More and more, we find plants indoors and this is not limited to gardening fans who have already had these kinds of plants in their interior for many years now.
No, it's a real fashion phenomenon that is taking over the world. It must be said that at a time when we are increasingly looking for a return to nature, this fashion is understood very well.
This is particular in the case of people living in the city and who decide to fit out their interior to have a little piece of nature. These people, moreover, are quite fond of one type of plant, the ficus.
But among the latest fashions, we find cultures under bells which have the advantage of requiring relatively little maintenance and we will see in this article if putting a ficus under a bell is a good idea.
Ficus - General information
There are a whole bunch of different ficus trees on the market, each with characteristics that will look better on some people than on others. This is why we invite you to discover them all in our article on this subject.
What is bell culture?
The first thing before seeing if putting a ficus under a bell is of course to agree on what we will call culture under a bell. We are not talking about simple decoration here.
Indeed, it is a type of culture that wins a lot of public, first of all because it is aesthetic and goes perfectly in the interiors. But on top of that, it has the advantage of not requiring maintenance.
We are talking about watering every six months, or even a year depending on the plants! If you do not know it, then you are probably wondering how this can be possible without the plant dying.
Well, the principle is simple, you are going to put foam at the bottom of your pot which will aim to capture humidity. In addition, the bell will prevent it from going away and force it to fall to the ground.
The mosses will again produce moisture which will fall back and this is how the bell will manage the humidity in the medium itself and allow you to hardly ever have to water.
From then on, it is quite easy to understand how the culture under the bell has succeeded in convincing a lot of people. But the big question that needs to be asked is whether it is possible to put a ficus under a bell.
Put a ficus under a bell
Indeed, the ficus have needs which are quite sensitive and if ever you do not respect them and the plant does not feel well, it will not take long to make you understand it in a few days.
Most of the time, you are going to have the leaves that will start to fall , a sign that your ficus is not feeling well and necessarily if you want it for decorative purposes, you do not want it to lose all its leaves.
In addition, it will be necessary to pay attention to the exposure of the sun. Indeed, ficuses love to be exposed to a good dose of light to be in good shape, which is not necessarily the case with mosses.
A simple tour in the forest will be enough for you to realize that these grow on the shaded parts of the trees and we find the first negative point to the growth of a ficus under a bell.
Watch out for humidity
The second big black point is humidity! Indeed, if the ficus, like all plants, need water to survive, they hate when their environment becomes too humid!
Indeed, if you expose the roots to too much moisture, they will simply start to rot. Now, if you've been following the beginning of this article, you may have already figured out where we're going.
The purpose of a bell is precisely to keep the humidity as much as possible so that it does not escape and that there is therefore no need to water. This would therefore mean that your ficus will have to evolve in this humidity.
This is obviously going to depend on the species of ficus, but most may not really like it and will have the roots starting to rot, which is a big problem.
Should we put a ficus under a bell?
So, finally, should we put a ficus under a bell? Well our answer is going to be no, it is better to avoid, because you risk having surprises quite quickly because of the humidity.
However, if you want a large leaf plant that can fully live in a bell, you can opt for tropical plants which are quite used to living in a humid environment.
To give you a few examples, you can for example go to Calatheas that look a lot like ficus visually. A “Silver Cloud” philodendron will also be the most beautiful effect.
Our advice for buying your ficus
Ficuses are beautiful plants, and there are all kinds of them. Are you struggling to make your choice? No worries, we've made a selection for you.
