Plant species: Ficus villosa

Plant genus: Ficus

Plant family: Moraceae

Origin: Southeast Asia, Java, Sulawesi, Indonesia

Soil drainage: well-drained, we recommend a substrate mix composed of coco coir, perlite, vermiculite, sphagnum moss, pumice

Soil pH: acidic

Fertilizers: Ficus villosa is a species that requires a moderate level of fertilization, so we recommend using a bio fertilizer (we use the BioBizz brand for the plants we cultivate) from early March to late November.

Air humidity: it thrives best at 70% - 75% humidity, but it also performs well in an environment with lower humidity, down to 50%. We also recommend that water does not persist on the leaves, as this can lead to bacterial/fungal infections.

Temperature: 16-29 degrees Celsius

Light: full indirect sunlight

Plant height including pot: 12-15cm

Pot diameter: 10cm

Ficus villosa is a relatively rare species commercially, appreciated by various collectors. It has the following characteristics:

• The plant can be grown indoors, attached to a support that promotes foliage development. We also consider it an ideal plant for terrariums due to its growth habit, which beautifully covers the structures within a terrarium with color and texture.
• The foliage varies in color, ranging from shades of green to hints of red/bronze on new leaves. I
• t can also be grown in moderate light conditions, which will result in a much darker coloration. As the light intensity approaches the ideal, the internode spaces will decrease, and the plant will have a more compact appearance.

It has a very good growth rate under optimal conditions, namely full indirect sunlight (east-facing windows are the best option), 60% - 70% humidity, and watering the substrate when the top two centimeters have dried out.

Attention! To check the moisture level of the substrate, inserting a finger into the pot to a depth of 2 cm is the best way to measure soil moisture.

Therefore, if you feel the substrate is moist, keep the spray bottle away from it for one or two days, and if it feels dry, water it.

Attention 2! When watering, we need to consider the pot in which the plant is planted, as well as the amount of substrate and its aeration level. That is, we do not pour a liter of water into a pot with a diameter and height of 12 cm, as we will drown the plant's roots. It is best to discard the excess water from the collector pot half an hour after watering.

The plant can be mounted on a support pole wrapped in coconut fiber, in which case the aerial roots will cling to this support, resulting in a plant with a sturdier stem and increasingly larger leaves.

Also, if you're more of a fan of the aesthetics of trailing plants, you can let it grow without support, and as the vines lengthen, you can secure them to walls with special clips.

Good luck with caring for it! And don't forget to give us updates about your plant, using the hashtag #greenmirrors and tagging @green.mirrors in your Instagram posts! We promise to share them in stories ☺

Tags: Monstera, Monstera adansonii variegated, Araceae, rare plants, unusual plants, decorative foliage plants, trailing plants, purifying plants, indoor decorative plants