Hello everyone!
First off, the purpose of this thread is to catalog my experience with a new plants step by step, and how different things affect it. Hopefully with the information all organized, it will better help me to learn from it, learn form others, and in the likely event of me screwing something up :-), for someone else to learn from my mistakes.
After my first try at house plants 3 or 4 years ago, resulting in the brutal death of a ficus elastica and a bromeliad I have been wanting to give the ficus another try.
This past weekend i came across a very very tiny pot with 2 variegated Ficus Benjamina, and i could not resist. I like the smaller leaf better than the elastica anyway I think.
Using what I have learned on here, they are potted in a home made mix, with a screen and wick in the bottom of the pot. Here is what is in the mix:
(all items around 1/8-1/4 inch)
2 part pine bark
2 part lava rock
2 parts spag. peat moss nuggets
1 part peat moss(ground).
A few stray pieces of perlite or charcoal may have escaped my hand sorting.
I had to work with the items I had, as i can't get my hands on everything for the normal gritty mix. These items were obtained by hand sorting particles from a bag of orchid mix i had already. At the very least, this mix drains massively better than straight potting soil. And besides, its current pot is only temporary. For now, i put both plants in 1 pot, until i can mix a batch of real gritty mix, and select the pots I want to use.
My goal is to grow these to around 2-4 feet tall, and keep them as compact as possible.
I have them in a large WNW window, the sun comes in at an angle, so i can keep them out of direct sun, or put them in the direct sun, by moving them 10 inches or so.
Starlight BotanistOriginal Author
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
Related Professionals
Derry Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Eden Prairie Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Hershey Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Summit Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Pottstown Landscape Contractors · Wilmington Landscape Contractors · Bloomington Landscape Contractors · Centereach Landscape Contractors · East Chicago Landscape Contractors · Framingham Landscape Contractors · Long Beach Landscape Contractors · Middle River Landscape Contractors · Nutley Landscape Contractors · Ocoee Landscape Contractors · West Haverstraw Landscape ContractorsStarlight BotanistOriginal Author
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
garyfla_gw
jujujojo_gw
Starlight BotanistOriginal Author
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
Starlight BotanistOriginal Author