Welcome to this article that will be talking about why a ficus elastica tree might not be growing in your garden. Ensuring that the plant has the best possible place to grow is really the key to a happy ficus tree.
The soil needs to be taken care of properly but like all plants out there, the ficus tree also needs great access to sunlight to be able to continue to grow and flourish. Thankfully, maintaining these things is relatively easy if you have some experience beforehand with gardening.
Below we will dive even deeper into the world of gardening and especially about growing ficus trees. It’s one of the best trees to have at home if you are a beginner. It grows pretty slowly and doesn’t require that much maintenance.
Ficus Elastica Not Growing
We mentioned in the beginning already why the ficus elastica might not be growing. It’s often caused by there being an imbalance in the soil and the amount of sunlight it’s getting.
The ideal condition for the soil to be in for the tree to grow the best is slightly damp. This will leave room for enough oxygen to travel through the soil and feed the roots. It will also act as a pillow or support when the temperatures might be higher and the soil dries out more quickly.
Using some fertilizers will also help boost the nutritional value of the soil. If there isn’t any nutrition for the ficus tree to take up then it will simply stop growing and the prospect of a healthy tree will be lost.
So we recommend using some manure if you have access to it and feeding the soil where the trees are growing. But if you can’t get that, then using some fertilizers from a gardening store will also be a great option.
The amount of sunlight the tree is getting is also very important. We recommend trying to get the tree at least 8 – 10 hours if you keep it indoors, outdoors it will need 6 – 8 hours or so. That will help the plant be able to perform photosynthesis which is very important for it to generate energy.
If the ficus tree has leaves folding in half then you should be reading this article here, Ficus Leaves Folded In Half.
How Do You Encourage The Growth Of Ficus Elastica
Encouraging the growth of a ficus tree is best done with a few techniques. You can start by moving the tree to a slightly sunnier area if you are keeping the tree in a large pot. If not you should use some fertilizer for the soil.
We recommend using manure, but otherwise, any fertilizer from a gardening store will do. Making sure the soil is also slightly damp will help a lot too, it will really help support the roots.
Lastly, we recommend trimming the branches a little bit at the end of the season. That will encourage bushier growth for the tree. It makes it both look nicer but also produces more figs eventually.
If you are seeing aerial roots on your ficus tree then we highly recommend you read this article here, Ficus Aerial Roots.
How Long Does Ficus Elastica Take To Grow
Ficus elastica will not grow that quickly compared to other fruit trees out there. Expect it to grow quickly in the beginning, at about 1 foot per year or so. So trimming and pruning early on might be a good idea to ensure you have a beautiful tree in the future.
Use some fertilizers every now and again too to help maintain this growth so it’s not slowing down and instead it will be kept balanced.
