Welcome to this article that will be talking about why you might be seeing aerial roots on your ficus tree. This can be a rather common issue during the summer when the temperatures are a lot higher and the sun is out more during the day.
The reason you are seeing aerial roots is that the plant is not getting enough water and nutrition. The sun will quickly dry out the soil during the summer so maintaining a damp soil all throughout will be the trick to a happy ficus tree.
Follow along below and we will continue to dive deeper and learn about the ins and outs of growing and cultivating a ficus tree. It’s a great option for beginners for its simplicity in growing it. The tree and even be kept indoors all throughout the year if you want to.
Ficus Aerial Roots
If you read the first part of the article here, then we mentioned seeing aerial roots are often caused by the soil not being very rich in nutrition. To help combat this we should try and water the soil more and use fertilizers too.
You might wonder then what the ideal soil should be then. During the many years we have had a ficus tree at home we have discovered that the best ficus tree will be when the soil is damp.
That means there is definitely enough oxygen traveling through the soil to keep the roots happy. But if you are overwatering the soil instead, then the roots will start drowning and eventually rotting. That will instead show up as the leaves are turning black from decomposing.
If you are under-watering the soil then the roots will begin drying up and they will seek nutrition from elsewhere. One of those signs is that the roots are going upwards instead.
Using fertilizers is also a great option to help support the health of the tree. More nutrition means more opportunity to weather through when it might not have access to it. But try not to do it more than once every 1 or 2 months or so. That will help keep it balanced and you won’t risk overfertilizing the tree also, which could kill it actually.
If your ficus elastica is not growing then you might want to read this article right here, Ficus Elastica Not Growing.
Why Do Ficus Have Aerial Roots
As we mentioned previously, the aerial roots of the ficus tree will appear because the soil is not that rich in nutrition or water. That will begin to have a really bad effect on the plant if left unchecked.
The ficus tree needs damp soil to grow in so the roots can maintain a good source of nutrition and also not dry out when the temperature rises quickly and the sun is out more and harsher.
If you are growing a ficus bonsai tree at home then you should read this article here, Ficus Aerial Roots Bonsai.
Ficus Audrey Aerial Roots
It doesn’t really matter which variety of ficus tree you are growing, the same reasons apply to why there are aerial roots. The soil really isn’t that rich in nutrients. So using some might be a great option.
But don’t use the fertilizer for more than about 1 or 2 months to keep the roots from being dependent on it. This could otherwise have a really bad effect on the health of the plant eventually.
