How do I care for this plant please? I've had it for about 2 years but it isn't growing very tall. Is this the kind of ficus you sometimes see braided? If so, how do you braid one of these? What kind of fertilizer should I be giving it? Thank you soooo much for your help.
Your ficus benjamina will do well with some bright indirect light and a little direct morning or late afternoon sun during the day to help keep the variegation bright. Give it time and it should grow with the right watering, light and fertilizer now and then. Ficus are not the fastest growers. Use a reg balanced fertilizer (half or less strength) like 10-10-10 in the spring and summer once a month or so. Many Ficus 'benjamina' trees are sold with braided trunks, some just have the single trunk.Either way both ways look good. I braiding three small ficus but unfortunately, one of the trees died soon after, not sure why, so I just kinda twined one trunk around the other. As the tree grows, the trunks should fuse together. I am by no means a braid a ficus expert, but, you would have to trim off some of the smaller lower branches and choose the stronger yet "pliable" thin trunks for braiding. My ficus without a third tree to braid!
Hi Bluewing, Thank you very much. Yes, yours ficus looks much the same as mine. Okay, so I think mine wasn't getting as much light as it required. I just had it in the corner where it wasn't very bright at all. I'll move it to my office. Does it matter which exposure it gets: NSEorW? I am thinking of trimming some of the lower branches and braiding it. I also have a Ficus that has dark green shiny leaves. Can these be braided too? Bluewing, your ficus looks nice and busy and taller than mine. How long have you had yours? Thank you very much for all your great help.
Lily, My tree is a Ficus benjamina 'Starlight' which has a lot of white in the leaves. I think your ficus looks great! Nice and full looking, not sure if it's the same as mine or not. Like I mentioned before, find a nice bright spot that will get a "little" sun but not enough to burn, ficus simply don't need need a bunch of direct light to do well. NSE light or even wester light is fine. It should have a little more light than the green one though. Mine gets light from a south (off to the side) and west window. Maybe a half hour of sun and dapple sun. I have had the starlight for a few years. It might look big in the picture but it's really only a foot tall. Having two trees in one pot makes it look more bushier then just a single one would, plus, I trim it now and then which helps keep it bushier. The trees were around 6" when I bought them. SLOW GROWERS! I also have an all green ficus that has a single trunk which is almost almost 4' tall. Yes, the all green can be braided as well, in fact, all of the benjamina's can be braided as far as I know and make great bonsai! Good luck with your braiding:)
Hi Bluewing, Thank you for your help. I moved my plant to my northeast window. Lots of light but no direct light except for 30 min in the morning. I think our plants are the same too. My other one is a darker green, much taller than this one but it only has a single trunk. How are you suppose to braid that??? LOL - I guess I would have to plant it with two more trees? What kind of fertilizer and soil are you using?
Lily, Well, braiding when your ficus is tall and only one trunk might be a little difficult, I guess you could add a couple cuttings to it and keep the taller one pruned for probably a quite a while until the others catch up, lol. I use reg indoor potting soil (Miracle Gro) with plenty of perlite added to lighten up the soil. Fertilizer, Miracle Gro and sometimes Shultz, both "liquid" fertilizer.
Thanks Bluewing, I really appreciate all your help. Love your sense of humour. Well, I know I can braid at least one of them. LOL
Thanks Bluewing. I braided it today and it looks good. I placed it in a good spot, now I'll just wait for the trunks to grow and hopefully fuse together. With your help, this was a really fun little project. I will post a photo for you later on and let you know howi it does. Keep yer fingers crossed.
