"Abidjan" is an African city in the state of Cote d'Ivoire.
This city owes its name to the beautiful indoor plant ficus "Abidjan".
Ficus "Abidjan" is one of the common varieties of ficus rubber (elastic).
Having such a handsome man at home is a pleasure.
Luxurious glossy leaves, unpretentious care, fast growth - it's just a dream of any grower.
general description
Ficus "Abidjan" - an evergreen plant, reaching a height of one and a half meters.
The leaves of this plant are large, oval with a pointed end, smooth, shiny, dense.
The length reaches 25 cm, width is about 17 cm.
The color of the foliage is dark green, the vein in the center from above is light green, the bottom is dark maroon. Stem vertical green.
Adult plant branches a little.
The homeland of the plant is tropical Asia. This explains the love of this plant for the sun, and the fear of drafts.
But, despite the southern origin, the ficus "Abidjan" perfectly adapted to our conditions and grows well in apartments.
Home care
Ficus "Abidjan" - a good plant for home care.
Place for the ficus "Abidjan" need to find a light, without hitting the direct sun.
When placing the pot in a dark place, plant growth slows down.
Keep this ficus is easy, but there are some tips for his care that must be followed.
After buying a ficus is not necessary to hurry with a transplant, the plant should get used to the conditions of detention.
It can be transplanted to a permanent pot after 2-3 weeks.
Attention: once in unfamiliar conditions, the ficus can begin to drop foliage. Do not worry about this - it is a reaction to a new place. After some time, the ficus will get used and will quickly grow.
Watering
Rubber plant rubber plants, the genus of which is the ficus "Abidjan", prefer moderate watering. But do not allow overdrying of the earth.
Watering is made of warm, settled water.
This tree loves spraying and rubbing leaves with a damp cloth. In the summer you can water once or twice a week, in winter, reduce watering by half.
Bloom
In room conditions the ficus almost never blooms. Very rarely an adult plant can give inflorescences.
The flowers are spherical, in diameter of about 1 cm.
Crown formation
At home, when receiving enough light ficus grows rapidly. The increment is up to 50 cm per year. Therefore, in order to prevent the plant from pulling out, its shoots should be pinched.
Main stem of a young tree pinch at a height of 20 cm.
Side stalks long 10 cm also subject to pruning.
This forms a beautiful ornamental shrub.
Soil and soil
This variety of ficus prefers a neutral, fertile soil. Young seedlings will grow and develop quickly in a soft, loose earth.
For an adult plant suitable mixture of turf land, peat land and clean river sand.
Planting and transplanting
Adult Ficus transplant required once in 2-3 years or if the pot has become too cramped. At the bottom of the pot should definitely pour a layer of drainage (pebbles, stones).
When transplanting it is important not to damage the root system. After planting in the new land ficus usually begins to grow rapidly.
Breeding
There are two ways of breeding the ficus "Abidjan" - this is cutting and reproduction by layering.
For reproduction by layering it is necessary to incise the trunk by one third, insert a thin piece of glass or a pinch of coarse sand into the incision so that the trunk does not grow together.
Then wrap with moss and polyethylene, and fix it all with the help of thread.
As soon as the roots begin to break through the moss, the stem is cut and planted in a new pot.
Cutting also gives good results. for growing young seedlings. To do this, cut the apical stem with a sharp knife.
The stalk can be rooted in water or landed immediately in the ground, previously covered with foil.
Temperature
This heat-loving tree prefers temperature from +18 + 24С.
In winter, the thermometer mark should be +16 + 18C.
Important: the appearance of drafts is absolutely unacceptable - the ficus can throw off foliage or become covered with dark spots.
A photo
In the photo ficus "Abidjan":
Benefit and harm
Ficus rubber not only cleans the air in the room, but also beneficial effect on energy at home.
Ficus helps to find peace, get rid of anxiety and anger, contributes to the correct resolution of problems.
Ficus juice has a healing effect, it is taken for uterine tumors and mastopathy.
Milky sap can cause dermatitis or an allergic reaction. Also, the ficus is not suitable for growing people with asthma.
Diseases and pests
The enemies of indoor ficus are:
- Shchitovka. Leaves wither, cover with brown spots and fall off.
To get rid of this pest, it is necessary to wipe the leaves with soapy water and spray the tree with an aktellika solution.
- Spider mite With low humidity and dry air, this pest settles on the leaves and stems.
- The leaves are taken out and fall off. To prevent infection with spider mites, the tree should be often sprayed, and the leaves should be treated with soapy water.
- Centipedes. From these nimble pests will save only transplant plants with complete disinfection of the earth and the pot.
To prevent re-infection of the new soil should be sterilized.
Rubber plant "Abidjan" - a beautiful tree that can grow almost everyone.
With proper care, the ficus will release one leaflet every week.
This is an unpretentious plant. can live up to 50 years delighting their owners with shiny glossy leaves and fast growth.
