Plant of the Month - September

Plant of the Month - September

Published: 29th August 2019

Large-leaved Ficus

Looking for a plant with impact; large leaves, tall, yet with a relatively minimal footprint? Well sounds like you’re after one of the many impressive Large-Leaved Ficus plants which is this month’s plant of the month.

Ficus is the Latin name for fig and is in fact part of the mulberry family. You will find Ficus growing naturally in the subtropical regions of Asia and Africa as well as areas of South America and Australia.
This tropical beauty has amazing benefits besides bringing it’s obvious aesthetic value to any room, in that the large leaf varieties do a great job of converting carbon dioxide to oxygen. The large leaves also absorb particulates from the air and store them in their roots where they are broken down and expelled.
   Furthermore, the green leaves improve the humidity in your home by evaporating moisture very gradually, so this plant really does earn it’s keep!

Ficus varieties are straightforward to care for, firstly choose a light or partial shade spot, but make sure not to move it too often, it costs the Ficus a lot in energy to acclimate to its new location.
   Water your Ficus so that the soil is slightly damp at all times and try giving it a quick shower or standing in the summer rain once in a while to benefit the leaves and the plant as a whole.
   Feed your Ficus once every two weeks and reduce watering once the temperature starts to drop.

Assortment Ficus 


Ficus lyrata
 is available as an indoor bush and as a standard tree, and has shiny leaves that resemble a violin. The large, eye-catching veins that bring texture to the leaves particularly stand out.


Ficus elastica
 has smooth dark green leaves with fine veins that are marked like a feather and reach a length of around 25 cm. It grow straight up and therefore does not take up much space despite the large leaves.


Ficus binnendijkii
 ‘Alii’ and ‘Amstel King’ mainly have long leaves that are not wide, but do hang down decoratively. Available as a green pillar and as a standard with a full crown.


Ficus Cyathistipula
 has dark green shiny leaves, can produce figs from an early age, and is a heavily branched potential indoor giant that climbs upwards along a stake and therefore grows attractively upright.

Looking for something specific?

Use Scotsdales’ Plant Finder to learn about a host of new and exciting species of plants and find out which ones we stock in our Scotsdales Garden Centres. 

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