In bright, warm living rooms, Ficus Benjamini makes no secret of the fact that you would prefer to be an imposing tree. Under ideal conditions, the evergreen houseplant reaches majestic proportions that make pruning inevitable. In this tutorial you can read when and how to cut a birch fig perfectly.

The Ficus benjamini can be brought into shape as the mood takes you

Table of Contents

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  1. Best time
  2. types of cuts
  3. topiary
  4. thinning cut
  5. taper cut
  6. frequently asked Questions

    7. The best time is in spring

    In principle, you can prune your Ficus Benjamini at any time of the year. The evergreen indoor tree is on good terms with scissors and saws. Even after extensive pruning, you can be confident that the plant will sprout again.

    Indoor gardener with a soft spot for the gentle cut, take into account the current growth phase of your birch fig. Here cutting measures come primarily in the Late winter or early spring under consideration. In the transition from winter rest and the beginning of the vegetation period, a Ficus Benjamini reacts to pruning with a bushy, strong sprout of shoots and leaves.

    Cut compatibility allows a variety of cut types

    It depends on your horticultural assessment what size of cut you prescribe for your Ficus Benjamini. The distinctive cut tolerance allows any common type of cut, from the removal of individual shoots to radical rejuvenation. The following overview summarizes typical occasions for pruning birch figs:

    cut type goal/occasion
    Shape and maintenance cut Regulate growth height and width
    thinning cut promote light-flooded growth with dense foliage
    taper cut rejuvenate old, oversized birch fig

    No reason for a pruning is the shedding of leaves. The cause of the frequent damage is an unsuitable location or care errors. If your Ficus Benjamini is forced to shed its beautiful leaves, pruning won't fix the problem. Please put all the conditions for cultivation to the test in order to identify and eliminate the trigger.

    Perfect shape - topiary instructions

    If a Ficus Benjamini develops into an aesthetic disruptive factor in the design of living and working spaces, a cut will bring the houseplant back into shape. A pair of bypass pruning shears is an excellent tool because it leaves clean cuts with two sharp blades. How to cut your birch fig correctly:

    • Place the plant at eye level so that it can be reached from all sides
    • Cut back branches that are too long
    • Select the intersection at a distance of 2-4 millimeters from a leaf base or eye

    To ensure that a cut does not leave a gap in the foliage, at least one leaf or bud should remain on the shortened shoot. From this growing point, growth continues. Please do not cut into a bud and do not leave a stub longer than 5 millimeters. In both cases it is questionable whether the plant will sprout at this point.

    In this video, the Augsburg Garden Center briefly and concisely explains how to cut a birch fig correctly:

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    digression

    Protect skin, clothing and floor from sticky latex

    Ficus Benjamini is characterized by a sticky plant sap, which experts call latex. Aside from a viscous, sticky texture, the milky secretion contains numerous allergens. It is urgently recommended to take adequate protective measures for all cutting work. Wear gloves and long-sleeved clothing. Spread out old blankets, discarded curtains or plastic sheeting on the floor to protect against dripping latex juice. Ideally, move the cutting area outside onto the lawn or bare earth. You stop the flow of juice in time with small cotton balls or paper handkerchiefs, which you immediately press on bleeding cuts.

    Thin out for a dense dress of leaves

    If a Ficus Benjamini can develop freely in height and width, it should still be pruned every 2 to 3 years. At least from the age of 5 years there is a risk of deadwood mingling with the dense branches. As a result, buds are shaded so they don't sprout. Baldness is spreading from the inside out, disfiguring a previously magnificent birch fig. This is how a thinning cut ensures a dense foliage:

    • Set up birch figs so that they are easily visible and accessible
    • Prepare a folding saw (€17.70) and bypass pruning shears
    • Thin out dead branches
    • Cut off shoots up to 3 cm in diameter
    • Saw off shoots that are more than 3 cm thick

    The professional cut pays attention to the knots when thinning out. On older, large birch figs you can see a bulging thickening in the transition from branch to trunk. Cut or saw off the deadwood a short distance from the knot ring. If there is no astring, start the cut just before the trunk bark.

    tips

    Variegated Ficus Benjamini are very popular for creative living space design. Sometimes single-colored green shoots protrude from the variegated foliage. These are cheeky wild instincts that want to assert themselves. Cut out the wildlings as soon as possible because they are more vigorous and can crowd out branches with variegated leaves.

    Rejuvenate old birch figs

    Without an occasional pruning, a Ficus Benjamini will grow old and wilt within a few years. If the gardener hesitates when pruning, the exotic indoor tree bursts the spatial capacities and hits the ceiling. With a radical rejuvenation cut pave the way for the floral new beginning. How to proceed professionally:

    • Put on gloves to protect against the poisonous milky juice
    • Clean and disinfect the scissor blades and saw blade of the folding saw
    • Start by thinning out all leafless, dead branches on the Astring
    • Cut back the remaining branches and trunks by hand or up to 30 centimeters

    Please note that a leafless shoot does not necessarily count as deadwood. Before pruning a branch at the base, check with vitality test the prospects of a resurgence. With the tip of a knife, scrape off the bark a little to examine the tissue. A dry, brown color indicates that it is deadwood. If fresh green tissue emerges, cut back the shoot a hand's width or up to 30 centimeters to revitalize its sleeping eyes.

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    Powerful pruning wakes up dormant buds

    Pruning old, oversized Ficus Benjamini poses serious concerns for those new to pruning. It is thanks to dormant buds that the birch fig sprout freshly and vigorously after a rejuvenation pruning. This also applies when you cut into old wood. In the course of growth, many woody plant species prudently lay dormant buds. These vegetation points have the sole purpose of life to replace lost shoots, branches or trunks. In gardeners' parlance, the floral reserve is known as the sleeping eyes because they are nearly invisible buds that lie beneath the bark, awaiting their wake-up call.

    frequently asked Questions

    Is Ficus Benjamini Poisonous?

    Experts classify Ficus Benjamini as slightly poisonous. The evergreen houseplant poses a health risk, especially for children and pets. The milky plant sap contains various toxins that can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and circulatory problems when consumed. Cats and small rodents can die of respiratory paralysis after ingesting small amounts of leaves. People who are allergic to latex and sensitive adults should avoid direct skin contact with the milky sap of a birch fig, as it can cause allergic reactions such as itching, reddening of the skin and eczema.

    My birch fig is covered with sticky leaves. What to do?

    Sticky leaves on Ficus benjamini are more than just a blemish. The most common cause of the problem is an infestation with pests such as aphids, which excrete viscous honeydew as a waste product. Once you have spotted the tiny pests on the leaves, wipe away the plaque with lukewarm, soft water. Then shower your birch fig upside down. In the last step of the treatment, spray the top and bottom of the leaves with a mixture of one liter of boiled, lukewarm water in which you have dissolved one or two tablespoons of pure soft soap or curd soap. A splash of spirit optimizes the effectiveness. If you don't find any pests as the cause, the sap that has flowed out will stick to the leaves after you cut them back. Clean the foliage with a soft cloth and lime-free water.

    I prefer to spend spring and summer on the balcony. Can I take my birch fig outside?

    Staying on the light-flooded, warm balcony promotes the beauty of a birch fig. Since the exotic ornamental leaf plant does not tolerate frost, it should only be moved outside when the day and night temperatures are above 15 degrees Celsius. To protect the glossy green leaves from sunburn, please choose a sunny to partially shaded location in a wind-protected location.

    The 3 most common cutting mistakes

    The good-natured pruning tolerance of Ficus Benjamini reaches its limits if important premises are not observed. The following overview draws attention to the three most common cutting errors and gives practical tips for prevention:

    cutting error damage picture prevention
    never cleared progressive baldness from within From the 5th year, thin out dead wood every 2-3 years
    cut after leaf drop no budding, danger of total loss do not cut when leaves fall, instead optimize care
    Wild shoots not cut out variegated foliage is overgrown with green in variegated varieties, thin out green shoots promptly

    tips

    Even without previous pruning measures, the birch fig benefits from a lukewarm shower. Cover the pot with root ball in a plastic bag. Place the plant in your bathtub or shower tray. Now shower off the foliage with a gentle jet of water. Twice a year you should clean the indoor tree of dust and sticky plant sap in this way.

Category:

Indoor plants