Artificial ficus: choosing the height, the silhouette and the pot

To choose an artificial ficus, look at three things: the height, the width of the foliage and the pot. Our trees are 125 or 140 cm tall, and the widest one takes up 90 cm. There is also an 85 cm trailing ficus, for rooms where the floor is already taken. Here is how to choose between these models, then how to set them up.

Why an artificial ficus

The most common real indoor ficus is the weeping fig, Ficus benjamina. It needs bright, indirect light. The Clemson University extension service also notes that it often drops its leaves when it is moved or repotted. A draught also makes it lose leaves.

An artificial ficus has none of these needs. It goes in a dark corner, a corridor or an office with no window. It stays as it is, sheds nothing, and needs no water.

In a bright corner, near a window, a real plant can also thrive. Our guide artificial or real plant helps you decide room by room.

Our ficus trees, side by side

The set of two ficus trees brings together the Liana and the branching ficus, each in its black pot.

Choosing by the space

A corner to fill

The branching ficus is the widest: 90 cm. Its product page advises leaving it this width. It fills an empty corner, or stands alone next to a piece of furniture. Its base is weighted with cement: it stands firmly.

A wall to keep visible

The large-leaf ficus has a slender trunk. A tree with a bare trunk and a leafy crown lets the wall and the furniture behind it show through. It suits a small room or a narrow passage better.

Two rooms, or a dense corner

The Liana is 140 cm tall and arrives in a 17 cm black pot. Its product page does not describe the shape of its foliage: look at the photos on the product page to judge its silhouette.

The set of two ficus trees works in two cases. Side by side in a corner, the two trees make a dense green corner. Apart, they dress two rooms in the same style.

Measure before you order

• The ceiling height. Keep at least 50 cm of space above the tree, cachepot included.
• The furniture next to it. The tree should clearly rise above it. A sofa back is often 80 to 90 cm high: a 125 or 140 cm tree rises above it.
• The walkway. Foliage that is brushed every time someone passes loses its shape. Keep the tree out of the way.

These pointers come from our guide large artificial plant, which also gives a table by ceiling height.

The pot and the cachepot

Our ficus trees are potted plants. To dress them, you need a cachepot whose opening is wider than the pot supplied. Here is what each product page says.

• Ficus Liana: black pot of Ø 17 cm. Take a cachepot whose inner opening is a few centimetres wider than 17 cm.
• Branching ficus: the black pot is fixed and weighted with cement. It cannot be removed. It slips whole into a wider cachepot. The product page for the set of two gives a pot of Ø 15.5 cm for this model. Measure it when you receive it before buying the cachepot.
• Large-leaf ficus: the manufacturer does not give the diameter of the plain pot. Measure it when you receive it.

A heavy cachepot, in ceramic or terracotta, makes the tree more stable. To wedge the pot and hide the top, follow the method in the guide mentioned above. To choose the shape and colour, read our guide to the decorative cachepot.

The trailing ficus, for height

Ficus pumila, or creeping fig, is a small-leaved plant that trails. Our artificial version forms an 85 cm cascade. It arrives in a 9.5 cm black pot, with a natural rope hanger.

It hangs from a ceiling hook, on a wall or in a corner. It can also sit on top of a shelf unit, with the cascade trailing down along the shelves. The manufacturer does not supply a hook: get one, and check that it is made for your ceiling.

With a tree on the floor and a trailing plant up high, a corner has two levels of greenery.

Shaping on delivery

The branches travel tightly packed in the box. All our ficus product pages say so: open them out by hand after unpacking.

1. Start at the bottom of the tree and work upwards.
2. Pull each branch away from the trunk.
3. Point the leaves in several directions, not all forward.
4. Step back three metres, look, adjust.

A real Ficus benjamina has glossy leaves, dark green on top and paler underneath, according to the University of Florida. So open foliage that also shows a few undersides looks more natural. The other details are in our 7 signs of a realistic artificial plant.

Care

A wipe with a dry cloth from time to time, against dust. That is all our product pages ask. No water, no pruning, no fertiliser.

Our product pages describe these ficus trees for indoors. They promise nothing about direct sun, rain or frost. Keep them in the house.

All our models are on the artificial plants page.

In short

1. Measure the ceiling, the furniture next to it and the walkway before choosing.
2. For a corner to fill, take the widest foliage. For a wall to keep visible, take a slender trunk.
3. The cachepot is not included: its opening must be wider than the diameter of the pot.
4. Open out the branches by hand as soon as you unpack.
5. A dry cloth is all the care it needs.

Sources

• Weeping Ficus, Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center
• Ficus benjamina: Weeping Fig, University of Florida IFAS Extension
• Manufacturer data sheets (heights, width, pots supplied, care)