Also known as the Ficus benjamina, the weeping fig ranks among the dozen most popular plants grown by homeowners. Native to the Himalaya area of India, the plant derives its name from the Indian term “benjan,” Benjamina is pronounced “ben-ja-meen-a.”

While the weeping fig is relatively easy to grow in and around the home, the plant is better off grown with minimal care, not given an over-abundance of attention. Too much loving care is likely to kill the weeping fig.

Here are the cultural practices to use for your weeping fig:

Location: Provide bright light at all times, but never direct sun. Even when the plant is summered outdoors, provide bright light or filtered shade, never exposure to the sun.

Temperature: In summer, the plant will acclimate itself to room or outdoor temperatures. In fall, winter and spring, indoor room temperatures should be between 60 and 80 degrees (F).

Watering: Indoors, allow the soil to go almost bone dry, which generally means watering every 12-14 days. When you see the rootball having pulled away from the wall of the pot, water immediately. When plants are summering outdoors, water the plant every 7 or 8 days.

How you water indoors calls for special care. The best way is to make use of a plastic dishpan and a small bowl. Turn the bowl upside-down, and set it in the dishpan. Lift the potted weeping fig and set it on top of the inverted bowl. Use tepid water at all times, ideally to an empty plastic gallon milk jug. Now, pour water in a constant stream over the top of the pot. Yes, water will seem to drain quickly into the dishpan below, but this is water cascading down the wall of the pot and flowing into the dishpan. Don’t be alarmed at this because you need to continue pouring water over the top of the pot. Water must filter through the rootball (slowly, we might add), and this is why a large volume of water is needed to moisten the soil. Keep pouring all the while. After a half-gallon of water has been poured, water will no longer be flowing into the dishpan as it was in the beginning. Stop pouring for 30 seconds to allow excess water in the soil to drain away. Let the pot drain for a half-hour before lifting the plant from the inverted bowl and returning it to its former place.

Outdoors during the summer, weeping figs will need watering every 8-10 days due to the plant’s loss of moisture in leaf tissues. Again, use tepid water and pour from the top of the pot until water exits the drainage holes.

Fertilizer: Use a water-soluble plant food high in nitrogen to nurture the plant. Energize the weeping fig every three months the year-round. Keep records when you fertilize or simply remember to apply plant food when the seasons of the year chance (December, March, June and September). We strongly recommend Jack’s Classic 20-20-20 manufactured by J.R. Peters in Allentown, PA. It contains the basic minerals, plus all the micro-nutrients needed for optimum plant growth.

Soils: Inferior soil will trigger problems for weeping figs, sometimes the death. Soils must drain well at all times. Once moisture drains from the soil, oxygen is supposed to return to the soil quickly. Poorly drained soils prevent this oxygen return, thereby setting in motion a handful of problems.

Because weeping figs perform best when the roots are pot-bound, you seldom have to repot the plant. When do you repot? When you find roots exiting or crowding the drainage holes at the base of the pot. Inspect pots in the spring because that’s the best time to repot, but only if you find roots doing their thing.

What soil to use? Forget the so-called “potting soil” you find at supermarkets, hardware stores, chain stores, even some garden shops. Your best potting soil comes with professional quality: Pro-Mix Potting and Seeding Mix. Insist on it, and don’t use any substitutes. Forget what sales clerks will tell you about “their best potting mix.”

Pro-Mix Potting and Seeding Mix comes in different bags, the smallest being the 8-quart size selling around $4. Buy what you need, but only this.

Fortunately, you shouldn’t be repotting all that often, but you should be improving the soil. You check the pot in the spring and no roots are exiting the drainage holes, so your next move is to improve the soil at the top of the pot. Here’s how:

Water the weeping fig as is your custom. A minute later, use a strong spoon to spoon away the top inch of moisten soil. Don’t worry, you won’t be contacting any roots as you spoon away the soil. Discard the old soil.

Now, pour enough of the Pro-Mix Potting and Seeding Mix into a plastic dishpan. Pour enough to replace the old soil spooned away. Add hot water to the dishpan, don some rubber gloves, and swish the soil around to wet thoroughly. With hot water, the soil wets like lightning. Put some newspapers on the counter next to the sink, and spoon off the wet soil on the paper to surface dry for a minute or so. Spoon the wet soil into the pot to replace the old soil, then a final watering of the pot (again, tepid water) to remove any air pockets in the soil. Let the pot drain for 15 minutes, and your weeping fig is happy for the next 12 months.

Problems

Suppose the leaves are dropping, then what? Think back to how often you’ve been watering the plant. If it’s anything more than 12-14 days, your overwatering has triggered the loss of leaves. STOP and water only every 12-14 days.

You haven’t overwatered, yet the leaves are dropping. You need to know that weeping fig is a finicky, fussy plant, especially when you move the plant. Now, let’s explain what this is all about.

Weeping fig can’t be moved from one place to another if it’s going to receive less light than it had before. If you make this mistake, expect the leaves to start dropping within a matter of weeks. Simply put, once the plant adjusts to a light level, it needs to be kept there or the light improved.

Is there a time when you can move the plant without losing any leaves?

Yes, in the spring (from mid-March onward) when the days are getting longer and sunlight is gaining in intensity. If the plant is in one room and you want to move it to another room, move the plant so it gets optimum indirect light near a window or whatever. Leave it there for 4 weeks, then slowly move it away from the window to where you want to grow the plant from then on. Again, the intensity of light is what matters. Yes, you can always move the plant to a brighter room, a brighter location, and you can do so at any time of year without causing leaves to drop.

Now, the obvious question: what if you want to grow the weeping fig outdoors for the summer, then what?

There’s no problem, but the priority rule applies: no direct sun. Ideally, move the plant into shade, spotty or fairly dense. Even though you are reducing the light level by putting the tree in shade, the tropical humidity each and every night compensates for this reduction in light level. No leaves will drop while the plant summers in nighttime humidity outdoors, but you must compensate by watering the soil every 7-8 days while the tree is outdoors. Depending on your area, the fig tree could remain outdoors as long as nighttime temperatures remain in the 60’s. When overnight readings move below 60, the plant should be moved indoors. Now, where should the plant go?

Having been in shade thru the summer, locate the plant so it receives good indirect light in the home. This way, no leaves will drop indoors, but remember to revert to the watering schedule when the plant was indoors (every 12-14 days from then on).