The tropical Laurel or Weeping Fig is a graceful plant which is available in a range of sizes and can be grown up to the size of a large tree, as the picture on the left shows. The plant comes in a range of leaf colours, light, mid and dark green as well as cream, white and yellow variegation. The green leaf types are the easiest to look after and grow but all types are subject to leaf drop if the light, watering and temperature requirements are not correct.

  It is a very popular interior plant for the office and home and its very common to see it growing in shopping malls in large pots ,containers or in planted displays. A well established plant will tolerate a wider range of conditions than a young less established plant.

  The plant does not have a well defined growing season or rest period, a number of leaves naturally turn yellow and drop off in winter but on a healthy plant these will be replaced in early spring.

  The plant requires a light spacious area where it can grow, it must not be subject to drafts and requires a constant temperature. It should not be left to dry out, particularly during the growing season, it should also not be over watered.

  There are hundreds of species of the genus Ficus (Latin for Fig), most of them natives to warmer parts of the world, a number of these make excellent interior plants like the common Rubber Plant, Ficus elastica.

The following are pictures of other suitable Ficus species. Click on the thumbnail picture to see a larger picture, to return to this page click the back button.

 

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