Ficus is a refined plant, capricious andsometimes capricious, requiring care, attention and knowledge of floriculture. If the ficus is losing its leaves, you need to sound the alarm. The flower is giving you signals that it is not completely satisfied with its maintenance. But everything can be fixed. In our article, we will tell you why this can happen and what you should do to make the plant recover. The first ficus, with which Europe began to get acquainted with representatives of this plant species, is the fig. Another name for Ficus carica is fig tree or fig. Now everyone is familiar with the taste of the fruits of this stately native of Asia Minor. But for home maintenance, preference is given to other types of ficus - they are much more modest in size and cannot bear fruit.
Ficuses - different and beautiful
Nature has created about eight hundred speciesficus. Among them there are trees, vines and shrubs. Evergreen ficus came to us from India and neighboring countries. Not so long ago, only one type of plant was available for sale - rubber plant. Its most common subspecies are robusta and variegata. Ficus Black Prince and Robusta are similar to each other, only the first has a darker leaf color. Ficus doescheri and schrijvereana have a very unusual pattern on their leaves. And lyre-shaped (violin) ficus is popular in offices. Ficus benjamina L. is a real favorite for breeders. They develop plant species with unusual leaf shapes. The ability of the Bengal ficus (or banyan) to form aerial roots helps the plant survive with the help of trees. This is only a small part of the plant species that can be kept at home. Even if you decide to stop at only one of them, you need to be aware of why the plant may start to lose its leaves. After all, this will immediately spoil the appearance of your pet. There are some things that are categorically not recommended to do in relation to the plant, this will immediately entail negative consequences. But let's consider in order why leaves may fall:
- The natural process
Know the life cycle of ficus leaveshas a duration of one to three years. Natural aging is an inevitable process, as a result of which the leaves of the plant turn yellow and begin to die. However, they should not do this en masse, as a rule, this happens with the lower leaves of the flower.
- Stress is bad for health.
This applies not only to people, but also to plants.Ficus is a real conservative. It absolutely does not tolerate changes. When a ficus appears in your home, immediately determine its permanent residence and do not disturb the plant by frequent movements. An exception can be made when summer comes and you can take the ficus out into the fresh open air. Another stressful moment for ficus is its transplantation. For any plant, this is not the most pleasant moment, because in natural habitats, representatives of the flora are free from it. In a home environment, such a measure is forced, because the plant increases in size, and the soil itself loses its nutritional properties over time and needs to be renewed. Replanting a ficus is a process that has its own rules and tricks, which many have no idea about, which affects the condition of the flower in a negative way.
- Lack of light
Ficuses love good lighting.Lack of light is a very real explanation for why the flower's leaves first turned yellow and then fell off completely. Make sure that the flower is not experiencing a lack of light, and if necessary, replenish the plant's lack of it. Keep in mind that the flower's natural habitat is tropical, warm, sunny places. In the tropics, the plant receives plenty of sunlight, but is not directly exposed to it. Drafts, low temperatures, and fluctuations in humidity are what cause significant harm to this magnificent plant.
- Insects
Pests that have settled on the plant are anotherthe reason for the leaves falling. A sick plant, as a rule, begins to shed its leaves. Therefore, do not be lazy to periodically inspect your pet in order to promptly identify an attack of harmful organisms and take measures to destroy them. There are enough products on sale that will help restore the plant's health. The main thing is to promptly identify an attack of pests before it causes significant damage to the internal and external condition of the flower.
The enemy is not slumbering!
Ficus most often gets sick due to impropercare. However, it happens that you become the owner of an already diseased plant, having bought it in a store, if you were unable to identify pest damage to the plant at the place of purchase. Scale insects, spider mites and mealybugs are the ones who can cause serious, and in some cases, irreparable damage to your plant. The signs of damage by scale insects are as follows: plants lose their color saturation, then they begin to shed. Scale insects deprive the plant of nutrients and vitality, feeding on its juices. What does the insect look like? Adults resemble black plaques, younger insects have a light, flesh-colored color. If the plant was damaged not too long ago, then you can remove them with a rag soaked in soapy water. If the disease is already advanced, then you will have to use Actellic as a medicinal product. Do not forget to observe safety measures - the drug is toxic, and also correctly observe the proportions when preparing the solution. It will be enough to add 15-20 drops per liter of water. Are there thin whitish threads hanging on the leaves? The ficus has been attacked by a spider mite. Your actions should be as follows: urgently increase the humidity in the room and regularly bathe the flower in water at room temperature. It is difficult to think that you will miss such an obvious sign of the disease as spider webs, but if this did happen, then Actellic will come to your aid again. Dry air can provoke the appearance of mealybugs on the ficus. Older plants can mainly suffer from this. You can try to neutralize minor areas of pests with an alcohol solution, carefully wiping the affected areas with a cloth or cotton wool soaked in it. If this does not have an effect, then you will have to use Karbofos. The proportions for diluting the solution are as follows: 15 to 40 g of karbofos emulsion are diluted in a liter of water. Those who are afraid of keeping such poisonous preparations in the house (when there are small children in the house, this is quite understandable) can use folk methods of pest control. In the fight against scale insects, ordinary soap and garlic will help you. Mix soap, spices and water in a ratio of 1:1:3 and you can start treating the ficus. After 24 hours, it will need to be thoroughly washed to remove the remains of the solution. The treatment must be repeated every 3-5 days until the flower is completely cured of the pest. The recipe for a mixture to combat spider mites and mealybugs is also not too complicated. Add 5 tablespoons of washing powder to a small amount of hot water, then 5 tablespoons of diesel fuel or machine oil. Dilute the resulting mixture in a bucket of cold water. Now you can start treating the plant, carefully treating its leaves and stems. The remaining mixture that is not completely used does not need to be poured out, it has a long shelf life. Although we really hope that your pet will no longer suffer from pests and will never lose its leaves!
