Melanie's rubbery ficus - home care for a fast-growing handsome man

Are there any peculiarities in such a variety as Melanie's ficus, what should be the care at home for it? A friend gave me a flower, knowing my love for such plants. I already have a small ficus collection at home, but this has not happened yet. Where is it better to put it?

The main advantage of this ficus is foliage: large, as if not real, plastic, to the touch. In addition, it is painted in rich colors with an original red vein. This is a chic and unparalleled beauty ficus Melanie, which everyone can take care of at home. He will forgive small blunders for newcomers as long as conditions are comfortable. And what is most surprising - the ficus grows, unlike many other species, at an amazing pace. Every week a new leaf appears on it, and the bush becomes more luxuriant right before our eyes.

Features of the variety

It is very simple to distinguish Melanie's rubbery ficus, for example, from Bedjamin's ficus. It has larger leaves that grow directly on the stem. Although a young plant first forms a stem. It becomes covered with bark, air roots appear, and only then foliage begins to grow. In this case, the distance between the leaves is slightly more than 1 cm. And even when young leaves appear, the old, lower ones do not crumble. Due to this, the ficus quickly becomes dense, although it hardly branches.

For the aerial roots hanging from the stem of old plants, this ficus is called the snake tree.

The bush is compact and does not exceed 0.5 m in height. Melanie is grown for decorative purposes, since the ficus does not bloom. The decoration of the bush is its leaves of a very dense texture. The length of the leaf plate reaches 15 cm with a width of up to 8 cm. The upper part of the leaf is usually lighter in color, while a red longitudinal vein is clearly visible on the reverse side.

Ficus Melanie - home care

To maintain a rich color, he needs good lighting, and at least 14 hours. But you cannot put ficus on the south window. Burns appear on the leaves from direct rays, despite their dense texture. In addition to light, the plant also needs warmth. It is important not to allow the temperature in the house, especially in the cold season, to drop below 16 ° C. The flower has no special requirements for air humidity.

Melanie may need additional lighting in winter. With a lack of lighting, the ficus slows down its growth, new leaves do not appear for a long time, and those that exist begin to crumble.

With regard to soil, the flower has some requirements for acidity... It should be low. Young bushes need a lighter soil. Humus can be added to the substrate for adult specimens.

Melanie's ficus care consists of simple procedures:

• regular watering with slightly warm water, but only after the top layer of the earth has dried;
• wiping the leaves with a damp sponge to free them from dust and restore shine;
• top dressing in the spring-summer period twice a month, and in the winter - once.

As for the formation of the crown, this procedure is permissible for Melanie's ficus. However, with some nuances. The ficus itself is unlikely to branch. You can try to cut off the top of the shoot, but to form a lateral bud, the bush must be tilted.

We grow ficus Melanie