Tag Archives: Ficus repens

The Creeping Fig – Ficus pumila/repens

A fig commonly found in many garden centers used as a hanging basket plant is Ficus repens/pumila. Commonly called the Creeping fig. It is one of an assortment of figs that will climb up tree trunks, stone or brick walls and soon cover the surface with a very dense covering of leaves.

It is peculiar also in having two types of leaf. One is the very small heart shaped leaf that it grows as a small cutting and another much larger leaf that grows on sturdier branches that are often not supported on the wall to which most of the plant is clinging.

It an be used to shape small bonsai by allowing the green stems to get woody and to set shape and then to create a canopy from the branches. Getting a large trunk of this species is difficult and I have been looking for one for many  years.

Creeping over a brick wall mostly small leaves are showing

Make sure to keep this plant moist as it does not recover from drying out.

Ficus pumila showing small and larger leaves