General description of the Hirt ficus, recommendations for indoor plant cultivation, how to reproduce, pest control and diseases arising from care, curious facts, varieties.
Reproduction of ficus Hirt in room conditions
To get a new Ficus hirta, cuttings, rooting of layers or sowing of seeds are performed.
The easiest and fastest way to get such a plant is by rooting cuttings, which are cut in the spring months from the side shoots. The length of such blanks should not exceed 8–12 cm. Only a couple of leaves are left on each cuttings so that the area from which moisture will evaporate is minimal - it is better to remove the rest. Since milky juice will be released from the cut, it must be removed - blotted until completely dry with a damp soft cloth. You can put the cuttings in a container of water and change it periodically until the latex stops coming out. Then the sections of the blanks are sprinkled with a growth stimulator, this can be either the drug Kornevin or heteroauxin.
Cuttings are planted in pots filled with loose soil (usually they take peat with sand in equal proportions or peat with perlite, or combine leafy soil and coarse-grain sand). Moisten the substrate before planting. In order for the rooting process to take place normally, the place in which the container with cuttings is placed must have bright, but diffused lighting and heat indicators of about 25 degrees. It is best if greenhouse conditions are arranged for the cuttings - when the humidity is high. To do this, cover the branches with a transparent polyethylene film or put a glass vessel on top, but now it is very profitable to take a plastic bottle and cut off the bottom of it. Since a part with a neck is used, then later this will simplify airing - the plug is simply removed. Ventilation is carried out daily to remove accumulated condensation drops. When the soil in the pot began to pour in, it is carefully moistened.
After 14-18 days, the shelter can be removed, and young Hirt ficuses are accustomed to indoor conditions, when the first signs of rooting appear (buds swell or new leaves appear), then transplantation can be carried out by transshipment. In this case, the earthen lump is not destroyed, but simply transferred to a new container with the addition of more fertile soil. You can plant young Ficus hirta one at a time or several in one pot. As you grow, you will need to pinch the tops of the branches.
For seed propagation of the Hirt ficus at home, a ripe fruit or purchased seeds are used. The planting material is placed on the surface of a perlite and peat substrate and sprinkled with a layer of the same composition. Then you can spray the crops from a fine spray gun. A piece of glass is placed on top of the container or wrapped in a plastic bag - this will create the conditions for a mini-greenhouse and accelerate germination. It is best to keep warm at about 20 degrees and the place in which the container with crops will stand should be well lit, but devoid of direct streams of sunlight. Ventilation and careful watering will also be needed here. It is better to moisten the soil through the bottom of the container (the so-called "bottom watering") or direct a stream of water to the wall of the pot. After 14–20 days, it will be possible to see the first shoots, then the shelter is removed and the seedlings of the Hirt ficus are dived into separate pots.
When propagating with the help of layering, a long and healthy shoot is selected, such that it can be bent to the soil. A pot with drainage and nutrient soil is placed next to the mother plant. An incision is made on the selected branch, which will be 1/3 of the entire diameter and sprinkled with a powder root stimulator. Then the shoot is bent down so that the cut is in another pot. There the branch is fixed and the cut is covered with soil. Layering care is the same as for Hirt's parent ficus. When it will be seen that young roots have formed on the cut (they are clearly visible from the side of the cut, if you tilt the pot), then the layering is separated from the adult specimen.
Control of pests and diseases arising from the care of the Hirta ficus
If the owner often violates the rules for keeping the plant, then it weakens and this becomes the cause of damage by harmful insects, such as:
- spider mite, the appearance of cobwebs on the leaves and between them;
- aphid, the formation of small black or green bugs;
- scabbard, manifests itself in the form of small plaques on the back of the foliage and sticky plaque;
- thrips, due to the fact that the pest sucks nutritious juices, white-yellow spots appear on the back of the leaves, which quickly grow in size, the leaf curls and withers;
- mealybug - clearly visible due to white cotton-like formations on the back of the leaf and between the nodes, there is also a sticky sugary bloom (pad).
If at least one sign of pests is detected, it is recommended to wash the Hirt ficus under warm shower jets, and then treat it with insecticidal preparations of a wide spectrum of action. However, after 7-10 days, it is recommended to re-spray the deciduous mass, as this will remove already hatched pests and their egg clutches.
If the conditions of lighting, watering or humidity, or the action of a draft are violated, then the ficus can start dropping foliage, so any "signals" that the plant gives should be taken into account. When located in a strong shade, the branches of the Hirt ficus begin to elongate unaesthetically and the size of the leaves shrinks, such a reaction will also be to a lack of fertilizers.
Curious facts about the ficus Hirt
In addition to the fig ficus, the fruits of some of these representatives have a pleasant taste, as well as with the Hirt ficus berries. In the lands of its natural growth, the fruits of this plant are especially loved by children because of their sweet taste. But it is interesting that not only siconias, but also the young tops of the branches, the local population successfully eats, using them as a side dish. They don't even need to be cooked, but eaten raw, especially with rice.
The local and medicinal properties of Hirt's ficus are well known. If you make a decoction from the bark of the trunk or branches, then such a remedy is used to get rid of fever, and it is customary to lubricate wounds with milky juice (latex) for speedy healing. If a misfortune occurs, and a person is bitten by a snake, then the healers prepare a paste from the roots and fruits of Ficus hirta and apply it to the bite site. Ficus Hirta is widely used as a traditional medicine by the Hakka people in southern China. Scientific experiments were also carried out, since there is information about the pronounced anti-cancer effect of the plant. Extracts from Wuzhimaotao were evaluated for cytotoxic and apoptotic HeLa cell lines (the so-called "immortal" cells, which are used in many scientific biological and pharmacological studies). HeLa cells were cultured and incubated with various concentrations of crude aqueous extracts (CAE), ethyl acetate extracts (EAE), and butyl alcohol extracts (BAE). Analysis of all the results showed that Wuzhimaotao extracts exert antiproliferative effects and growth inhibition on HeLa cells by inducing apoptosis, which indicates its antitumor properties and deserves further study.
