Product Description:
This elegant plant has slender branches that arch gracefully from a light gray trunk, with dense, glossy dark leaves. When grown indoors, the plants are normally pruned to keep them about 3 feet to 6 feet tall, and their trunks are sometimes braided for decorative appeal. It is a fast grower and may need to be repotted up to once per year, but do so in the early spring for best results.
Light:
The weeping fig needs a bright room with plenty of indirect sunlight and perhaps even a little direct sun in the morning.
Soil:
Any good, fast-draining potting soil will likely do. Weeping figs do not require soil that is especially high in nutrients or organic matter.
Water:
Keep the plant steadily moist, but do not allow it to sit in water or it will drop leaves and may develop root rot.
Temperature and Humidity:
Ficus trees do best with nighttime temperatures between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit and daytime temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Consider setting your thermostat to regulate temperature fluctuations in your home. In the summertime, do not use heavy air conditioning, since weeping figs will suffer if the indoor temperature drops below 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Low relative humidity can result in leaves that are dry and shriveled up.3 Consider using a humidifier to regulate humidity levels in your home.
Fertilizer:
These plants are heavy feeders and need plenty of fertilizer throughout the growing season. Feed your ficus with slow-release pellets at the beginning of the growing season.
Pruning:
Trimming ficus trees is necessary if the plant is touching the ceiling or you want to make it smaller or shape it. Timing is important: Prune when the plant is no longer actively growing. Most ficus plants are active in spring and summer, with growth diminishing in fall, and by winter the plant has gone into dormancy and is less susceptible to injury from pruning.
Propagating Ficus Starlight:
- Take a 3 to 5-inch cutting that contains at least two sets of leaves from the tip of a healthy branch. Make the cut about 1/4 inch below a set of leaves.
- Embed the end of the cutting in a container filled with moistened peat moss. Cover the container with a large plastic bag, making sure the plastic does not touch the cutting.
- Set the container in a spot with bright, indirect light but out of direct sunlight. Try to keep the pot above 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In two to four weeks, the cutting should develop sufficient roots to allow you to cut slits in the bag to allow it to acclimate to room conditions.
- After about six weeks, transplant the cutting into a 6-inch pot and continue to grow it into a small tree.
