Ficus benjamina is certainly one of the favorite plants all around, and deserves to be taken care of diligently. Losing leaves? It is what this species does whenever conditions change, and watering more usually makes it worse. See the seven causes of weeping fig leaf drop.
| Name | Ficus benjamina |
|---|---|
| Family | Moraceae (mulberry family) |
| Type | air-purifying indoor plant |
| Height | 10 feet (3 metres) indoors, 100 feet (30 metres) outdoors |
| Soil | indoor plant soil mix |
| Exposure | bright light, but no direct sunlight |
| Foliage | evergreen |
Here are our tips on growing a nice ficus tree and avoid diseases.
Once properly settled in and if it isn’t disturbed too often, the Ficus tree is a plant that is relatively easy to care for.
Ficus is only picky as regards its exposure, its watering and must be guarded against rapid changes in temperature.
After having purchased your ficus tree, it is often preferable to repot it immediately.
You’ll have to repot your ficus tree every 2 or 3 years when the pot grows too small. Here is a video on how to repot your ficus tree.
Ficus trees are vulnerable to mistakes made while growing it, and to certain insects and parasites. Here are the main mistakes that must be avoided and how to treat a diseased ficus tree.
Quite common for ficus trees, this is normal as long as the loss is regular and not too many leaves are falling.
If your ficus lost its leaves, check that it is well watered, and eventually proceed to topdress the pot.
It should quickly bounce back more vigorous than ever.
This is often caused by a mite attack.
This is usually due to mealybugs or scale insects. The ficus tree’s leaves are covered in sticky white blobs.
These are whiteflies. Shower off your ficus in the bathroom, that should solve the problem.
But if you can’t move your ficus around easily, spray water on the leaves once or twice a day until the whiteflies disappear.
Scale, spider mite and mealybug each leave a different mark, and the treatment differs for each one. Work out which of the three you are dealing with before reaching for a spray.
Its preferable to wait for the soil to have dried up before watering again.
Consequently, water on average once a week.
If the air indoors is quite dry or if it is summertime, it’s possible to water more often, but always wait for the soil to have dried up in the surface layer.
Of course, in winter or if surrounding moisture levels are high, you may space the watering somewhat.
Feel free however to mist the leaves on a regular basis, this will increase leafage quality and keep the leaves from drying up.
Many seem to say that Ficus trees hate pruning; actually, the opposite is true: ficus bears pruning very well. If it has grown too tall, or has invaded your living room, simply prune the ficus tree.
Reach for your hand pruner and follow our advice:
A ficus you have just pruned hands you the material to start a second one. Semi-ripe cuttings taken from this year’s growth root readily, and a larger specimen can be layered while still attached to the parent.
Rinse the cut end before anything else: the latex that seeps out seals the wound and stops the stem drawing up water. The full method, and the choice between water, compost or air layering.
All of them are the same species, and all of them are grown the same way. What changes is the leaf, the eventual size, and how much light the plant needs to keep its colour.
| Cultivar | Foliage | Habit and size | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Exotica’ | Mid-green, the leaf tip slightly twisted | Open, weeping, 2 to 3 m | The form usually sold as a braided standard |
| ‘Danielle’ | Deep green, flat and fairly stiff | Dense and upright, 1 to 2 m | The easiest of the dark-leaved forms |
| ‘Monique’ | Glossy mid-green with wavy margins | Upright, 1.5 to 2.5 m | Often sold as more tolerant of a change of position |
| ‘Golden King’ | Green centre, irregular gold-cream margin | Upright, 1.5 to 2 m | Needs brighter light or the margin fades to green |
| ‘Starlight’ | Mostly cream-white, flecked with green | Slower, 1 to 1.5 m | The most demanding for light, and scorches behind south-facing glass |
| ‘Kinky’ | Lime green with a cream margin, brightest on young growth | Compact, 40 to 60 cm | Sold young; loses its variegation in a dim corner |
| ‘Natasja’ | Small dark leaves, 2 to 3 cm | Dwarf, 30 to 40 cm | A desk plant; the small pot dries out fast |
The rule of thumb: the more cream or white a leaf carries, the less chlorophyll it has, and the brighter the position it needs to pay its way.
This Ficus is the most common indoor shrub.
It is appreciated for its aesthetic appeal but also for its highly adaptive survival traits that let it thrive in the most varied settings of our homes, apartments and offices.
The term Ficus means fig and there are over 800 different species that have evolved into different shapes. Some of them remain small shrubs, some of them turn into huge trees. Still others grow to something similar to vines!
Across the planet, about two dozen varieties are available for sale for indoor use. The most common and famous of these is Ficus benjamina. But also interesting is Ficus elastica, known under the name rubber ficus and also Ficus retusa, often grown as a small ficus bonsai.
With a pot or garden box and regular topdressing, your Ficus benjamina can grow to reach a magnificent 6 to 10 feet (2 to 3 meters) tall!
Water your Ficus benjamina on average once a week, but always wait for the soil to dry up before watering again. In summer or dry indoor conditions, you may water more frequently, while in winter you can space watering out more.
Ficus benjamina must be set in a luminous room but cannot be exposed to direct sunlight. It requires bright light but is picky about its exposure, so provide adequate indirect light for best results.
Leaf loss can be caused by underwatering, inadequate light, dry indoor air, or exposure to drafts. Check that the plant is well watered, provide more light if needed, increase air moisture, and keep it away from drafts—the tree should recover quickly.
Ficus benjamina bears pruning very well and can be pruned once a year in any season. Light pruning is enough to help the foliage grow more dense and beautiful without needing to cut the tree back severely.
Common pests include mites (which cause yellow leaves and can be treated with organic mite killer), mealybugs and scale insects (which appear as sticky white blobs on leaves), and whiteflies (which can be removed by showering the plant or spraying water on leaves daily).
My Benjamin’s ficus is about 40yrs old,but now it has really sticky leaves what to do please
Hi Barbara, that’s a nice age for a Ficus! Sticky leaves almost always point to either of two culprits: scale insects or aphids. Both secrete honeydew, which is what usually makes the leaves sticky. Follow the links to those pages to check whether that’s the issue with your ficus or not. If not, feel free to post a few pictures on our forum, you’re sure to get knowledgeable answers there, too.
You can also clean the leaves that seem dirtiest. Use a damp cloth with lightly soapy water for that. Easiest is if you can bring it outside for a gentle hose-down. Use only little water, since too much of it would blast leaves away or hurt them if the temperature difference is too high (tap water is notoriously colder than ambient air).