Ficus can be called one of the most common indoor plants. They fit perfectly into any interior and are not capricious in leaving. Among the varieties of varieties, you can stop your choice on the ficus Starlight.
What does Ficus Starlight look like to which family
Ficus Starlight (Latin name ficus starlight) belongs to the Mulberry family. It belongs to the species Benjamin. A distinctive feature of this variety is the marble color of the foliage. White spots on the sheet plate look decorative. No other variety has this color. The plant is slowly growing. Each year in height increases by 5-10 cm. It is easy to form a crown of any kind, including making a bonsai from a bush.
Ficus Starlight
Common varieties
Ficus Benjamin, species:
- Boucle;
- Safari;
- Esther;
- Anastasia
- Neon;
- Fantasy
- Naomi.
A common variety is the Starlight variety.
Briefly about the history of the appearance
Homeland of ficus - forests of tropical Asia. It was from this area that the plant came to European and other countries.
Features of Ficus Starlight Home Care
Caring for ficus Starlight at home is not difficult. This is an unpretentious plant. The main thing is to create optimal conditions in which the plant will feel comfortable.
Temperature
The optimal temperature in the room where the plant is located should be from +18 to +25 ℃. In the winter season, it is allowed to lower the temperature by several degrees to +16 ℃. It is not advisable to allow the pot to stand in the drafts.
Lighting
Ficus refers to photophilous plants, so you need to find in the house a place where there will be diffused light for more than half a day. For example, you can place the pot on the eastern windows. Direct sunlight is harmful to the plant, so the southern windows are not suitable. In the shade, the flower will feel bad.
Watering
Prefers moderate humidity. Soil needs to be irrigated as it dries. In the summer, 3-4 watering per week is enough. In winter, they should be less.
Additional Information! Do not water the indoor plant with water from the water supply. It must either be boiled and cooled first, or upheld for several days. Irrigation with tap water leads to diseases such as chlorosis.
Spraying
In winter, you can do without spraying, especially if the room is cold. In summer, the foliage is wiped every 2 days and sprayed several times a week.
Humidity
Ficus loves high humidity. It should be in the range of 60-75%. In winter, when the heating is turned on, a plate with wet expanded clay is placed nearby and water is regularly added.
Priming
Ficus Benjamin Starlight loves nutritious and loose soil with good drainage. It is best to buy ready-made soil mix for ficus. The composition of the soil must include turf land, peat and coarse sand.
Note! Do not use soil from the city without first etching it from pests and diseases.
Top dressing
Top dressing is applied during the growing season from spring to autumn, every 14 days. It is necessary to alternate organic and mineral fertilizers. It is best to use liquid top dressing. In spring and summer, the plant needs a lot of nitrogen.
Additional Information! Apply infusion of chicken manure, manure, a decoction of nettle or wood ash diluted in water. In the winter, top dressing ceases to make at all.
Features of winter care, rest period
The rest period in ficus lasts from late autumn to early spring. At this time, you need to stop feeding the flower and reduce the amount of watering.
When and how it blooms
Ficus Benjamin Starlight in the usual sense does not bloom. Orange peas appear on the plant among green foliage. They can appear year-round.
Pruning
The best time for pruning shrubs is spring. Description of the trimming process:
- Once the plant has grown to a length of 50 cm, cut off the top of the trunk by 10-15 cm.
- As soon as the lateral branches grew longer than the main stem, they are shortened.
- If the weaving of the branches is dense, some of the thinnest branches are cut off.
Important! For pruning, you can use only sharp secateurs that do not leave creases. Place the sections sprinkled with crushed charcoal.
How ficus Starlight propagates
Methods of reproduction and especially their conduct at home.
Seed germination
The process of growing ficus from seeds:
- Fill the container with soil for ficus.
- Water the soil.
- Sow the seeds and cover them with polyethylene.
- Put on the window. The main thing is that the place should not be dark.
- Once a day for 10 minutes, the polyethylene is removed to ventilate the soil.
When the first sprouts appear, the package is removed. Transplanted seedlings to a permanent place can be after the appearance of several full leaves.
Rooting cuttings
The most popular way is to cuttings. How to root cuttings:
- Choose long large branches, at least 10 cm long.
- Break the bottom leaves.
- Trim the underside of the handle at an angle of 45 degrees.
- Put the handle for 1 hour in the root stimulant Kornevin.
- At this time, you can prepare the soil.
- Plant the stalk in the ground, cover it with a glass cap.
- Pour plenty of filtered water.
Every day for 20 minutes the cap is removed so that the soil is ventilated. After a few weeks, the first roots should appear. After this, the cuttings are transplanted to a permanent place.
Rooting cuttings
Air lay
How to propagate the plant by layering:
- On the side stalk, select a site. Tear off all the leaves from it.
- Make two ring cuts at a distance of 3-5 cm.
- Remove the bark from this place.
- On the bag, lay out the wet sphagnum moss, fix it.
After a few months, roots should appear under the incision. After that, you can trim the twig and plant it in the ground.
Other options
There are no other breeding methods.
Transfer
It is only necessary to transplant the plant if the pot has become small or it has just been bought. Also for certain diseases or pests.
Young plants are transplanted every year. Each time, the capacity should be larger than the previous one. If the appearance of the flower began to lose decorativeness, and the roots are visible from the soil, then it's time to transplant the plant into a new large pot. Adult plants can be transplanted every three years.
On a note! Before transplantation, the root system is carefully examined. If there is mold or rotten areas on the roots, they are trimmed, then the roots are treated in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
Possible problems in growing and disease
When growing any houseplant, problems arise. Most often, the reason lies in improper care or in the appearance of pests.
Discards buds and leaves
Ficus can drop foliage due to a sharp change in temperature, improper watering or lack of nutrients.
Leaves turn pale
The plant lacks sunlight. You need to rearrange the pot in another place in the sun.
The tips dry on the leaves
The tips may dry due to too dry air and heating. Or the roots were damaged during the transplant.
Lower leaves fall off
Lower leaves may fall due to natural causes during leaf cover changes. It is also possible due to waterlogged soil or lack of light, or due to lack of nutrients in the soil.
Pests
Pests that can be seen on the ficus:
- scale shield;
- mealybug;
- spider mite;
- aphid.
Ficus is rarely affected by insects, but if this still happened, you should not pull it and immediately begin to remove them. If there are still not a lot of insects, you can wipe the foliage with a soapy solution and put a flower under the shower.
Note! If there are many pests, resort to the use of insecticides.
Other problems
Their symptoms are very similar, so it is important to know the differences:
- With gray rot (the sheet is covered with a gray coating), all damaged leaves are torn off, the bush itself is sprayed with fungicides.
- The sign of powdery mildew is a white coating on the foliage like flour. Leaves can be wiped with a soapy solution. If this does not help, then it will be necessary to use fungicides (Acrobat, Bravo).
- With root rot, the roots begin to rot. Damaged roots are cut, the root system is washed in a solution of potassium permanganate. Transplanting into new ground is required.
At the first sign of disease, you need to immediately begin treatment.
Powdery mildew on leaves
Signs and superstitions
According to signs, ficus helps strengthen the family. It also helps to attract financial well-being. According to the superstitions of Thailand - this plant is considered sacred. If you put a pot of plants in the kitchen, there will always be plenty in the house.
Ficus Starlight differs from other varieties in its unusual appearance. The plant looks harmonious in any interior and, according to signs, brings good luck to the house.
