Common
name: "Braided Ficus Benjamina" or "Weeping
Fig"
Latin name: Ficus benjamina
Native
to: South East Asia, North Australia, SW Pacific.
Growth habit: Upright spreading tree. Can grow up
to 100 foot tall and 50 foot wide.
Flowers: No
Temps: Normal indoor temps
Humidity: Not critical.
Pests: Watch for scale,
on very rare occasion one might see aphids on the new growth.
Lighting:
Pictured
Houseplant:
10" Braided Ficus Benjamina
Houseplant
Cultural
information: Braiding the trunks of Ficus trees gives
them a whole new look. When the plants are young... three or four
trunks are braided together and tied at the top. As the plant
grows... the trunks grow into each other, called fusing. In
Florida where the plants are grown, the trunks will grow together
so quickly they will turn in to a single trunk. Here is
Colorado... that will never happen.
Place your Ficus tree in at least one half day of full sun. Sun
all day would be preferable. If your tree is against a wall...
rotate the plant weekly. Check for water frequently... allowing
the surface to dry down about an inch. Water with tepid water
only. Adding Gordon's Earth worm castings to the top of the soil
on a recently purchased plant is very beneficial. Feed monthly
during the spring and summer, bi-monthly during the winter months.
Propagation by stem cuttings is difficult.
