The cultivar of ficus Melanie, or rubbery, was bred recently, but it has already gained popularity among many gardeners. With proper care, the plant becomes a real decoration of any home.
What does Ficus Melanie look like to which family
This plant is so compact that it is suitable for cultivation in any room. The ficus of the Melanie variety has a beautiful crown. Densely planted leaves give the plant a special appeal.
Growing rubber ficus
The length of the sheet plates is about 13 cm. Their surface is glossy, and the reverse side, on the contrary, is matte. On a light green background, you can see many reddish veins. The vertical version of growing plants allows for large branching. Pruning will help give the shrub any shape.
Common varieties
The most common varieties of rubbery ficuses are:
- Abidjan - the plant loves bright light, has oval leaves of a dark green color, pointed at the end.
- Belize is a feature of the variety - white and pink stains along the edges of the leaf plate.
- Melanie - this ficus has dense foliage, the plate is 15 cm long.
- Robusta - the variety is the most unpretentious, the length of the sheet is 30 cm, the shape is ellipsoidal.
- Black Prince - the color of the foliage of this variety is the darkest of all. The leaves are rounded, their hue changes in accordance with the change in light in the room.
- Tineke is a variegated variety, at the edges of the leaves you can see a white or cream border.
- Sriveriana - ellipsoid foliage has a marble color, the plate is 25 cm long and 18 cm wide.
- Tricolor is a variegated variety, foliage has an interesting marble pattern.
- The decor is dark green foliage with a burgundy tint, the plate length is 18 cm.
Ficus Sriveriana
Healing properties
The juice of this plant helps well with difficult to heal wounds and boils. Dry ficus leaves are used in the treatment of rheumatism and hemorrhoids. Leaves are also used in gynecology and oncology. Inflammatory processes are well removed by tincture of the roots of the plant.
Briefly about the history of the appearance
In one of the greenhouses of Holland, which is considered the birthplace of the plant, an interesting bush appeared that mutated completely independently from the ficus of the Decor elastic. Scientists have taken cuttings for rooting. After breeding, an excellent hybrid was obtained, which retained the characteristics of the mother bush in full. It so happened to highlight a new variety, which was given the name Melanie.
Ficus Melanie: Home Care
The flower is not very demanding in care. Many errors in the content of the plant pass without a trace, but you should not completely ignore the main points of cultivation.
Temperature
A good temperature range for Melanie is considered to be 18-30 degrees Celsius. The plant may die if the needle of the thermometer in the room drops to 12 degrees. The ideal temperature is 20-25 degrees Celsius.
Large sizes of ficus grown at home
Lighting
Ficus elastic Melanie does not tolerate direct sunlight, the lighting should be diffused. Ideal windows for growing plants are western or eastern. In winter, the bush may need additional artificial lighting. If there is not enough light, the leaves will begin to fall off. With an excess of light and direct sunlight, burns will appear on the leaf plates.
Note! To make the crown symmetrical and beautiful, you need to turn the flower pot with different sides to the light.
Watering
For this variety, rare watering is preferable to plentiful. There is no specific moisture schedule. It is better to focus on the state of the earth in a pot. The soil should be dry, but do not allow drying and cracking. Watering should be carried out when the soil has dried to a thickness of 5 cm. In the summer season, several waterings per week are required, and in winter, 1 watering in 10 days is enough.
Spraying
If the room temperature is higher than recommended or the air in the house is too dry, you need to periodically spray ficus. To cool the crown, only cool, standing water is suitable (no more than 10 degrees).
Humidity
The air where Melanie grows must be humidified. This plant does not accept dryness indoors. Every day you can wipe the leaves, take a shower 1 time per month. Frequent spraying will help moisturize the air.
Priming
Experienced flower growers do not do the soil with their own hands, but buy ready-made compounds for ficus. If there is no opportunity to acquire soil, you need to make the appropriate soil for the flower at home:
- slightly acidic or acidic;
- moisture permeable;
- breathable.
When preparing the soil, you need to mix 1 part of leafy soil, 1 part of turf, 1 part of humus and half of river sand. Expanded clay or broken brick is used as drainage.
Ficus melanie for sale, suitable size for purchase
Top dressing
During the growing season and active growth, the plant requires several fertilizers per week. Fertilizer can be used in the form of nettle decoction, wood ash or mineral formulations in liquid form. Feeding can only be done in moist soil, preferably with watering, or the next day after it. Further feeding will be needed only a few times a year (1 time in warm time and 1 time in cold weather).
Important! Do not feed ficus in the first month after landing in the main place.
Features of winter care, rest period
Almost every ficus with a decrease in temperature and a lack of light goes into sleep. If you observe the optimal temperature regime in the room, that is, when the apartment is well heated, plant growth can continue. In this case, you need to use artificial lighting and monitor the humidity. If such conditions are not met, rubber ficus Melanie will enter the stage of rest and sleep. In this case, he will discard the leaves. It will only be necessary to maintain a cool temperature and occasionally water the plant, about 1 time per month.
Pruning
Ficus of this variety during maturation discards the lower leaves. To maintain a high decorative effect, at the end of winter, they carry out forming pruning. For good branching, you need to cut off the top of the ficus, and to increase the splendor of the bush, about five upper internodes are cut.
An additional way to get a beautiful crown is to press the ficus as low as possible to the ground. In this case, the top will not be the main one, but the lateral kidney. She will begin her active growth.
How Ficus Melanie breeds
All ficuses actively breed, and Melanie is no exception.
Seed germination
At home, the ficus Elastica Melanie does not bloom, for this reason reproduction of the shrub with the help of seeds is impossible.
Rooting cuttings
Cuttings are harvested in the spring, but this can be done in the summer. It is necessary to cut off the top or side shoots. To cut the root faster, it is treated with Kornevin. To root the stalk is possible not only in the ground, but also in water.
Air lay
On the trunk make cuts and fix it with a sliver. Around the incision, moss is wound and fixed with a film. In a month, roots will appear, and then the stalk can already be cut and placed in the ground.
Ficus grown on the windowsill
Transfer
At a young age, ficus is transplanted at least 1 time per year. An adult plant needs a transplant once every 3 years. To understand when to transplant ficus, you should pay attention to the roots. If they grow through the drainage holes of the pot, then the container is completely filled with the root system. A transplant is carried out in the spring, using the method of transshipment from a pot into another container together with an earthen lump. The remaining free space is filled with soil.
Important! Transplanting ficus from a small pot immediately into a large one is not worth it. Otherwise, the root system will quickly develop, which will negatively affect the growth of the upper part of the plant.
Possible problems in growing and disease
Ficus Melanie, although it has a high resistance to many diseases, but problems with its cultivation can still occur if you do not take care of it.
Discards buds and leaves
The reason for this condition is violation of the rules of care. Most likely, ficus was either too flooded or watering was rare. To fix the problem, you need to take care of the drainage layer and irrigate regularly.
Leaves turn pale
Foliage may turn pale due to a lack of nutrients in the soil. In this case, the ficus needs to be urgently fed or wait for the period when it is possible to fertilize the plant without a threat to its development.
The tips dry on the leaves
This is due to increased air dryness. The container with water placed next to the pot will help to fix the problem. It is important to carry out frequent spraying and moistening the soil. It is useful to wipe the leaves with a damp cloth.
The tips of the leaves dry in the plant
Lower leaves fall off
When the ficus drops the lower leaves, this does not indicate a problem. Thus, the plant is simply updated. When the lower leaves fall, a new top grows.
Pests
The most popular pests of ficus are thrips, spider mites and scale insects. Insects can be collected and destroyed manually or use special preparations to eliminate the likelihood of larvae appearing.
Important! As a prophylaxis against the appearance of pests, it is important to exclude severe dry air.
Other problems
If the leaves of the ficus become dark and wet, this may be a sign of root rot. Most likely, the ficus was waterlogged. Excess watering needs to be eliminated, but in most cases it is not possible to save the bush.
Signs and superstitions
The Slavs have long believed that the ficus in the house contributes to the development of such features as envy, scandalousness and a tendency to gossip among the owners. There is an opinion that ficuses drive a potential husband away from a woman and do not allow him to get along in the house. Foreigners believe that this bush strengthens the family and has a beneficial effect on the atmosphere in the house.
Ficus Melanie is very popular among novice gardeners and experienced connoisseurs of such decorative cultures. Unpretentiousness in the care and cultivation characterize the bush only on the positive side.
