Where the birch fig sets the tone in living rooms and offices, the pulse drops and a relaxed, feel-good atmosphere spreads. If you want more specimens of this magical evergreen plant, you can save yourself a trip to the garden center. These instructions explain how you can easily propagate a new Benjamini.
How do I grow a Ficus Benjamini cutting?
To grow a Ficus Benjamini offshoot, cut off a 15 cm long shoot with he althy leaves in spring. Let the milky juice escape, remove the lower leaves and place the cutting in moist coconut fiber substrate or peat sand. Leave the hood and a warm, partially shaded location until the first leaves emerge.
Cutting Benjamini cuttings – How to do it right
Spring is the best time to cut offshoots on your birch fig. If you are planning to prune anyway, the cuttings will provide you with more than one shoot that is suitable for cutting. The perfect offshoot is 15 cm long, has several he althy leaves and was cut off just below a leaf node.
Immediately after the cut, poisonous milky sap appears on both the mother plant and the cutting. Therefore, briefly place the shoot in a glass of water so that it bleeds out. Cover the cut on the mother plant with a piece of kitchen towel or Tempo.
This care allows roots to sprout on the offshoot
If plant secretion no longer drips from the cut, remove the lower leaves from the cutting. One or two pairs of leaves should remain at the top. Proceed as follows:
- Fill a growing pot with coconut fiber substrate (€23.00 on Amazon) or peat sand
- Moisten the substrate with lime-free water
- Pre-drill the planting hole with a wooden stick
- Insert two thirds of the offshoot in it
Press the soil and spray the cuttings with lime-free water. Rooting will progress more quickly if you put a plastic bag over the pot, which rests on two to three wooden sticks as spacers. The substrate must not dry out in a partially shaded, warm window seat. The hood can be removed when the first leaves emerge.
If a cutting has rooted through the growing pot, this is the signal for its start in life as an adult birch fig. Repot the young plant in a pot with a mix of pot plant soil and lava granules.
Tip
If your birch fig is losing green leaves, finding the cause can be time-consuming. By cutting and caring for a cutting in a timely manner according to these instructions, the continued existence of your Benjamini is ensured even if all rescue measures of the mother plant fail.
