Happy Urban Dirt

If you have a Ficus Elastica, you may have tried to take a cutting from it and try to propagate it that way. But, Do you know what to do with a Ficus elastica seedling?

If you want to have a higher probability that the cutting will succeed and thus you will have a second plant of your ficus, we will give you all the keys to achieve this. Shall we start?

Reproduction of Ficus elastica

Source_YouTube Step by step cultivation

One way to propagate the elastic fig is by cuttings. They must meet a number of requirements to have a chance of success.

The first thing to check is the temperature. The ideal temperature is 25-30ºC. You need to make sure they have good ventilation, as well as high brightness (not direct sun).

The cutting must contain 3-4 leaves and one or more nodes because this is where the roots will appear.

How to Plant a Ficus Elastica Seedling in Water

Source: YouTube Step by step cultivation

We start with water propagation. If you have never done it, you may have doubts, but the truth is that the roots, when they come out in water, are much thicker than on land, and also longer. However, they also have the problem of being less branched. In this case, your goal is to absorb oxygen from the water, but not drink it.

In this case, caution should be exercised because the plant can quickly desiccated out if it does not receive the necessary nutrients to thrive.

To do this, you need to follow very uncomplicated steps. because you only need:

• Prepare a bottle, a boat… where you can fill with water.
• In this case, you should take a Ficus elastica seedling.
• Place the seedling in the water and hold it so that nothing falls into it.

Nothing more. Some people recommend adding a few drops of fertilizer from time to time to enrich the water with nutrients. In addition, it is a good idea to change the water from time to time to restore its oxygen content.

How long should you keep the seedling in water?

If you have already planted the seedling in water, be sure to check every day (at least at the beginning) whether it has already grown roots, whether there are any signs of them, etc. There is no specific time when you should leave your Ficus elastica seedling in the water. In fact, it can take weeks or months. You don’t have to remove anything else, the roots are coming out.

In fact, there are people who leave the seedlings in water for years. But the truth is that they require more care and awareness of health and nutrients to be able to go further.

How to Transfer a Ficus Elastica Seedling from Water to Land

If a few weeks have passed and you see that the ficus elastica seedling has already roots and you see that it is moving forward, the transition from water to land may scare you. This is normal because we are talking about changing the environment in which it was developed and sometimes it may happen that this stage will end with the plant you have cared for for so long.

However, although the seedling can be kept in water for years, it is necessary to transfer it to soil because it needs nutrients that water cannot provide (and it cannot grow). In this sense, the transition from water to land requires the following steps:

First, make sure the seedling has enough roots to take root in the substrateThis way you will know if he can live on his own or if you need to keep an eye on him.

Secondly, a clear warning that the seedling is now ready to move to the ground is when up-to-date leaves start to grow. If this happens to you, you know that the seedling has enough roots to be in the pot and continue its journey.

At the time of planting, the plant may suffer because it was in “humid” soil and was moved to desiccated soil. That’s why experts recommend keeping the soil constantly wet for some time.in fact, more than usual. And that it gradually dries out to adapt to the up-to-date environment (which will be drier). Of course, you have to be very careful because roots in water are not the same as in humid soil (especially due to the appearance of fungi and problems that could damage the roots).

How to plant a Ficus elastica seedling in the soil

Source: Pinterest

If you prefer to plant a ficus pliant seedling in the ground, then you should take into account that it will take roots, but they will be much thinner than those in water. Of course, they will be much more branched, and their purpose is also to absorb water, but not oxygen (so you need to provide them with a substrate with oxygen).

Therefore, the first thing you need is a good substrate. And at this point you’ll need to make a mix. The best one? There are actually two:

• Sterile sand that helps roots grow unhindered.
• Universal substrate with drainage, so it is highly oxygenated. In fact, it is recommended that it be a few percent larger than the soil (60-40 or similar).

How long does it take for a Ficus elastica cutting to take root?

Once you have finished, it is normal to want the ficus elastica seedling to have roots within a few days and that you can plant it and start growing. Unfortunately, this is not possible. It actually takes 4-5 weeks for the plant to take root properly. However, this is not a fact that you can trust 100%, because the truth is that it will depend, and to a enormous extent, on other factors, such as climate, type of water, soil, etc. All this can cause the plant to take root sooner or later.

Also, if you utilize hormones to speed up rooting, the time should be shorter. But it is not good to spend time with them because you will end up burning the plant.

Our recommendation is to be patient and let things take their course. If he needs to move forward, he will, but it is better for it to be natural than for it to be forced, for it to be tender and leave at the first opportunity.

As you can see, the most crucial doubts and steps that need to be taken to prepare a Ficus elastica seedling are presented below. Are you testing with one of these?