Features of ficus Melanie
Melanie's rubber ficus is one of the permanent residents of apartments and houses. The plant is distinguished by its undemanding and unpretentious care, as well as a high number of useful and medicinal properties. The rubber-bearing ficus Melanie is popular due to its compactness and diminutiveness, which is why it is very often located in offices and in various enterprises.
Ficus Melanie
It is believed that Melanie's ficus is able to heal boils, non-healing wounds and carbuncles, and the leaves of the plant are used in the treatment of many diseases and oncology. Providing high-quality maintenance and care of Melanie's ficus, a person gives himself clean air, poise and tranquility. The people believe that the rubber-bearing ficus is capable of invoking family well-being and happiness.
Melanie variety characteristics
Ficus Melanie is suitable both for keeping at home and for working as a decoration. However, you should be careful with its cultivation in a house where there are children, because the poisonous sap of the plant can cause allergies and unexpected body reactions. The ficus is distinguished by aerial roots, and the slightly pointed leaves of the flower resemble a large ellipse and have a leathery structure. Dark green leaves are arranged in turns. Younger foliage has a brown or reddish tint, like stipules, which fall off and leave small scars.
Ficus Melanie, whose dimensions are quite compact, is also interesting because of the possibility of fruiting, because the plant leads to the formation of medium-sized fruits - syconiums. Despite their similarity to figs, the fruits are not subject to consumption. Melanie leaves have another feature: the presence of small pores with sap, which have irritating functions. Contact with the sheets can cause not only allergic reactions, but also serious dermatitis. A similar effect occurs due to the chemical components included in the juice. They protect Melanie's rubbery ficus, especially those sprouting in the wild, from the influence of infections and harmful insects. Thanks to the juice, the leaves of the plant can heal much faster. Before purchasing Melanie, you should remember about the main features of care.
- Firstly, the ficus does not accept excessive lighting and dry air: the bush flower should be kept in a room with good humidity.
- Secondly, Melanie needs a quality and properly selected pot. It is important to ensure that the plant is not flooded with water, because this can lead to rotting of the root system, after which the leaves deteriorate and fall off.
Caring for this variety of plants at home is within the power of even novice gardeners. An unpretentious ficus, with due attention, will delight the owner every day. It should be remembered that if the leaves turn yellow, and the plant itself grows more slowly, the time has come to radically change the care.
How to keep ficus Melanie
The content of any culture, in particular the Melanie variety, is based on several important factors, which are most important to take into account in indoor conditions. In order for caring for a plant to lead to rapid development and flowering, you must follow simple truths:
- Feed the ficus periodically. How many times do you need to do this? Enough once every couple of weeks in the spring and autumn. In frosts, top dressing is added to the soil.
- If the plant does not grow or the development of lateral shoots has slowed down, trimming the top is necessary. In addition, it is pruning that is considered a "rejuvenating" procedure for ficuses. Shoots can also be developed by tilting the trunk to the floor and then fixing it in this position. The fact is that such actions contribute to the transfer of dominance to the lateral buds and stop the growth of the crown.
- It is important to provide any types of ficuses with proper lighting: make sure that it is diffused, but not too bright. Excessive light can cause foliage to fall off or deteriorate. If you place a plant in a darkened corner, it will grow more slowly. With a long stay in the shade, the lower leaves will completely dry.
- Melanie blooms best in good fertile soil with a porous structure. You can dilute it with turf soil, leaf humus and sand.
- Transplanting should take place in late spring or early summer in order to ensure proper care of the plant. The transplant is performed when the root system fills the soil ball. You can use transshipment to accelerate growth.
- Variegated ficus Elastica (as the plant is also called) needs periodic spraying and no drafts in order to keep the leaves healthy.
- Leaves should be taken care of daily - it is important to wipe them with damp sponges or napkins in order to maintain their "gloss" and bright color. The same applies to stomatal cleansing to ensure oxygen supply and efficient photosynthesis.
Ficus, which is aging, "betrays" itself by the withering away of the lower leaves and the exposure of the trunk. To preserve the beauty and brightness of the plant, you will need pruning, which is best done in February. By freeing the bush from the top, further branching can be prevented, because only 1 bud will develop. To get a luxurious lush bush at home, you need to cut off 6 upper internodes at once.
Growing temperature
Like many types of ficuses, Elastica requires a certain temperature regime. It is important to keep the temperature between 24 and 28 ° C. In case of exceeding 30 ° С or finding a mark below 5 ° С, there is a risk of plant death or suspension of its development.
To organize a shower, the leaves will need polyethylene and a container with earth. After the pot is wrapped in polyethylene, and the leaves are wiped with a cloth. With a regular homemade shower, you can provide the ficus with a healthy look for a long time and a full supply of oxygen. By the way, Melanie can reach the age of 50 if she receives the necessary care and protection measures.
How ficus reproduces
Reproduction Elastic is best done by cuttings, waiting for the end of February-early spring. To do this, cut off lateral or apical shoots with several leaves, observing the direction "obliquely". The poisonous juice that appears is washed off with water (it is necessary to work with it only with gloves). Then the cutting is dipped with a special mixture that promotes the formation of roots (successful reproduction is guaranteed by the use of "Kornevin" or "Heteroauxin").
After the shoot, it is planted in the ground and covered with glass outside, designed to create greenhouse conditions. Variegated species, unfortunately, take root much worse than others, due to their "capriciousness". In this case, reproduction occurs by air layers: when the stem is incised by one third, and the incision is equipped with a match that prevents overgrowth.The last step is to wrap the cut with wet moss and cover it with plastic wrap, which allows you to see the appearance of the first roots. As soon as their formation has occurred, the cutting is cut off and planted.
What can harm the plant
Most often, the plant begins to deteriorate due to poor-quality care or lack of nutrition and vitamins (which is often manifested by a loss of color saturation and further leaf fall). If the leaves become covered with yellow spots and become dry and lifeless, then it is necessary to reduce watering, allowing the soil to dry, and then sometimes loosen the substrate. When leaves wrinkle, you should look for the cause in the excessively dry air in the apartment.
Pests can also lead to problems with the plant. The most dangerous is the influence of spider mites, mealybugs, thrips and scale insects. In the first case, the attack begins from the bottom of the leaves and manifests itself in the presence of a white web and foliage falling. For treatment, spraying with feverfew is used for a week. As for the scale insect, it affects the entire surface of the leaf, sometimes covering it with a number of "guests". Infected ficus stops growing and gradually turns yellow. To remove scale insects, use a wet sponge and insecticide.
Mealybug is very easy to detect, because it is similar to snowballs. Insects form a sticky liquid, due to which a fungus appears, which interferes with normal development and growth. Pests suck out all the vital energy of the ficus, therefore, when they appear, you urgently need to use a brush and an insecticide. As for thrips, the veins and the entire surface of the foliage are affected by colonies of pests that form reddish blotches. The detrimental effect of thrips leads to the death of the leaves, therefore it is necessary to resort to the help of insecticides. A preventive measure is to grow the flower in the summer with free access to air and periodic spraying.
As it turned out, it is quite simple to take care of Melanie at home and even beginner growers can do it. Moreover, if you follow all the recommendations and advice of experts, you can extend the life of a flower for a long time and provide yourself, as the signs say, with love, happiness and true well-being.