Houseplant connoisseurs know that Benjamin's ficus is one of the most common types of ficus that can be grown indoors. In a small apartment on the windowsill, it will look like a small evergreen tree, and in a spacious office space, the ficus can turn into a huge two-meter shrub with a dense crown. The various varieties differ in their specific requirements for growing and keeping. For example, the Natasha variety is considered the most unpretentious, but the Baroque variety, on the contrary, is very capricious and demanding.
All types of Benjamin ficus have a period when, for no reason, the plant sheds foliage. This behavior of an indoor flower is very worrisome for flower growers, but you just need to understand its main motives. The fall of the leaf part occurs for natural reasons or due to a violation of the rules of care. To prevent this trouble from affecting your pets, you need to know the most basic and frequent causes and take appropriate measures in a timely manner.
The main reasons why Benjamin's ficus leaves fall
Insufficient lighting level
This type of ficus should receive bright diffused lighting every day from 10 to 12 hours a day throughout the year. With a shorter daylight hours, the leaves of the plant begin to fade, which eventually fall off. It is very important to maintain the required level of lighting in the autumn-winter period. Fluorescent lamps can help with this, which are recommended to be placed on two different sides of the ficus (about 50 cm). Such artificial lighting will save the day and make up for the lack of natural light.
Shedding foliage can also occur with excess lighting and sunburn. It is necessary to protect the plant from direct sunlight and excessive overheating.
Temperature regime
Foliage shedding most often occurs in the autumn-winter period, when the room is heated with central heating batteries or other (for example, electric) heating devices, since the ficus needs a moderately warm temperature regime. In the summer, the temperature in the room should not exceed 18-23 degrees Celsius, and in the cold autumn and winter months, it should not drop below 16 degrees. If the readings on the thermometer fall below or rise above this norm, then the houseplant will react by dropping the leaf mass.
The presence of drafts
Hot air streams from heating systems or cold air from an open window or window will have a detrimental effect on the plant. It is necessary to ventilate the room with indoor flowers, but very carefully. Drafts and sudden changes in room temperature are one of the common causes of Benjamin's ficus foliage shedding.
Watering violations
"Baldness" of ficus occurs due to excessive (in the cold season) and insufficient (in the warm season) irrigation and cold and hard irrigation water. It is recommended to select individual volumes of water for irrigation, taking into account the age of the plant and the size of the flower container. The next watering should be carried out only after the topsoil dries up to 2-3 cm in depth. When using tap water, give it time to warm up to room temperature and settle. It is desirable that the water is filtered or purified.
Change of location
Ficus is a very sensitive plant. It reacts to any movement of it not only over long distances (for example, when buying in a store or when received as a gift from relatives or friends), but even to rearrange it to another place in the room. Such stress for the plant ends with leaf fall.
When choosing a place for a purchased indoor flower, it is important to take into account its natural conditions of detention and, if possible, create them as close as possible in a home environment.
To increase the resistance of ficus to stress when transferring from one house to another, it is recommended to create resort conditions - this is the use of phytolamps to increase the level of illumination, a steam generator or a pallet with wet expanded clay, as well as covering the plant with wet moss to maintain high humidity and wrap it up to protect against temperature extremes ...
Lack of fertilizers and nutritional supplements
If old leaves fall on a ficus, and young ones grow very small, then it's all about a lack of nutrition. Most likely, the depleted soil does not provide the necessary nutrients to the plant. In such cases, you need to use special complex fertilizing, which are recommended for all types of ficus.
Fertilizers should be applied periodically at intervals of 2 weeks during the active growing season of the plant. Once a year, young ficuses must be transplanted into a new soil nutrient mixture, and adult specimens of large varieties are not transplanted, but simply replaced the topsoil.
Diseases and pests
Spider mites, scale insects and mealybugs are another reason for the loss of leaves by ficus. At the initial stage of their appearance, the plant can be treated with warm water at a temperature of 45 degrees. At a later date, such a shower will not be enough, a special insecticidal preparation (for example, "Fitoverm" or "Actellik") will work more effectively. The solution should not fall on the surface of the soil, it must be covered with plastic wrap.
Natural causes of leaf fall
When the ficus grows and forms its trunk, then its old leaves at the bottom of the plant fall off. This natural process should not bother gardeners, as it poses no threat to the further development of the ficus.
After eliminating the cause of the shedding of the leaves, the plant does not look so attractive anymore. Formative pruning will help to grow new shoots and acquire fresh foliage.
