What soil for a ficus?

Have you just purchased a ficus? Good news, you will soon be able to embark on a plant decoration at home which will surely be the most beautiful effect in your home interior !!

However, before thinking about decoration, it is important to think about the needs of the plant and if you have not researched beforehand, you may find that you have not chosen the easiest plant to maintain!

Indeed, the ficus are in general a little capricious and if ever you do not follow the instructions to the letter you will end up with very bad surprises such as for example a ficus with brown leaves !

Having said that, we are going to give you these tips here and we will start by seeing which soil for a ficus tree you will need to buy in store. So, let's not waste another moment and see it together!

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.

Pay attention to the density of the earth for a ficus

One of the key elements in selecting soil for a ficus is its density! Indeed, each type of plant will have conditions which will be more or less favorable for the growth, it depends on the needs.

However, the ficus being a family of plants, they will have needs that will be greatly similar between the different species. If the watering may differ to him and other elements, the density of the earth remains similar.

So, what we will advise you is to avoid land that is too dense. The roots of your ficus like to have a little space around them when they are going to grow and they will not live well at too high a density.

But as you have been told, these plants are quite temperamental and if ever when you go to choose the soil for a ficus, it is too aerial, that will not do either and your plant will not feel the best.

Therefore, it will be necessary to make a compromise to have a soil that is not too thick. For this, a sufficient bark dosage will be required while taking care that this is not the majority in the composition either.

You must have humidity, but not too much

Humidity is good and it's even good for your plant! Indeed, it will need water to be able to continue to develop. If, as we said previously, each species has its specific needs, we still have a tendency.

Indeed, the ficus hate having their feet in water or at least that this water stagnates for too long. This is why most species only require watering every week.

The goal is to have a slightly moist soil, but not too much. Otherwise, we end up with rotting roots and which endanger your plant, or even outright can sign its death warrant.

Therefore, keep in mind when you are going to choose the soil for a ficus that this humidity criterion must be respected. This is also why we did not recommend you to use soil that was too compact.

Indeed, who says compact says that it will more easily retain humidity and therefore inevitably more easily lead to a situation that will endanger your plant. It is therefore a capital element to check for the earth for a ficus!

Think about drainage!

As we have just said, in the choice of soil for a ficus, the criterion of water retention is important, because if it is too important, you will run directly into disaster for you and your plants.

Therefore, the choice of the type of soil is obviously important, but it is also crucial to understand that you will be able to help your plant by putting in place yourself, an additional drainage system.

The first thing to do is of course not to put a dome under your plant to prevent water from stagnating and continuing to wet the earth. It may sound silly, but it's crucial!

Then, when you are going to change the soil for a ficus, you will have to set up a drainage system in the bottom of the pot that will attract water so that it does not stagnate in the soil.

There are several types that we let you choose, the important thing is to set up a system. The simplest, it is certainly the clay balls which are not very expensive and are effective.

Our advice for the drainage of your ficus

Drainage is one of the most important parts of choosing soil for your ficus. We advise you to opt for clay here.

Consider enriching the soil enough for a ficus

Finally, the last thing to consider when choosing soil for a ficus is the fertilizer. What we advise you is to take a slow release fertilizer that will hold between two repots.

You can also use it periodically when the plant needs it in addition to this basic dose to be sure that your ficus does not lack anything and can thus develop well.