Its homeland is the hot expanses of Southeast Asia, the Philippines and the North of Australia. Some representatives of the ficus family in the wild can grow into a giant tree, comparable in height to a ten-story house! Not only that, the plant is assertive, its trunk and roots form a dense shape, sometimes similar to an intricate sculpture. The Benjamin tree grows so rapidly that it can conquer the territory from sidewalks, even asphalted. This is truly one of the most unusual plants!
The thing is that the branches of the ficus form aerial roots, which, reaching the earth, become stiff and turn into a trunk. The trunk, in turn, is so elastic that together they create unusual plant compositions. Due to this property, the tree has gained popularity in landscape design and indoor floriculture.
Young stems of the plant easily grow together. If several cuttings are sitting next to them, directing them as they grow, you can get a trunk that looks like a pigtail, flagellum, or even an entire openwork design. Thus, garden gazebos and hedges are made from trees.
A similar plant life form is called banyan, or banana. The most ambitious abilities can boast ficus Bengal - another representative of the ficus family. It is called "tree-forest", or "tree-grove", the largest representatives live in the USA and India. The maximum recorded total area of the crown of such a giant is within 20 thousand square meters. Under the canopy of such a tree you can have not only arbors, but also whole temples! Ficuses are able to grow from seeds in any conditions, most often they use another tree as a platform, braiding it and enclosing it in their networks.
Of course, Benjamin's homemade ficus does not differ in such dimensions, but indoor varieties can also be turned into a real masterpiece, a bonsai tree, or just a beautiful ornamental plant! Its foliage is small, but fluffy, most often glossy, sometimes corrugated and completely different in color, depending on the variety. Here are just a small part of the color scheme.
Like chlorophytum and sansevier, Benjamin's ficus absorbs toxic substances, releasing oxygen. This record holder is among the ten filter plants, saving our home from harmful compounds - formaldehydes, benzene, toluene and others! There is an assumption that the flower also has healing properties, supposedly the milky juice of its leaves and branches helps with inflammation, ulcers and bruises. However, there is no scientific evidence for this. In some, it causes allergies on the contrary!
Care Rules
Although the flower is considered easy to grow, it has its own vagaries! If you ensure the proper care of ficus, it will delight you with fresh bright leaves and rapid growth. Website
Temperature and lighting
A native of the southern countries is very photophilous, especially his variegated varieties! Moreover, the growth of Benjamin's house ficus depends on light. All varieties are reconciled with a lack of light, but in the shade they are far behind in growth. It must be borne in mind that direct hot rays can adversely affect foliage, causing burns and yellowing! So, diffused light and a place near a window or balcony will be a great compromise.
In the summer, boldly take your pet out to the air, to the loggia, or balcony, he will gratefully grow and fluff all summer! When the temperature drops to 15 degrees at night, bring the tree into the room. With a strong cooling, it can lose leaves, the most comfortable temperature range for it is from 18 to 30 degrees.
Watering and humidity
In winter and summer, Benjamin ficus, like the native inhabitant of the tropics, loves moisture. Therefore, it is never superfluous to spray it, and sometimes you can wipe the leaves from dust, or arrange a warm shower by pre-wrapping the pot with a bag and tightly tying its ends around the base of the tree trunk.
Ficus is not picky about watering: during low light conditions it needs little moisture, while the ground remains wet, which is a signal - you should not water it! In summer, when it is light and warm, the roots drink water intensively and the soil dries quickly. In summer, you can water up to 2 times a week, and in winter 1 time in ten days.
Fertilizers and fertilizing Usually, with the first rays of the spring sun, the flower awakens to growth, at this time you can practice transplanting, pruning and start feeding. First once a month, then by May - once every three weeks. The frequency of fertilizer depends on the growth rate, which is most active in the summer! Therefore, in the summer season, you can fertilize ficus up to 1 time in two weeks.
Universal mineral mixtures for hardwood house crops are suitable for this. Also, the flower perceives organic fertilizing well - bird droppings, ash, sapropel.
Reproduction and transplantation
Ficus Benjamin does not need special care, all important procedures must be carried out in the spring, already at the end of March. Newly bought trees can be replanted after a month! But it is worth considering that the pot should not be too large so that the roots of the plant can quickly master the entire volume of new soil. So, the next pot should only be a couple of centimeters larger than the previous one. To the shape of the pot, as well as to the composition of the substrate, the flower is not whimsical!
In natural nature, Benjamins grow in a humid tropical jungle, in moisture-intensive nutrient soils. At home, the plant will develop well in a mixture of peat, garden soil and sand, where you can add humus and expanded clay (at the bottom of the pot). The soil must be nutritious, but not clogged, breathable! A ready-made substrate for decorative and deciduous crops is also suitable.
Tree and bush forms are easily propagated by cuttings that remain after pruning. In spring, stem cuttings will quickly give roots even in a glass with plain water! To speed up the process, you can drip into a glass of "Kornevin" - a root formation stimulant. But, before putting the stalk in water, you need to dry it slightly so that the milky juice, which contains the leaves and stems of the tree, ceases to stand out. With the advent of the first roots, it is possible to plant a stalk in constant soil.