Ficus is considered to be one of the most beautiful tree-like house plants. That he lived with you for a long time and always looked good, he needs to organize a proper care, of which the mandatory part is a transplant. When and how it should be conducted, we will tell in this article.
Inexperienced growers, having acquired a healthy ficus with a magnificent crown, are faced with the problem of falling leaves from it or even loss of the whole plant. This can happen immediately after purchase or even a few years after it. To avoid this, a ficus growing at home needs a transplant. The first must be done in a few weeks after purchase, and then, until the age of 5 years, annually. The older the flower becomes, the less often it will have to be carried out (first in 2 years, and then in 3-4).
Before you begin the process of transplantation, you should prepare a pot and a special soil mixture.
Soil for ficus transplantation
If you do not want to suffer and connect different types of soil, then in flower shops you can buy a ready-made soil mixture. It is called "Ficus" or "Palma". When self-made soil for planting a fig tree, sand and 4 types of land are mixed in equal shares: compost, humus, peat and turf. The mixture should be friable, air-permeable and moisture-consuming. For ampel species of ficus, it is necessary to add finely chopped moss to such a substrate. Be sure to put a good layer of drainage on the bottom of the pot (for example, expanded clay).
Ficus transplantation after purchase
The substrate in which the flower is sold is not suitable for long growing. Proceeding from this, after the ficus is a little used to the new location, it is necessary to perform its transplant.
It is simple enough: the roots must be cleaned of the old substrate (make it easier after they are wet), in a new pot, make a layer of drainage and a new earth, and then put the ficus. Further it is necessary to gradually fill the capacity of the earth. The completion of the procedure is required by irrigation.
Very often after such a transplant, the flower growers note that the ficus has lowered the leaves or they are completely falling off. Thus, the flower reacts to the stress resulting from moving and moving to a new pot. For the ficus to come to life, it follows that it is necessary to sprinkle it daily or create a mini greenhouse for the next two weeks.
Regular ficus transplant and care
Determine that your ficus needs a transplant, you can by the condition of the soil in the pot and the location of its roots. If the earth dries quickly or ends out of it stick out,
The choice of a new pot follows from the calculation that it should be 3-4 cm wider than the previous one, otherwise the growth of the ficus will be greatly slowed down. For this transplant, the old soil does not need to be completely removed from the roots, so as to less injure them. If, after all, the roots had to be cut off a little, then we should also do with the crown. It is important that the planting level does not change, otherwise the plant will begin to ache. Therefore, before you completely fill the tank with earth, it is necessary to try the fitting by inserting the rhizome of the ficus into an empty pot. This will help determine the height of the lower layer of soil.
If you already have an old ficus that has a large root system, or you simply can not replant it this year, then to fill up the nutrients and necessary elements in the soil, you can simply change the upper layer of the earth.