Ficus Care – A Plant That Doesn’t Like Change
Ficus care revolves around a tree that doesn’t much like change and is finicky in some other ways as well. Ficus tree owners can relate to Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree, the sad little specimen that drops a bunch of its few remaining needles every time it is picked up, set down, or on occasion, simply looked at.
The Ficus tree is something like that, though it has a definite purpose in mind. Part of Ficus care is routinely picking up shed leaves if we’re talking about a house plant, or raking up the leaves periodically if it’s the outdoor variety. Much of this leaf collecting has to do with the way the tree is watered. The Ficus is somewhat finicky about its water supply. If it is getting too much water, the leaves will start turning from green to yellow and begin to drop off. If you forget to water it on schedule, the Ficus brain, where ever that is, tells the tree that the dry season is approaching. Knowing that it cannot nourish all of its leaves during a dry period, it beings to shed them – while they are still green!