KOCHI: Ficus benjamina is a wonderful ficus genus with different forms and different usages and always helps a landscape designer to make special effects and features.
It grows in the wild with the same features as a normal ficus plant but looks cuter with more compact branches and leaves. The height reaches 30 ft. or more in a decade. As a stand alone plant it is good looking with its deep green shining leaves and smooth dark brown stem. The slender roots bobbing up the stems add to its beauty.
The plant can be showier when grown in containers.
Normally the branches are layered to avail new plants. The initial stem height will be around one foot which grows to a height about 3 to 5 ft in a year, which is the ideal for maintaining in pots. The pots must be made of strong material with adequate thickness else the roots are so strong that they are capable of breaking the container over a period of time. The media must have a major share of compost and be loose in nature for better and showy growth.
F benjamina can not tolerate excessive water which decays its root. Similarly water shortage makes the leaves yellow and abscises. You can keep this plant indoors for a reasonable time. If you keep it near a window there is no need to change the plant for long but in dark areas fortnightly changing is required. For that keep two sets of plants.
Normally insects and other pathogenic organisms have an aversion to this plant making it safe to grow. Frequent pruning to your desired shape and height maintain a better tuft of leaves.
It can be planted in a row to form green hedges, the height of which can be controlled to your taste depending on your need. If you are planting this as a hedge near hardscape structures or buildings, you must protect such places against the root invasion which often severely affects other building functions like plumbing and electrical or communication cables which often get tangled in the roots. In order to avoid such situations you must confine its growth to well organised concrete troughs where the upper part of the container projects out of the soil enabling you to train the outgoing roots at least once in a year. F benjamina is perennial so once a feature is made you can continue with it for so many years.
subramanianm@express buzz.com