Ficus microcarpa
Ginseng common fig tree ( Ficus microcarpa ) are pop houseplants that you most normally see for sale potted up as quick - uprise bonsai .
They ’re also known as mantle Ficus carica , Indian Arthur Stanley Jefferson Laurel , Chinese or Malayan banyan , or just banyan trees , though true banyan trees are actuallyF. benghalensis .
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The first time I ever get a line a nin-sin figure was a tiny bonsai with multiple perverted trunks with different width . I thought it was charming .
The next time I ascertain one , it was a behemoth in Hawaii . I never put the two together until I was considering my next bonsai labor and come across some info about these trees .
You could say that the nin-sin genus Ficus has many faces .
Photo via Alamy.
F. microcarpacan be a mild - mannered houseplant or a monolithic tree that can spread hundreds of animal foot . But these plants are n’t troubled by being tighten and kept indoors .
They do just as well in your domicile or office as they do in their tropical homes .
Coming up , here is what we ’re lead to spill about to help oneself yours expand :
What You’ll Learn
Trees in theFicusgenusare some of the most democratic houseplant .
Bothfiddle - leaf figure ( F. lyrata)andrubber trees ( F. elastica)are Ficus .
Cultivation and History
Ginseng figs are native to southeast Asia , Australia , India , Japan , Nepal , and the Himalayan realm .
They have been inclose to California , Florida , Hawaii , Spain , South America , and the Caribbean .
These works typically start up out as epiphyte , grow on other plants to get at light and nutrients .
As they mature , they transmit down aeriform roots that appropriate them to anchor and changeover to animation as a terrestrial tree . Plants that have this character of emergence pattern are known as semiepiphyte .
Laurel Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyyah al-Muqatilah bi-Libya grow about 50 feet tall outside and typically have a rounded top .
The trees have smooth , gray bark and alternate little leave that are ellipse - elliptic in shape . In the wild , all of the foliage is green , but there are a few variegated cultivar with ointment , sensationalistic , or white spot .
The tree diagram does n’t form what we think of as traditional flowers . The flowers are actually hidden inside the fig fruit , just like theedible fig ( F. carica ) , to which they are related .
To call FIG fruit is technically incorrect . They are n’t fruit at all but an invert ( inside out ) blossoming . A white Anglo-Saxon Protestant Australian crawl inside this “ fruit ” to cross-pollinate the flower .
When mature , the fruit turns from light-green to red and while they are technically eatable , they are not toothsome .
If you ’re acquire your plant life indoors , you wo n’t see fruits since the Tree are unlikely to receive enough ignitor .
The Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree develop long , dangling ethereal ascendant that can resemble legion proboscis , lend to their entrancing show .
Though 50 substructure is the norm , these trees can grow much orotund outdoors . If you ’ve ever visited Hawaii , you might have determine the 110 animal foot tall , 250 metrical unit across-the-board banyan at the Menehune Botanical Gardens .
Though not aboriginal to the islands , it ’s the largestF. microcarpatree known to exist . It ’s lovingly bring up by garden caretakers and admired by visitors from around the world .
Then there are places such as Florida , where the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree has escaped cultivation and become a nuisance to the point where it has been listed as incursive .
It ’s deserving mention that the tree diagram could n’t have escaped and spread as far and wide in Florida if not for the inadvertent introduction of the one wasp species that pollinatesF. microcarpa .
Eupristina verticillatawas belike bring out to Florida after hitching a drive on import flora and the residual , as they say , is history .
Indoors , they are much more polite , rarely growing more than six or seven base tall and about half as wide .
Ginseng Fig Propagation
One Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , oh so many ways to propagate it . Some plants seem to want to campaign you when you hear to regurgitate them and some seem to be going out of their path to help you .
F. microcarpais the latter . It ’s one of those plants that might disperse itself while you are n’t look .
zephyr layering , cuttings , and purchasing baby’s room starts are viable options . Let ’s cover air layering first .
Air Layering
These plants , from the smallest bonsai to the largest tree , take well to air layering . Bonsai artists often apply air layering to refine the soma of a works but you may also use this technique to create a knockoff of the parent .
initiate the mental process anytime of year except winter . Gather up a scalpel or sharp knife and clean it really well with smarmy water . Then , pass over it with isopropyl alcohol . The last thing you require to do is to disperse disease from a cheating putz .
Select a leg that has the diameter of a pencil , or somewhat larger .
Pull off any leave from the area where you want to work . You need about four to six in of endanger wood .
employ your tongue to gently pare out the barque , let out the tan layer underneath . You only want to remove the barque , not thin deep into the plant tissue . It can make thing well-situated if you make a undercut all around the perimeter and then make another all the path around an column inch below . Then , make a erect cut connecting the top cut to the bottom one .
Then , lightly insert the knife or scalpel into the scratch you made and commit it up . undress the rest of the bark off from this plane section .
Wrap the cut in moistened sphagnum moss . You require the cutting to be covered by an column inch of convergence on either side and about an inch of moss around the circuit . Then wrap clean charge plate around that . guarantee the top and bottom of the pliant package with rubber band , string , or string .
Keep the plant life in a spot with bright , indirect light and insure the moss bide moist but not waterlogged . You ’ll need to start the plastic and check the moss occasionally . If it ’s ironical , piss it using a spraying bottleful .
When you could see roots have imprint inside the moss , remove the plastic . Cut off the branch just below where the roots are developing . Plant this in a freestanding four- or five - in container .
From Cuttings
If you want an easy plant life to circulate via cut , you ’ve obtain it . This procedure should be done in the tardy winter , spring , summer , or early fall , for the gamey probability of success , but it will work out anytime of class .
appear for a branch that is foresighted enough for you to take a four- to six - inch press clipping . The diameter does n’t count . If the branch has ethereal ascendant or a tooth root node , all the better , but this is n’t ask .
Remove all but the top two leaves and gently insert the cutting into a four - inch container filled with potting mix . or else , you’re able to place the cutting into a clean glass of water . Either path , about a one-fourth of the cutting should be drown in the soil or piss .
order your cutting in an area with bright , indirect light as it develops roots .
If you ’re root in grime , keep the medium moist , and for carving in water supply , alter the pee daily .
If you started the press clipping in pee , it will be easy to see the root developing . Once they ’re a few inch long , you may pot up the cutting .
For a cutting set about in soil , you ’ll need to wait until fresh leaves start to develop before you put your plant in a lasting spot or container . you may transfer it at this point or impart it in place until the ascendant outgrow the container .
We have more backsheesh for growing plants from stem cut here .
We ’ll spill about planting a potted ginseng ficus next .
Transplanting
This is the road that most masses select because these plants can be had for a song at many retailers .
Once you bring your new baby home , find a pot about the same size as the exist container or one size up .
withdraw the plant from its pot and gently loosen up the roots . confine it in position in the new container at the same level it was before and fill in around the roots with a water retentive , free potting premix .
If needed , you’re able to put a lowly stratum of grime in the bottom first . wash the soil and tote up a little more if it make up .
How to Grow Ginseng Ficus
As a houseplant , it would be a big challenge to witness something well-situated to grow and care for than ginseng ficus .
Most Taiwanese banian tree that you ’ll pick up at the store are used to bright , collateral light , and that ’s perfectly all right . But they can grow in unmediated sun , as well . As large trees outside , they grow in full sun all the metre .
If you want to increase the amount of light your plant receives , do it gradually over a week , adding a little bit of prison term in the Lord’s Day each day .
Ideally , give the industrial plant at least a few hours of unmediated light in the sunrise and then bright , collateral light for the rest of the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
Although they can digest brief drought , keep the grime moist but not wet . The top inch can dry out with no trouble , but try not to allow it to get any drier than that .
These plant drop their leaves pretty readily , so do n’t be shocked if one or two fall now and then as the light or temperature changes over the course of the yr .
Any more than that and you ’ll desire tovisit our guide to falling ficus leaves , which will aid you determine why the leave-taking are pretermit and how to unsex it .
Do n’t unwrap the industrial plant to temperature below 50 ° F . That means debar spots near windows or doorway that might be draughty in the wintertime . temperature between 60 and 85 ° F are ideal .
As a natural hemiepiphyte , this plant does best in a liberal , airy potting mixing . you may find grease intended for tropical plant or aroids . I just make my own by mix a standard potting mixture with an equal part of orchid bark .
When choose a container to bear all this soil , the material is n’t important . Unglazed earthenware tends to dry out quickly , which is utilitarian if you have a tendency to overwater . If you lean to underwater , metal , plastic , or glazed earthenware is probably a better choice .
Regardless of the type of pot you choose , it must have drainage holes to leave the body of water to debilitate out .
Ginseng figs wo n’t tolerate wet roots . If you apply a catchment tray or saucer , or decorative exterior mickle , be certain to empty it 30 instant after watering .
These plant are n’t too fussed about humidness levels , though if you want lots of aerial beginning development and to avoid brown foliage tips , seek to keep them above 55 per centum relative humidity .
Growing Tips
Pruning and Maintenance
In terms of maintenance , this plant life does n’t postulate much . Wipe the leafage down regularly with a fuddled material to absent dust .
It ’s not necessary to prune this plant life unless you need to give it some human body or to remove anything that fits the four Ds : Any ramification that is deformed , damage , dead , or diseased should be snipped off .
If you want to clip for shape , expect until the fountain and cut away . These industrial plant can stand quite a bit of pruning , so go to town . Just do n’t prune more than half to a third of the plant at once .
When pruning , use a clean brace of clippers or scissors . Before you pop slew , wash the prick in oleaginous H2O and then wipe it with isopropyl alcohol .
Cut the arm , theme , or leaf off as airless to the root word or trunk as you’re able to , you want to avoid leaving behind a ambo . If you shorten a branch to advance bushier growth , cut just above of a leaf node .
During the spring , summertime , and early drop , feed the plant life once a calendar month with a mild , balanced fertilizer .
I opt something like Dr. Earth ’s Pump & Grow , which has a 1 - 1 - 1 NPK , so it ’s perfectly balanced for frequent houseplant feeding .
It also comes in a handy heart container , which shit it easy to use .
Dr. Earth Pump and Grow
you’re able to clean up a 16 ounce pump bottleat Arbico Organics .
As the plant matures , you ’ll take to upgrade the container size of it . It ’s also necessary to replenish the soil because soil becomes compacted and hydrophobic over time .
you’re able to replenish the soil every two to three years regardless of whether or not you vary the container .
Ficusspecies generally do n’t take care being a bit rootbound , but do n’t let them become too crowded or the plant life will quit produce and may become more susceptible to pests and disease .
Figuring out the timing of when to repot can be a number of a challenge because you do n’t want to move a industrial plant before it ’s quick . put a plant in a container that is too large will make the stain prone to continue too much water , which can result to radical rot .
you could be sure-footed it ’s time to repot if you see root come out of the drainage holes in the bottom . Otherwise , puzzle your digit into the filth .
If there ’s enough elbow room to amaze your fingerbreadth in without hitting tooth root everywhere you sample , it ’s fine . But if you ca n’t find a spot to stick your finger in , it ’s time to upgrade .
Do n’t go up more than a single size from the existing pot .
To repot , remove the plant from the existing container and brush off all of the live ground . Then , place it in the young container filled with fresh potting soil .
In the summer months , you could convey your plant outdoors , but if you expose it to brighter light , be sure to do so gradually over a week or two by starting with just a half hour a daylight .
Ginseng Fig Cultivars to Select
Sometimes , you ’ll merely see this plant life sold under the mintage name . For representative , California Tropicals sells a live plant in a four - inch potat Amazon .
Ficus Microcarpa
But there are many fantastic cultivars out there that offer pas seul on size , colouration , and growth habit .
Some have been bred with bonsai in mind , while others are ideal for a sunny corner of your family in a decorative container , like this first one we ’re going to take a look at :
Compacta
‘ Compacta ’ is a dreaming option for houseplant fan thanks to its size and growth wont .
It is naturally small , growing to about five feet grandiloquent and wide when ripe , with a dense , rounded canopy .
The gracefully arching branches are tightly backpack with the diminished , glossy leaves .
Golden Gate
‘ Golden Gate ’ is a favorite for bonsai because it ’s of course more diminutive than the species , with smaller leaves that are a brighter green .
But even if you are n’t interested in bonsai , ‘ Golden Gate ’ make an exceptional houseplant , topping out at just six feet magniloquent and extensive when ripe .
It will also tolerate lower light than most other cultivar .
‘ Golden Gate ’
If you ’d wish to blame up a five to eight - inch tall specimen in a decorative bonsai container , visitBrussel ’s Bonsai Store at Amazon .
They also offer specimens in a grower ’s pot if you do n’t want to go the bonsai road .
Green Island
‘ Green Island ’ is a dual - use cultivar . It ’s rattling if you live in a warm region and need a beautiful shrub that grows just three substructure magniloquent and wide .
Indoors , it ’ll stay a bit smaller , but it maintains a dense , compact development that makes it such a nice outside option . The leave are a bit smaller than those on the species plant .
break up up a springy plant in a 10 - inch agriculturalist ’s potat Home Depot .
Moclame
We do n’t know who cover ‘ Moclame , ’ but whoever it was , they must have been sample to cultivate a Chinese East Indian fig tree that would thrive indoors . If so , they nail it .
This cultivar deal blue light than the metal money flora and can even tolerate a bit of drought .
‘ Moclame ’ can mature up to ten feet tall and six feet wide but only if you provide it with an extremely large container . Otherwise , it stays about half that sizing .
Mini Flat Leaf
If you have bonsai dream , encounter this cultivar . It ’s a thick nanus cultivar with smaller leaves than the species .
At under a substructure tall , it take on a cascading riding habit that looks unbelievable in a container .
Managing Pests and Disease
If you hate how readilyF. benjaminadrops its leaves , thenF. microcarpais a skilful choice .
It holds its leaf well , even when a pest or disease strikes . Of course , as we mentioned , allFicusspecies oppose to change or try by drop foliage , so if you notice that happening , or if you see the leave transfer color , it ’s time to consider a pest or disease job .
rent ’s talk about the creepy-crawly crawlies , first :
Pests
There are just two insects that frequent Panax pseudoginseng ficus . Well , I should say that they are n’t frequently found on this houseplant , but if a pest is going to attack , it will likely be one of these :
mealy bug are picayune saphead - suckers in the Pseudococcidae family . They ’re implausibly common on plants and come out across the orb . They ’re especially common on houseplants because they like the warmth and humidity often provide in an indoor grow environment .
They like to hang out on the undersides of leaves or on stem near leaf node and they leave behind a sticky sap screw as honeydew melon . When present , you ’ll see oval insects cover in a gray , peach , blank , or cream - colored , waxy coating .
When they ’re around , they reduce a plant ’s vigor and can cause yellow or dropping leaf .
They can also spread viral diseases .
If you notice these pest , early treatment gain it easier to eradicate them . Typically , treatment imply scraping them off , wiping them with isopropyl alcohol , or using an insecticide . We go over all the option in our guide .
Spider mites are relatives of ticks in the family Tetranychidae and are another common home pestis . They opt dry conditions and cause similar damage to mealybugs .
you’re able to tell the difference , though , because you might see midget little red microbe skitter across the stems and leaves , and you ’ll probably see fine webbing on your plant .
Like mealybug , they are sapsucker that feed on the leave and stems of the works .
To deal with them , confabulate our guidefor tip on spray your plants , whether you opt to use water or an insecticide .
Disease
There ’s really only one disease to watch over for and it ’s pretty easy to avoid if you are careful about watering and use an appropriate - sized pot with good drainage . Let ’s peach rot :
Root rot can be either a disease due to wet - sleep with pathogens ( PythiumandFusariumspp . ) or a physiologic condition as a solution of impoverish the roots of oxygen by drown them in too much piss .
Either path , the stem will be in more moisture than is ideal and the leaves will start to turn over sick or chicken and set down from the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .
The solution is to see the drain and check that its open and flowing . If you have a catchment pot , make certain you empty it within 30 minutes after watering . Then , make certain you repress the amount of water you ’re founder .
To be extra trusted your plant pull through , remove it from the exist container , brush off all the soil , spray the tooth root with Cu fungicide , and wipe out the container with a ten per centum mix of bleach and water system .
Replant with fresh , clean potting mix .
Best Uses for Ginseng Ficus
There ’s a reason this plant life works so well as a bonsai . It ’s dead well-chosen constrained in a container and takes on an aged appearance even when it ’s untested .
When grown as a bonsai , it ’s one of the few trees that can outride indoors full time and will tolerate a all-embracing range of swooning experimental condition .
We have a pathfinder to help you grow them as bonsai here .
They also do well in conventional containers as a single specimen . you may develop them into strange shapes or topiary , or permit them develop naturally .
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Ginseng Figs Are Fabulous Ficus Houseplants
If Benjamin fig are too fickle and fiddle - foliage fig are too particular , you ’re going to love Panax pseudoginseng ficus . They ’re adaptable and elegant , demanding little more than some water and a good pot to grow in .
Was this guide helpful in your grow journey ? If you ’d like tolearn more about the fascinating plants in the ficus genus , we have a few other guides that you might find useful . view grant these a expression next :
© call for the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more item . Cartesian product photograph via Arbico Organics , Brussel ’s Bonsai Store , and California Tropicals . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
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Kristine Lofgren
