Rubber ficus how to pin it properly. Care for rubbery ficus: what you need to form a beautiful crown

Rubber ficus has long been successfully grown by lovers in indoor conditions, but many questions usually arise regarding the formation of the crown of a room tree. The formation of ficus has its own subtleties and nuances, which should be remembered when proceeding with pruning. This article is all about how to trim ficus.

A randomly overgrown plant needs to be trimmed.

Indoor tree pruning is performed in case of accidental damage to the trunk and crown (for example, when a plant falls) or when the height and shape of the crown are formed. Is it worth trimming wood at room conditions? Of course, because in nature, rubber-bearing ficuses can reach a height of up to 40 meters and above. In indoor conditions, a fast-growing specimen of ficus can rest against the ceiling, which will interfere with the further formation of the crown. In the early years, a large tree grows only upward, so pruning can stimulate the development of side branches. But pruning is not always needed to form a ficus crown.

Crown shape without trimming

The upper shoots are cut off until the crown takes a rounded shape.

Unusual shape: it's interesting

Young ficuses can be formed into an extraordinary plant. For this, several cuttings of the same age are planted in one container, which can be easily braided into a braid. Of course, cuttings from old branches are not suitable for this purpose, because the branches must have some flexibility so as not to break when weaving.

Large leaves are removed from the trunks below - trunks that can easily grow together can give a special charm to a plant. When weaving, you can give the pigtail a certain shape - spectacular holes between the trunks, for which pieces of polystyrene, cork, stones or other materials are temporarily inserted into the braid. After the shape of the holes is fixed, you can remove these inserts.

Ficuses braided in a braid spend a lot of effort on creating the shape of the trunk, therefore they give very small growths in height. If you limit the growth of the roots by planting the plant in a low bowl, you can permanently maintain the conceived form of ficus.

Cropping

Sharp scissors can cut off the top of the main trunk.

If you choose the classic version of shaping the crown of a rubber-bearing ficus - pruning, it is important to correctly perform all the techniques of forming a room tree.

Trimming deadlines vary:

  • Forming pruning can only be performed during the period of active tree growth, i.e. in autumn and winter this operation is not performed.
  • Sanitary pruning is carried out as necessary, when damage to the trunk or branches has occurred on the plant.

To perform high-quality trimming, you need to prepare the following tools:

  • The secateurs are garden.
  • Garden shears (large).
  • Small scissors with sharp blades.
  • Alcohol solution for processing tools.
  • Var garden for processing places cut.

How to cut ficus yourself, what should you pay close attention to?

  • You can’t start work without means of protecting your hands from milky ficus juice, which is very toxic.
  • It is not recommended at one time to cardinally cut the plant, removing more than 30% of the crown.

The flower grower, at its discretion, chooses the shape of the crown, guided by common sense, based on the individual characteristics of the plant.

New shoots of ficus develop from the apical or axillary buds, while the upper kidney develops, the lateral ones sleep. To stimulate the branching of the ficus crown, it is necessary to give impetus to the development of axillary kidneys, which is achieved by pinching the main trunk. You can remove the dominant kidney in the spring, when the ficus enters a period of intensive growth.

Thin green branches can be cut off, leaving a straight platform, old branches covered with mature bark are cut at an angle of 45 degrees.

Trimming of the upper shoot is carried out above the kidney, from which new shoots will subsequently develop.

Care of the plant during the formation of the crown is reduced to irrigation with warm, settled water, a month after the operation it is worth carrying out the first top dressing of the plant.

Photos of correctly cut ficus are very encouraging - the plant begins to build up a thick crown and an extensive network of skeletal branches. In nature, rubbery ficuses begin to naturally branch at a height of 4 meters.

After pruning, the plant is constantly turned to a light source so that the crown can evenly form.

It is possible to form an indoor ficus without pruning, for this you need to correctly direct the growth of young shoots, if necessary, fixing individual branches. Such an operation will avoid injuries in a young plant, and will also reduce the risk of infected infections in the area of \u200b\u200bthe slice.

It is best tolerated by the imposition of fixing devices on young trees whose branches have not yet fully lignified. Typically, this method is used for young indoor trees growing in one trunk.

It is worth starting the formation of the crown when the growth of a young tree reaches 0.7 m. After this, the apical part of the shoot is pinched or cut. Very often, pinching does not give the desired effect - a substitution shoot begins to develop from the lateral bud, as a result of which the plant grows in one trunk (see photo).

Often use the method of bending apical shoot, which is securely fixed. A replacement shoot develops from the lateral kidney, as soon as it grows to 5 cm, the trunk is returned to its original state. The next operation is performed to stimulate the growth of the lateral branches, for which a puncture needle is used to make a puncture to a depth of 1/3 of the trunk diameter. It is best to start from above, gradually descending down the trunk, after the shoot regrowth at the site of the first puncture. The protruding juice is carefully removed with wet cotton wool or a rag. Work on trimming ficus should be done with rubber gloves - the juice of the plant is extremely toxic.

Most species of ficuses are very hardy and unpretentious plants. But so that they harmoniously develop and delight the owners with a beautiful crown, experts recommend including regular trimmings in the care of ficus. Let's look at how to form a beautiful ficus and how to do the cropping correctly.

Beginning amateurs are often interested in whether it is possible to trim the overgrown ficus and whether deleting part of the branches will harm it. In fact, in order for ficus to grow lush and healthy at home, periodic pruning is not only possible, but also necessary.

Firstly, it is necessary for sanitary reasons: if broken or dry branches are not cut, they can cause the entire houseplant. Secondly, proper pruning helps rejuvenate ficus at home. Finally, the formation of the crown will make it more expressive. Especially not to do without pruning, if you want to grow.

Trimming time and tools

The time for cutting branches is selected depending on the purpose. If the task is the formation of ficus and the desire to make it fluffy, you need to choose the period of active development of the plant in spring and summer. For indoor ficuses, this is most often March-July. The formation of the crown during the dormant period can make the plant warped, since shoots in the autumn grow only at the place where you pruned. In addition, the branches that grow in the autumn pull the juices “stored” for the winter from the plant and can weaken it.

Healthy sprouts cannot be cut off to form a crown if there has been a transplant recently.  But sanitary pruning of damaged branches should be dealt with immediately, without waiting for special time, and it should become an indispensable part of care.

To cut a green pet, you will need large and small garden scissors and a pruner or knife (for different thicknesses of branches of home ficus). Do not forget about disinfectants, since it is impossible to cut ficus properly without them: before you cut branches, you need to process the tools with alcohol, and a garden var is suitable for processing places of cut.

When cutting a plant, you need to use sharpened tools: if the cut is uneven and “soaked”, bacteria can enter through it.

Sanitary pruning

To ensure that the flower is correct at home, you need to periodically inspect it - so you will immediately find damaged branches or begin to dry out. True, some deciduous varieties of ficus bare branches only in the fall, only at this time allowing you to notice diseased areas. In any case, under the conditions of proper pruning, you need to get rid of them immediately, otherwise they can spread the disease to the whole plant.

In addition, I cut the old and weakened branches, as they become “easy prey” for pests and infections. It is necessary to shorten such a branch, completely capturing the damaged area. If a diseased shoot grows out of the ground, circumcision must be done at soil level.

Sooner or later, all ficuses begin to need such care.

Anti-aging pruning

Consider how to trim ficus with a rejuvenating purpose. More often, it is necessary to resort to such circumcision if the flower or the top of the ficus is damaged due to the cold in the house or for other reasons it starts to dry out.

You can make the ficus again begin to give a lot of new growth by cutting off all branches and leaving only a bare stump. Such pruning of ficus will give impetus to the emergence of new sprouts coming from the roots. Dwarf home ficuses respond well to it.

Ficus with long shoots, on which the foliage begins to dry out due to too dry air or heat, cut the branches almost completely, leaving no more (but no less) 2 buds on each. After this, a lot of cuttings grow, allowing both to grow a new "pet", if you use a cut branch, and form a lush beautiful crown of the old.

Finally, we learn how to form a beautiful crown at the ficus.

Crown formation is a creative occupation. Before you form a plant, you need to think about the shape of the top and how the plant should be tall. The correct formation on ficuses is not done too often, so you need to take into account all the details so as not to be mistaken. We will understand the rules.

To make the plant’s shape beautiful, a cut is made strictly over the place where the future apical bud is located: a new shoot on the ficus grows from it, and if you leave the “bare” part of the stem, this will give the plant an unpleasantly plucked look.

When pruning, you must take into account the rule that on thick old branches, the cut should be beveled at an angle of 45 degrees, and on thin branches - straight.

If there are too many internal shoots of ficus, they can be thinned out so that it is magnificent. To do this, when cutting, pay attention to the location of the upper kidney: it should be directed outward. Horizontally or vertically - it depends on whether you want to achieve the growth of the crown in width or its height.

To make the plant especially beautiful, choose one of the classic forms - longline, in the form of a geometric figure, etc. Forming the top of a beautiful ficus, you can "spy" the techniques and forms of bonsai and copy them without even making the plant small, since these pets "are very malleable. A tree with an originally formed trunk fits perfectly into a room or office interior.
  To get beautiful young plants, you can use the formation of the stem. How to form a standard? This is done by cutting all the shoots, except for five at the top. Estimate in advance what height should be. When the ficus has grown to the desired size, the top bud from the top of the head, and then you need to cut and shorten the side shoots - this is how we form a neat circle. A tier can be not only one top; specialists can form up to three "floors". So you can only work with young ficuses.

If you decide to transplant and grow several plants together in advance, you can trim them so that the crown seems to be one. This is especially important in cases where they form a composition with beautifully interwoven trunks. When on a houseplant, all side shoots are also removed.

To make the crown especially lush, in the form of a bush, you can trim the top of an adult plant and then use the tweezers, which consists in periodically cutting the shoots from above, which activates the side buds. Proper tweezing is carried out subject to the deadlines, that is, in the spring or during the summer.

A trimmed plant needs special care, often additional watering and. Immediately after you cut the branches, the plant can not be transplanted, it must move away from "stress".

When home bonsai is grown and the stalk is transplanted into a small container, the roots of the plant are also subject to formation: with the right approach, too long must be removed, like most of the tops.

If you made the correct cut of the branches in compliance with all conditions, the crown of the plant will be magnificent and your pets will be admired by both home and guests.

Video "Correct trimming of ficus"

From this video you will learn how to trim ficus properly at home.

Rubber-bearing ficus is prominent in an apartment, office or public institution. Rubber-bearing or elastic, and also rubber, it is called because its juice flowing from the wounds hardens and resembles a substance such as rubber or latex in this form.

In India, in the homeland of this tree, it grows to enormous size, covering up to 250-300 square meters with the shadow of its crown. Breeders brought out on the basis of this tree a small and convenient tree for placing. And to make it look compact and exotic, a system for trimming its crown has been developed.

Having come closer to this of the representatives of the mulberry family, each lover of indoor plants will undertake the cultivation of ficus.

Similar to this tree are:

  • Fig or fig, fig tree;
  • Mulberry or mulberry, mulberry;
  • Breadfruit;
  • Cow tree, reminiscent of the taste of milk;
  • Paper tree from which the highest quality paper is produced;
  • Anchar or upas is a poisonous representative of the mulberry family, the hero of the poem by A.S. Pushkin.

Few home growers call ficus rubbery - just ficus. Indoors, the height of the plant is regulated by pruning, and depending on the tastes of the owners, it can be from 1 to 2 meters, although the tree reaches the height of a 10-story building in its homeland. A young tree in the jungle grows very quickly and forms aerial roots.

In India, and in our country, ficus is considered a tree of prosperity and prosperity. Ficus, according to home growers, perfectly cleans the air in the room from germs and bacteria.

The leaves of a young plant are pinkish in color, with age acquire a dense green color, petiolate, arranged alternately on the stem. Their size is up to 35 cm in length and up to 25 in width. Indoor ficus does not bloom.

Ficus pruning

When grown indoors, the plant requires crown forming pruning. If you cut only the top of the tree, there will be no effect. The ficus does not branch, and the cropped upper kidney will grow in one direction. The plant will be one-sided and will not decorate the room.

Pruning time

Rubber-bearing ficus is trimmed to form a beautiful crown in early March, at which time a rapid vegetation of the tree begins.

A correctly performed pruning operation in early spring will awaken the axillary buds, which in turn will give rise to lateral branches.

If, for some reason, it was not possible to prune the plant in early spring, this event is performed only when there is an urgent need, if the ficus quickly began to grow.

During winter or late fall pruning, one single upper bud will be awakened, which will give the ficus a one-sided shape, and the decorativeness of the plant will suffer significantly from this.

Crown Care Rules

  • For competent spring trimming, the tool must be sharpened and sharpened;
  • From the top of the plant is separated from 3 to 5 leaves, approximately 20 cm;
  • A thin stalk needs to be cut parallel to the soil in a pot, above the upper bud. If the stem is thick, the cut is done at an angle of 40-45 degrees;
  • Cutting the side shoots, they need to be cut without hemp, as rot and mold may appear on it;
  • Juice on the cut is cleaned with a clean cloth, and the cut itself is treated with antiseptic and antifungal drugs, for example, trichodermin;
  • When the side buds begin to grow, it is better to transplant rubber-shaped ficus into another, more voluminous dish. The transplant is performed one month after circumcision.

Important! The rubbery ficus juice is poisonous, pruning and other work with the plant is carried out using protective equipment (rubber gloves, goggles).

Features of growing ficus

Undoubtedly, the plant is grown indoors because of its decorativeness, that is, a beautiful crown. And in order for this part of the ficus to really please the eye, one must not forget about such things:

  • Indoors, plant heights of more than 2 meters are not allowed, and ficus is not happy with lateral shoots. A flower can develop rapidly if it is provided with growth of 30-40 centimeters per year;
  • The exterior of the plant consists mainly of its glossy large leaves, which may have a uniform dark green color or a mottled white-green pattern;
  • Indoors, the ficus is unlikely to bloom, it needs pollination with exotic insects.

Lighting

Since the birthplace of the plant is India, the country is warm and humid, ficus loves diffused light and high humidity. Pots with plants are preferably located near their eastern western windows. If the flower is placed in partial shade, its growth will be rather slow, and at the same time leaves will fall in the lower part of the stem.

Attention! When placing ficus indoors, you do not need to place it on a draft.

Temperature

The optimal indicators of the temperature regime are:

  • During active vegetation - 20-25 0 C;
  • In winter, ficus is quite enough 15 0 C, but not lower.

The soil

Rubber-bearing ficus is very fond of well-loosened soil with proper drainage. Prepare the soil from peat, turf, sand, sheet land.

But you can buy a substrate in a flower shop, called "soil for palm trees."

Watering and fertilizer

You need to water the ficus as the soil dries in the pot. The frequency of the procedure is determined by the temperature of the air and its humidity in the room. Excess moisture in the soil causes the discharge of leaves. And with insufficient air humidity, it is necessary to systematically spray or wipe the leaves with a damp cloth.

For water procedures with ficus, it is better to use rain or snow water. They feed the plant with complex fertilizer with a high nitrogen content.

How a thick crown of ficus is formed.

When the owners of the plant want to achieve an extensive, dense crown, do the following:

  • The main stalk of the ficus is bent and pinched until the upper bud sprouts;
  • The main stem is pierced with a needle to a third of its diameter, piercing lower each time.

Diseases and pests of ficus

The plant is resistant to the visit of harmful insects, but the spider mite and scutellum can become big on beautiful leaves.

You can kill them with insecticides or a solution of laundry soap.

Ficus pathogenic diseases practically do not touch.

Breeding

It’s easy to grow young ficus. The cuttings obtained by trimming are germinated and planted in prepared containers. This procedure is familiar to every home grower.

If the plant began to grow weakly, the leaves turn yellow and fall, the host is to blame, the ficus in this case is not enough:

  • Lighting;
  • Fertilizers (top dressing);
  • Potted space for root development.

The crown of most varieties of ficus without pruning will grow in a chaotic manner, reaching sizes that are not suitable for the room. Timely removal of lateral and apical shoots allows you to give the plant a decorative effect, reduce its length and width, make it more compact.

Pruning and formation of rubbery ficus is performed depending on the age of the plant annually or once every 3 years. In addition to forming pruning, you can use the feature of plant shoots to create unique compositions - flexible stems and air layers are tied with a pigtail, a plait, weave and direct growth in the opposite direction.

Is it possible to trim rubber ficus

Trimming ficus rubbery is needed not only to give the tree a decorative effect, but also to improve the plant. It is necessary to remove extra shoots regularly so that it is healthy, lush, leaves and stems have enough space for growth, all the aboveground parts of the bush received enough light and humidity from the air.

Branch removal is also carried out for sanitary purposes - patients who are damaged by rot, dry, broken branches draw nutrients, taking them from healthy parts, and can also reduce immunity and cause diseases.

With the help of forming pruning, the ficus can be made to branch or grow compactly. The grower himself determines what crown diameter is suitable for growing indoors with different sizes.

How to form a crown of rubbery ficus

Trim the ficus in accordance with the following rules:

  1. The formation of the crown is carried out in the phase of active development from the beginning of spring to the end of summer. If shoots are removed in winter, the plant will be deformed next season.
  2. If the ficus has recently undergone a transplant, you can’t touch healthy sprouts when creating a crown. Sanitary pruning can be done at any time.
  3. It will be bad if you cut the apical shoot far from the second kidney on top. In this case, the bare remaining part of the trunk dies. If you take away the apical shoot together with the kidneys late, the ficus will not bloom. It is optimal to remove the apical shoot at the second kidney from above, without leaving “empty” parts of the trunk.
  4. Be sure to use sharp tools. If the cut is uneven, pathogenic bacteria can enter the tissue. You can take a pruner, clippers or a sharp knife. Before cutting, it is advisable to treat all blades with alcohol or other disinfectants.
  5. Places of cut on the handle also need processing, a garden var is suitable for this.

You can create a crown in the following way:

  1. Consider what shape you want to give the whole plant, and also indicate the approximate height and width. Young plants can be cut annually, and if the ficus has already reached 3-4 years old, carry out the procedure no more than once every 3 years.
  2. Do the cut exactly above where the apical kidney will be. A fresh shoot grows from it, and if part of the cuttings is exposed, the crown will not have a rounded appearance, since the exposed trunk is gradually dying.
  3. Make the cut beveled at an angle of at least 45 degrees on old thick branches, on thin shoots - at an angle of 90 degrees.
  4. The crown can not only be trimmed, but also thinned out. During the procedure, pay attention to the localization of the upper kidney. Make sure it is facing out. If you leave the kidney horizontal, the branches will grow wide, vertically - in height.
  5. The classic form for trimming the crown is tiered. The ficus will be in the form of a ball or oval. To do this, the top and bottom of the crown are cut equally, leave the central branches longer. The lowest branches and apical shoot are pruned under the root.
  6. Ficuses grow in the form of a stem. To form such a crown, cut off all the shoots, except five, located in the upper part of the trunk. When the plant reaches the desired height, pinch the top bud from the top of the head, then shorten the side trunks as they grow, forming a ball.

When growing a bonsai tree, you need to form not only the crown, but also the root system. Too long roots are removed during the annual transplant, the tops and side shoots are cut so that the height of the plant does not exceed 50-70 cm.

How to pinch ficus

In order to pinch the plant, you will need a pruner or knife, a disinfectant solution (peroxide, alcohol), a soft cloth and a container of water.

Then follow the instructions:

  1. Perform the procedure best in mid-spring. It is during this period that many new shoots are formed, and the wounds on the trunk that appear when pruned quickly heal.
  2. Once the plant has reached the height you need, you can perform pinching. Disinfect a knife or other tool or ignite it over a fire.
  3. If the upper shoot of the tree is thin, you can cut it below the kidney by making a straight cut.
  4. If the length is longer than you need, determine the desired height, then find a sheet below this point. Cut the shoot 5 cm above such a leaf by making an oblique cut. The lower cut level will be at the kidney level on the opposite side. Upper - directly above the kidney.
  5. Then moisten a soft cloth and remove the milky juice that appeared along the cut.
  6. After a month, fertilize the plant. Before this period, feeding is not recommended, since the plant's immunity drops after transplantation, it can be stressed.

Pinching will allow the plant to give new side shoots and stop the growth at the desired height. Without this, after 4-5 years the tree will hit the ceiling.

Create fancy shapes

The formation of the crown of rubber ficus can be performed not only in the form of an oval or ball. There are other ways to trim, as a result of which you can get trees of unique shapes for the design of the premises.

Stamp tree

The formation of rubber ficus at home in the form of a stem:

  1. The stamp form can only be created from unformed ficus without lumbering on the trunks.
  2. Side shoots must be removed regularly until 5 top branches remain.
  3. When the tree reaches the desired height, pinch the apical shoot, remembering to remove the lateral processes.
  4. As long as the stems remain flexible and without bark, it is necessary to organize a backup. Hold the trunk upright throughout the growing period.

The stamp can be tiered. For this formation of the crown, divide it into 4-5 parts. From the odd-numbered ones, make the crown tiers, and from the even-numbered ones - the intervals between the tiers, for which the shoots are cut off 5-7 cm shorter than the rest.

Fence

A hedge of a rubbery variety of ficus can be made as follows:

  • pick a minimum of 5-7 seedlings and a long low capacity for planting;
  • place all the seedlings in a pan in one row or in a circle, the distance between the shoots should be at least 10 cm;
  • the fence is formed from a crown - cut at the same height.

It is important to correctly cut the ficus for the growth of the "fence". During the procedure, remove the shoots in the same parts of the trunk so that the crowns of the ficus are equally thick and there are no holes in the “fence”.

Spiral

To form a bonsai in the form of a spiral, it is not the crown that is cut, but the root aerial part and trunks:

  • after planting the handle, install the support - a wooden stick - in the center of the pot next to the stem;
  • as you grow, braid a flexible stem around the support;
  • cut side branches;
  • when a good tree stiffness appears, carefully remove the support.

You can create a spiral from one or more shoots. If you plant 2-4 seedlings at once, during braiding, the supports must be placed parallel to each other so that there is no pinching of the trunks of one of the trees.

Scythe

You can give the ficus the shape of a pigtail as follows:

  • pick seedlings up to 10 cm long (of the same height);
  • the thickness of one should not exceed one and a half centimeters;
  • plant the sprouts next to the pot so that later you can braid the stems in a braid;
  • all small branches on the sides are removed, apical cuttings remain;
  • before starting weaving, moisten the soil so that the stems become flexible;
  • periodically braid the braid from the stems, tie its end with wire so that the stems do not begin to grow in the other direction;
  • it is necessary to adjust the strength of weaving - weakly twisted stems will create gaps in the pigtail, and too tight weaving can damage the entire plant;
  • so that the holes in the pigtails are the same, you can put between them equal in diameter pencils or sticks.

So that the shoots grow together in one large trunk and the pigtail does not have gaps, you can remove the bark in small parts at the joints of the stems in small parts. After about 6-8 months, the composition of the post will grow together in one thick trunk.

Plant care after pruning

After trimming, the ficus can be transplanted, but the procedure can be performed no earlier than 2 weeks later. An adult plant does not need to be transplanted at all, it will be enough to change the top layer of soil to a new nutrient substrate. If the flower procedure was successfully transferred, after 2 weeks, you can start top dressing.

Trimming can be done no earlier than from the beginning of March until the end of summer. At rest, the plant is not pruned. Follow the growth of new branches, as well as the height of the ficus, conducting timely pinching so that it always has a magnificent uniform crown.

You will need

  • - a sharp knife or secateurs;
  • - alcohol, peroxide and any other disinfectant solution;
  • soft cloth;
  • -tazik with water.

Instruction manual

The best time to pinch ficus is spring. It is in the spring that new shoots are formed most quickly. Wounds that are unavoidable with such procedures heal quite easily in the spring. This reduces the risk of plant disease. Therefore, before the end of February or the beginning of March, the plant should not be touched.

Wait until the ficus reaches its optimum height. Disinfect the knife. It can be wiped with alcohol or doused with hydrogen peroxide. The knife should be very sharp, as the ficus trunk is pretty hard to cut. You can ignite the knife over the fire for several minutes. There are two ways to pinch. If you are satisfied with the current height of the ficus and at the same time its upper shoot is thin enough, cut it just below the growth point. In this case, you can make a direct cut.

Too big ficus must be cut differently. Determine the desired height and find a leaf or branch that is below this point. Trim the ficus 5-8 cm above this leaf. The slice in this case should be oblique. Its bottom is at the level of the kidney, on the opposite side of the trunk. The top of the cut should be located directly above the kidney.

Dampen the milky juice from the trunk with a soft cloth dampened in water. The cloth cannot be wrung out, it needs to be thrown away. Water itself will stop the further secretion of juice. The ficus does not require any more treatment of wounds, they will be perfectly healed themselves.

Wait a month and feed the ficus. After feeding, it should begin to grow rapidly. You can transplant it into a pot of a larger diameter (so that the old pot freely enters the new one). But this can not be done, it is enough in the first year to change part of the soil. After the first successful operation, the formation of the ficus crown can be continued. To do this, next spring, pinch the side shoots in the same way.

note

Ficus juice is poisonous. Pinching and pruning this plant is better with gloves. Try to prevent milky juice from getting on the mucous membranes of the nose and mouth.

Keep in mind that after trimming and pinching, the trunk of the ficus does not grow.

Helpful advice

When starting to form a crown, keep in mind that not all ficuses tolerate this well. Wounds usually heal quickly, but lateral shoots do not appear easily in all plants. Therefore, observe the ficus before pinching the next shoots. If it is your ficus that does not particularly want to branch, you can make a magnificent crown in another way. Just plant several cuttings in one pot.