Historians say: the ancient Greeks were very musical people, but negligible notes of their works have survived. It’s good that there are images left on ceramics, stone and... in living nature. Thanks to the ficus lyre, today we can imagine the musical instrument beloved by the ancients - its outlines follow the leaves of the plant.
Ficus lyreformes comes from tropical Africa , reaches a height of 30 meters there, feels good in an apartment as a houseplant, limiting its growth to two meters, which, you see, is also quite a lot for a “brick box”.
Description
The plant belongs to the mulberry family, which includes almost a thousand different ficus plants. The lyre-shaped one stands apart among them, prefers solitude and even at home grows poorly if it is placed too close to other green pets.
In the natural environment, it often begins its life as an epiphyte - it settles in the crown of some tall, large tree and, without receiving nutrients from it, reaches with long aerial roots to the soil.
The main decoration of the ficus is the leaves: dense, leathery, up to half a meter long, 30 cm wide.
In the middle they narrow, as if forming a “waist”, and along the edges they are slightly wavy. Light green veins form a beautiful relief pattern against the dark background of the “lyre”.
The flowers are inconspicuous, but the fruits (they are called “syconia”) are large, green, with variegated specks. Unfortunately, all this can only be observed in the natural environment, since the home ficus lyreate practically does not bloom . But it brings benefits - it cleans the air well of harmful impurities.
The main diseases to which ficus is susceptible
The most common diseases of rubber ficus include:
Cercospora
As a result of infection by this fungal disease, small black spots appear on the leaf blades; they turn completely yellow only when the infection is severe. Treatment consists of removing the affected foliage and treating with special means - fungicides.
Anthracnose
This fungal disease causes rust-colored spots. Treatment is also aimed at getting rid of the affected parts and treating with a fungicide.
Botrytis
A fungal disease, with this disease the leaf blades begin to wither and rusty spots appear on them, increasing over time. They get rid of the disease by removing damaged leaves and spraying with fungicides.
Kinds
Of all its fellows, the lyre-shaped ficus is recognized by experts as the most elegant . Only a few varieties are suitable for indoor cultivation, differing from each other only in height and leaf size.
Columnaris
This type is the tallest. It grows very quickly, stretches upward.
It has a strong brown trunk. An adult plant resembles a column in its outline.
Bambino
The miniature Bambino has a height of no more than 25 cm, and the maximum leaf length is 15 cm. The ficus is very compact, ideal for indoor cultivation and even (unlike its tall relatives) pleases its owners with flowering and fruits reminiscent of hazelnuts, which look very original .
Little Fiddle
This is a medium-sized plant - it grows up to one and a half meters in height, its leaves are 25 cm long. Ideal for decorating offices and public buildings.
Ficus Lyrata Phyllis Craig
With proper hairdressing care, this ficus looks very neat. It is compact, its height is about 35 cm. By the way, its beautiful shiny leaves are the same length.
Home care
Compared to other ficuses, the lyre-shaped one is quite demanding in terms of care and does not forgive the owner for negligence: if the conditions at home are not close enough to natural, the plant may react by shedding its main wealth - leaves.
Lighting, temperature
In tropical conditions, this plant becomes an epiphyte and settles in the crowns of tall trees for a reason: below, closer to the ground, there is a huge competition for light.
Obviously, the craving for sunlight is “in the blood” of indoor specimens too.
Good lighting is the key to ensuring that the plant grows quickly, strong and healthy.
Windows facing east are most suitable for him. It is better to protect the ficus lyreate from direct sunlight to avoid leaf burns.
As for the air temperature, in summer it is necessary to maintain it at 23-26 degrees, and in winter 17-20 degrees is enough.
ATTENTION : you cannot place a pot of ficus on a cold windowsill - the root system of the plant may die. This trouble can also be expected from drafts in the apartment.
Watering
Watering requirements may vary depending on the season (they should be more abundant in summer) and room temperature.
However, a few general rules remain the same.
For example, water requirements. left to stand for a week before watering . If this rule is neglected, light green stains may appear on the leaves.
Excessive watering is undesirable. In order not to harm the plant, half an hour after watering, drain the excess liquid from the pan. And before the next watering, they inspect the top layer of soil: stick a finger into it to a depth of 2 cm and, if it is wet, do not water the plant - it has enough moisture.
TIP : To prevent water from stagnating in the soil, you need to provide access to air. This can be done by regular loosening between waterings.
A guest from the tropics needs high (at least 70 percent) air humidity . This indicator is achieved in different ways. You can purchase an electric humidifier, spray the ficus lyrata from a spray bottle, and organize a shower for it in the summer. And to prevent too much water from getting into the soil, it is first covered with film.
It is also very important to regularly wipe the leaves with a damp sponge soaked in water (no chemicals - otherwise the plant will get burned). This procedure is necessary for normal photosynthesis.
Fertilizers
Feeding is carried out when the plant is active - from March to September.
They do this twice a month .
Sometimes the schedule is violated due to “objective circumstances” - cloudy weather or too high indoor temperature.
This time is not favorable for fertilizing.
As fertilizers, mixtures designed for decorative deciduous crops are purchased, and the concentration is made half as weak as recommended in the instructions.
Ficus generally has a difficult relationship with chemistry: if a drop of solution gets on a leaf during feeding, it must be quickly removed so as not to burn it.
Transfer
The lyre-shaped ficus grows quickly, so it has to be replanted annually until it is 4-5 years old. After this, they usually get by with one transplant every 3 years.
And the need for it is evidenced by the growing root system of the flower: if the pot becomes too small for it (the roots crawl out of the drainage hole), then it is necessary to ensure that the plant moves to a new, more spacious one.
It’s good if its diameter is 2-3 cm larger than that of the old pot . This video explains how to transplant a plant into a pot with automatic watering:
Transplantation is carried out in the spring, usually in March. They act carefully, using the transshipment method. After completing the procedure, the plant is watered. And then they give him peace for about half a month: any interference in the life of the plant at this time can provoke “leaf fall,” which will deprive the green pet of its attractiveness.
Transfer
Ficus grows very quickly, so it will have to be replanted often. The transplant is carried out in the second ten days of April. The process involves the following:
- remove the plant from the pot, cut off all the roots that have begun to grow upward;
- remove rotten roots;
- the new capacity should be 30% larger than the previous one;
- pour some of the soil into the pot and place the plant;
- Fill the container with soil and compact it lightly.
At the end of the transplant, be sure to water with plenty of warm water. Wood ash or vermicompost is added to the water.
Reproduction
Most often, ficus is propagated by cuttings - stem or leaf.
In the first case, the stem should be viable, green or woody, the best diameter is from 0.5 to 1.5 cm, length is from 10 to 15 cm.
It is not advisable to use scissors; it is better to use a well-sharpened knife to achieve neat cuts.
The released milky juice is washed off, the cutting is dried and placed in a container of water to which activated carbon has been added. In a month, roots should appear.
IMPORTANT : there should be no leaves at the bottom of the cutting - if they touch the water, the process of rotting will begin.
Propagation by seeds is too long a story. For seedlings to appear, at best it takes a month, at worst – three. To make the process go faster, you should not bury the seeds too deeply, and you also need to ensure a temperature of at least 25 degrees.
You can propagate ficus lyreate by layering; to do this, select a strong shoot, make cuts on it, wrap it in damp moss and a plastic bag. When roots appear, they will tear the bag and come out. This will mean that the cutting with roots can be cut and rooted in a separate pot.
Pruning, crown formation
The formation of the crown is carried out in early spring, when the plant is in an active state. During the dormant period (from October to January) it is not disturbed. Pruning has a beneficial effect on the appearance of the plant - it begins to bush. For example, this video shows how the ficus lyrata has grown after pruning:
Even a bare tree can be tidied up by removing its top and allowing shoots to develop from the lateral buds. Using an elastic band or thin wire, you can even set the branches in the desired direction, and then, having achieved the desired result, remove them.
ATTENTION : if aerial roots form in the lyre-shaped ficus, they can be removed regardless of the time of year and the condition of the plant.
Ear
Care for the lyre-shaped ficus as for an ordinary house flower. Care includes regular watering, fertilizing and pruning.
When the microclimate is disrupted, the flower crop begins to shed its leaves.
Watering
For a tropical plant, abundant watering is important.
Water is poured until it appears in the tray of the flower pot. Excess is removed only after half an hour, when the roots have absorbed the required amount.
Water the flower as the top layer of soil dries. Average frequency per week: 4 or more in summer, once in winter.
To maintain the required level of humidity, in addition to watering, spraying is carried out on the foliage in the summer season and wiping the vegetative mass with a damp cloth in the winter.
Feeding
Ficus is fed with special fertilizers
Feed the ficus with fortified fertilizers designed for growing indoor flowers. The dosage prescribed in the instructions is halved.
The plant needs:
- nitrogen - for active growth and rich color of green mass, it can be replenished with urea;
- phosphorus - for intensive development by the root system, it is present in superphosphates;
- potassium - to optimize water balance and improve immunity, it is found in wood ash.
Flower growers make homemade fertilizer to feed ficus plants:
- 5 g ammonium nitrate;
- 0.5 g superphosphate;
- 0.1 g potassium salt.
The ingredients are dissolved in 1 liter of water and the flower is watered twice a month during the active phases of the growing season.
Crown formation
When grown at home, pruning is carried out regularly.
It is better to form a crown in the spring, when the plant begins to actively grow: some of the branches are removed along with the foliage.
Shortening the tops leads to the appearance of side shoots. The upper hardened sprout is cut off at the fourth or fifth internode.
When pruning ficus, you should use gloves, because... plant sap released from fresh wounds can cause an allergic reaction.
The sections are treated with crushed activated carbon or wood ash. After pruning, it is necessary to apply fertilizers with nitrogen-containing complexes, which stimulate the growth of vegetative mass.
Diseases and pests
Most plant diseases occur due to errors in care:
- the leaves curl and acquire a brown tint - the ficus was exposed to direct sunlight and was not watered correctly;
- the lower leaves fall off - there is not enough light, watering is too rare;
- growth has slowed down - there are few nutrients in the soil or salinization has occurred;
- the leaves began to turn yellow and droop - watering is too abundant, liquid accumulates in the tray or pot.
By the way, excess moisture can also cause the development of a fungal infection. The plant will “inform” about this problem with dark scratches and stains on the leaf blade.
Among the pests that pose a danger to the lyre-shaped ficus are the mealybug (stems and roots suffer from it, and the plant becomes covered with dark spots) and the spider mite (it sucks the juice from the leaves and entwines itself with cobwebs). Treat the green pet with insecticides.
You can read about other varieties of ficus:
- Ficus Kinki - beauty and good energy in the house;
- Is it possible to keep ficus at home, is it beneficial or harmful?
- Ficus microcarpa is an original epiphyte.
Common mistakes
When growing Lyrata at home, flower growers often make a number of typical mistakes, which sometimes have a detrimental effect on the health of the plant.
- When pruning, leave the top. As a result, the flower stretches in height, and the crown looks scanty.
- Ignore wet wiping of foliage. A large amount of dust accumulates over a large area of leaf plates, which becomes an obstacle to the full absorption of light, inhibiting the process of photosynthesis and disrupting nutrition.
- Place in direct sun. Leaves under the sun's rays get burned not only in summer, but also in winter and begin to dry out, which, together with insufficient humidity, has a detrimental effect on the condition of the flower.
