Two trees to consider this March

Are you too busy to tinker around your garden, but need a mature one? Then you will need fast-growing, maintenance-free trees.

Hakim Babara, a Gardening Consultant, recommends the Variegated Ficus (Ficus Variegata) and the Yellow and Green Ficus (Ficus Elastica) for your consideration this March. “They are resistant to both drought and rain; and don’t need much maintenance,” she says.

You can purchase seedlings from the road-side nurseries. Propagating them from seed is by budding. ‘Cut a branch off a mature tree, at the buds. Put some soil or saw dust in the wounds and water them once a day, for a month. They will root. You can then transfer them into small plastic bags and continue watering them every day until they grow into a seedlings that are ready for planting,’ Babara advises.

After planting, water them every day for a month. Then you can let them fend for themselves. You don’t need to weed, prune or mulch them. If you let them be, they will grow into big trees, suitable for providing shade. However, you can prune them into any shapes you may fancy – round, square or any other shape.
Use dry cow dung at the base for healthier trees if you wish. The dung must not be wet, or it will burn the trees.

They will take about one-and-a-half years from budding to maturity, without pruning. With pruning, they will take about three years to mature.

If you need maintenance-free trees to fill up your garden fast, look good and provide shade at the same time, why not consider the Variegated Ficus or the Yellow Ficus? Not only will they last forever, they will leave you alone, to get on with your life.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com