Ficus Audrey

Ficus audrey.Another outstanding performer from the Ficus family of Moraceae is the Ficus Audrey. It also requires less maintenance than its Ficus relatives, making it a wonderful option for gardeners with less than perfect green thumbs. What you should know about the Ficus benghalensis is as follows:

Watering
Compared to its Ficus siblings, this plant is a little more tolerant of overly and underly enthusiastic plant parents and can endure longer periods of moist or dry soil. It is regarded as a moderate drinker and, with the right sub-irrigation system, can go for more than two weeks without water, although we advise you to probe the soil once per week for the first month and throughout the hot summer months. The soil needs to be fully moistened before being allowed to dry completely before being watered again.

Light
Let’s get the light just right with a bit more wiggle room on the watering. The Audrey is categorized as a “medium” light plant even though it can be kept wonderfully indoors in artificial light. It is preferable to have it adjacent to a window for some filtered sunlight; east-, south-, and west-facing windows are the best. Give your Ficus a quarter-turn (often known as a “twist”) once a week if you place it near a window. This will allow light to enter from different angles and reduce inevitable leaf loss from the plant’s canopy.

Nutrition
For the first six months after shipping, this ficus probably won’t need to be fed. It will utilize the leftover nutrients produced during nursery production during this period. Check out our nutrition solutions from Dyna-Gro for a full fertilizer designed for indoor plants that may be supplied to it every three months after the first year. Your Ficus can require additional nourishment earlier than 12 months if it is placed on a porch in the south. Watch the younger leaves, not the ones that are just sprouting; if the younger leaves are yellow and the veins are visible, it’s conceivable that the plant needs some nutrients.

Cleaning
The Audrey has leaves that are bigger than an Alii but smaller than a Fiddle Leaf, and it often grows a more open canopy, so there are fewer leaves to clean than on its relatives. Although you might need to be a little more gentle when handling its leaves due to their distinctive leaf texture and vein pattern, simply washing the leaves with a moist cloth typically removes dust. Use a mild soapy solution to soak the cloth and then wipe the plant, stroking the leaf away from the stem, for areas where something other than dust has fallen on it (and pulling on it lightly).

Pruning
The Audrey’s canopy is normally more open, and we’ve seen it try to spread some aerial roots and grow in some unusual directions. Since it’s a Banyan tree, we’re quite sure that’s in its DNA. Whatever the case, you can either let yours grow wild on you or tame it with sporadic, gentle pruning. Make pruning cuts to stems or branches that may be growing in the wrong direction for the tame side and encourage new growth from the nodes.

Bugs
Nothing to worry about because Audrey is not a popular target for pests. When this happens, scale, mealy bugs, and mites may climb on, but they are quickly eliminated by cleaning the affected area with a soapy solution. The plant may require a number of sporadic cleanings to be pest-free. However, as usual, it’s ideal to maintain a regular cleaning/wiping schedule to prevent pests from ever setting up residence on your plant in the first place.