Ficus Elastica Leaves Curling Downwards
newfiepaws
17 years ago
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mr_subjunctive
17 years agoRelated Discussions
How and when? Ficus Elastica
Comments (25)I wrote myself a note so I wouldn't forget. Lately, I'd been working on a post that should be helpful to most growers if they decide the information sounds valid enough to act on. Sometimes it takes a while for me to decide how to approach a subject, and still longer trying to figure out how to explain things so everyone can understand what I'm talking about and actually gain something from it. I will say though that I've given that particular subject some thought already, as I've considered posting something that would explain pruning basics. I'll be working on it in my spare time, but give me a week or two? Thank you, btw, for your kind words. I know I sometimes rub people the wrong way because I tend to automatically assume the role of teacher, and because I often disagree on points that are not really open to interpretation because the sciences have them nailed down pretty tightly ..... and I DO get enthusiastic about being able to help. That's really my only reason for hanging around - to try to help others learn in a few minutes or hours what took me much longer to learn. What fuels me and where I get my kicks is when people offer the message that they're learning and/or they're grateful for the effort, so thanks again! Sorry for getting off the rails on your thread, Krisenr - I beg a pardon? Al...See MoreLarger photo Ficus elastica rubber plant
Comments (1)see moved this pic to the other post ken...See MoreNew ficus lyrata & ficus elastica...cold shock?
Comments (5)I missed the 4th picture from the top, which shows the leaf arrangement to be 'opposite' (leaves arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the branch). Ficus leaves are alternate (arranged singly along the stem in alternating locations). So whatever it is, it's not a Ficus. Some good Samaritan who's better at IDs than I, will come along and tell you what it is. Your soil should be something you can water to beyond the saturation point (so you're flushing accumulating salts from the soil) without the need to worry the soil will stay soggy so long it affects root health or function. Your soil choice is probably going to have more impact on how easy/ difficult it will be to keep your new pals healthy. I'm not sure how much effort you want to put into learning about the importance of soil choice and it's impact on plant vitality; if you're interested this link covers it, and probably represents the largest step forward a container gardener can take at any one time. The goal for fertilizing containerized plants can easily be described. Ideally, we would work toward ensuring that all the nutrients plants normally secure from the soil are in the soil solution at all times, in the ratio at which the plant actually uses the nutrients, and at a concentration high enough to ensure no deficiencies yet low enough to ensure the plant isn't impeded in its ability to take up water and the nutrients dissolved in water. This goal is easily achievable using one water soluble synthetic fertilizer. You CAN use organic forms of nutrition, like fish/seaweed emulsions or various types of meal, but that makes it much more difficult to achieve the goal. I use Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 because it has ALL the essential nutrients in the ratio at which plants actually use the nutrients, and it gets most of its N from nitrate sources, which helps to allow plants in low light conditions to remain compact and helps keep them from getting leggy. Al...See MoreFicus elastica - droopy leaves and leggy
Comments (42)As a bonsai practitioner, I have to know a LOT about how plants work in order to be successful. Technically, a new leaf cannot grow from the bud in question, only a new branch with the potential to give rise to many leaves can grow there. In every leaf axil (an 'axil' is the crotch formed by the leaf stem [petiole] and the branch the leaf is attached to) and above every leaf/bundle scar (the scar directly under the bud in your image), are a row of latent buds waiting to be stimulated to grow. In healthy trees growing outdoors these buds produce random branching whenever growing conditions are very good. Trees growing indoors, due primarily to lack of light and inadequate air movement, often need these latent buds to be stimulated chemically into becoming active. I'm not talking about them being stimulated by actually applying a chemical stimulant; rather, I'm referring to the change in the plant's chemistry which occurs when the growing tip of the branch is removed. This area at the tip of the branch is called the branch apex, plural is apices, or it's often referred to as the apical meristem. Primarily in that area of the branch, a chemical, auxin, which suppresses activation of these buds is synthesized. Auxin moves only downward toward the roots, so removing the the apical meristem where it is primarily synthesized sharply limits auxin flow and its suppressive influence on the axillary buds we're discussing. This allows another chemical (cytokinin) to become dominant, and one of it's jobs is to activate the axillary buds. This antagonistic balancing act between auxin and cytokinin is the chemical relationship on which almost all pruning strategies are based. This is a Ficus microcarpa cutting from which the apex/apical meristem has been removed. since that halts almost all synthesis of auxin, new branches are forming in the axils of both mature leaves. As these branches develop, many single leaves will grow along the new branches, and they too will have a row of buds in their axils, or if the leaf is shed, above the scar left where it was attached (what your image shows). So, leaves that form at nodes while the branch is extending will always remain a single leaf - like the two mature leaves in my image - they can never be anything but a single leaf. All growth that comes from the dormant buds in leaf axils or (the same) dormant buds above old leaf scars, will always be branches. BTW - these buds remain able to be activated at any time during the tree's life, even if the scars are no longer visible and bark growth has completely obscured the older leaf scars. Questions? Al...See More
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
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lucy