Ficus Triangularis Variegata, Bush Form Live Tropical Plant

Care Guide

MY NEW PLANT ARRIVED - Thank you for trusting Eureka Farms with your recent purchase, our main objective is to ensure a great customer experience and deliver great quality plants for your enjoyment. Plants shipped online are in complete darkness for several days, is normal for plants to stress during this process, do not repot for 4 weeks, we recommend dropping the plant in its existing pot as is in a deco planter of your choice, allow your new arrival to gradually climatize to their new environment, humidity levels, lighting and temperatures.

WATER MANAGEMENT FOR FICUS TRIANGULARIS - Ficus plants are known to be drought tolerant, Ficus purchased for indoors use can be watered less frequent, however frequency of watering will depend on the size of the plant, humidity levels and rate of growth. One of the most common mistakes in the care of indoor plants is overwatering, indoor plants are far more tolerant to underwatering than overwatering. It is recommended to monitor your houseplants and water them when they need it, rather than on a schedule. When watering plants the objective is to maintain the soil moist but never soggy, a moisture meter is a great tool to utilize to reduce the guesswork, We recommend to sample the top soil an inch deep every 3-4 days, if you notice is still moist hold off on watering until it dries further, since most plants water needs may be different this is a good way to determine each individual plant water requirements.
Water Recommendations base on pot size, we suggest to utilize a soil probe initially to determine humidity levels and when to water.
6 inch Pot plants, every 5-7 Days, 10-12 inch Pot plants, every 7-12 days.

LIGHTING INSTRUCTIONS - Trees generally require bright light, as an indoor plant it should be placed near a window where the plant can receive the brightest available light, east, south, and west facing windows are the best options, we recommend to rotate the plant occasionally, this will allow the plant to receive bright light from different angles, it can minimize leaf drops from within the canopy and allow the plant to maintain even healthy growth all year round.

HUMIDITY - The Benefits of Misting, Many of our houseplants come from the tropics, where humidity is very high, generally the air in our homes is dry. Misting houseplants is a very simple and effective way to boost humidity, an easy solution to the risk of overwatering your plants, pay attention to the color and texture of the leaves on your plant. Generally Plants with brown or dry leaf tips will benefit from regular misting, preferably in the mornings to allow the foliage to completely dry out during the day.

PLACEMENT AND TEMPERATURE - Selecting the right location for your plant indoors or outdoors is very important, micro climates can affect the health of the plant, make sure the plant does not receive air draft from AC/Heating vents, or warm air from close by freezers, the foliage will dehydrate faster than it can hydrate from moisture in the air, eventually turning brown and dropping, when plants are properly watered and care for and still display signs of wilting or seem sad it may help to relocate the plant to a different area for brighter indirect light. Please note most tropical plants are from the tropics, proper moisture is required for their health and survival, we highly recommend to bring your tropical plants indoors when temperatures are expected below 45s during winter months or above 90 during summer months, extreme weather can severely damage the plant.

REPOTTING - When repotting is due planting between spring and fall is recommended, use a potting mix with good drainage, cactus mixes are recommended, now is a good time to integrate a slow release fertilizer in the soil, apply it base on label instructions, Most general all purpose fertilizer can work well. Select a pot 2-3 inches wider than your current pot, it should have drain holes if all possible, Do not remove all the soil from the root ball, this procedure can severely stress or may damage the plant, you may remove about an inch of the outer layer of soil as this can simulate growth, avoid planting too deep in the new pot, the top of the root ball should be level to the top of the soil in the new pot.
In the event the new pot does not have drain holes you must avoid water from accumulating in the bottom of the pot, this will severely damage the plant, one possible solution is to water a fix amount of water, depending on the size of the plant 1 cup of water per gallon of soil may be sufficient once every 4-7 days. Water slowly to allow the soil to absorb the water and moist evenly, the objective is to avoid excess water build up in the bottom section of the pot.

FERTILIZING – No need to fertilize right away, We fertilize our plants during the production phase with slow release fertilizer which can last an additional 2-3 months supplying residual nutrients to the plant. Once you do decide to fertilize You may use a fertilizer formulated for interior plants, preferably a slow release fertilizer 180 days duration, fertilize during spring or fall base on label instructions.

CLEANING, REGULAR MAINTENANCE - Ficus plant leaves differ in sizes, the fig-leaf lyrata, burgundy, Tineke or Ruby offers larger size leaves and are easier to clean, however Ficus Triangularis has a lot of small leaves and can be a bit more time consuming. Simply add a few drops of dish soil to a cup of water, wet a soft cloth and manually wipe off dust off the leaves, is a simple solution that is inexpensive and works well without damaging the plant.

HOW TO GROW A NEW BRANCH - You may encourage your tree to branch in certain areas using a technique called notching, this process can create a more dense and bush canopy. To accomplish this, pick the area on the main stem were you would like a new branch to sprout, use a clean knife or shears to cut a ¼-inch notch in the trunk, within a few weeks you may see a bud forming and it will gradually start to grow into a branch.

INSECTS OR DESEASES - Here’s another plus, Ficus plants are not regularly affected by pests. in the event that scale, mealy bugs, or mites are found to affect the plant, they can be controlled by wiping the infested area with a soapy solution, add a few drops of dish soap in a cup of water and wipe off the affected areas with a soft cloth, It can take several intermittent cleanings to rid the plant of the pests.
Horticultural oils can be sprayed directly onto the insects, A second and third treatment, if using oils, will be necessary. Space out the sprays at 3 week intervals to break up the mealybug life cycle. Both of these treatments together will be very effective.

PROBLEMS-SPECIAL CARE - Like other Ficus varieties, variegated Ficus triangularis will commonly drop leaves if stressed or shocked.
Common situations that can cause it to drop leaves prematurely include:

• Direct Exposure to hot or cold air drafts (such as from heating/air-conditioning vents, avoid placing the plant in areas where direct air draft is in contact with the tree, it will dry out and dehydrate the leaves causing the plant to collapse.
• Soil Drying out excessively or soil too wet.