and usually not a sign of disease. With proper care, your ficus will regrow its leaves come April and May as the days get longer.The Ficus plant prefers to dry out some between watering, but do not let the soil completely dry out. We recommend that you water your tree every 5 to 7 days, or when the top inch of soil is dry.Feed your Ficus during the growing season (from March through October) with a fertilizer with balanced numbers, such as 10-10-10 or 20-20-20. Don’t feed in late fall or winter. Days are short, and sunlight is so much weaker that plants are maintaining but not actively growing.
How to identify a Ficus plant?
Ficus trees are native to tropical and subtropical regions of the world and are commonly used as indoor or outdoor ornamental plants. They are known for their distinctive aerial roots, smooth bark, and glossy, dark green leaves. Almost all indoor ficus trees are smaller varieties that grow under the main canopy in the wild. This means that they like a lot of light, but the leaves can’t always handle strong, direct light. As a result, you should put your ficus in a location that receives bright, but indirect light throughout most of the day.The Ficus plant prefers to dry out some between watering, but do not let the soil completely dry out. We recommend that you water your tree every 5 to 7 days, or when the top inch of soil is dry.Three common diseases can afflict ficus: anthracnose, branch dieback, and bacterial leaf spot. Anthracnose is characterized by brownish spots forming on ficus’s leaves. Branch dieback appears as wilting, dropping leaves and dying branches.While ficus plants are generally trouble free, they tend to shed leaves in response to a variety of stressors: change in location, repotting, over- or under-watering, drafts, lack of nitrogen and low light. Your lighting may not be a problem as ficus species prefer bright indirect light.
What does an overwatered Ficus look like?
Drooping Foliage While drooping can also indicate underwatering, overwatered Ficus leaves have a distinct appearance. The leaves will droop or sag despite the soil being wet, and they’ll feel heavy. Unlike underwatered leaves, which feel papery and thin, overwatered drooping leaves feel thick and soft. Keep in mind that when the soil goes from bone-dry to saturated, it can cause stress for your Ficus and cause leaves to drop. Ficus will thrive in slightly humid environments. Increase the humidity around your plant by misting the leaves on a regular basis, using a pebble tray, or moving a humidifier nearby.Your Ficus does not like to dry out completely–water thoroughly when the top 50-75% of the soil is dry.Caring for your indoor ficus plant situate your plant away from any potential drafts or temperature fluctuation. Only water when the top layer of soil has dried out. Ensure that your container and potting mix have great drainage. If the plant’s roots become too waterlogged, it will struggle.The Ficus responds to dry soil by dropping its leaves so it can conserve energy. You should never let the top inch of your Ficus’s soil dry out, but if you do water well and the plant will bounce back quickly.
Is it good to keep Ficus at home?
After they adjust to their new home, they will thrive in a spot with bright indirect light and a consistent watering schedule. Happy in virtually any situation that avoids direct blazing sunshine, your Ficus is a beautiful, low-maintenance indoor plant. Ficus benjamina can live for many years under the right conditions. Indoors, with proper care, it can thrive for 20 years or more.With optimal care, ficus houseplants can live as long as 20 years, while ficus tree varieties grown outdoors in containers and moved indoors for winter can live up to 40 years. Outdoor ficus trees planted in their natural warm-weather habitats live more than 100 years.
How often should I water my Ficus?
How often should a Ficus plant be watered? The Ficus plant prefers to dry out some between watering, but do not let the soil completely dry out. We recommend that you water your tree every 5 to 7 days, or when the top inch of soil is dry. Ficus needs 0. Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.