Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Ficus ICU

Okay, intensive care might be exaggerating a bit. My giant rescued ficus usually doesn't drop leaves, much to my cats' dismay. But this winter seems to be hitting it especially hard. A half dozen leaves fall pretty much everyday and I think the lack of sun is the cause.

Enter some extra TLC in the form of a lamp (well, I also fertilized it). I nudged the couch over and stuck our lamp next to it and the tree is now enjoying 10-12 hours of artificial light each day. Of course, I am turning it daily and hope this will stop the carnage. It could also use a trim even though I just trimmed it in September. Is it too much to do all this at one time?

Oh, and the weird stick torture set up at the base? Well, that stops the cats from dipping their paws into the dirt and then methodically licking it off. Weirdos.