How to Grow and Care for Banana Leaf Figs Ficus maclellandii
“Indoor” and “tree” aren’t two words that always go well together, but I’d say that the banana leaf fig makes it work.
A tall, woody plant that stands apart from your typical small and herbaceous houseplants, Ficus maclellandii can make a powerfully pretty statement in your home.
Add banana-shaped leaves and the fig moniker to the mix, and it may even have your stomach rumbling a little.
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Whether it’s a visual accent in your indoor jungle or the star of the show, the banana leaf fig is simply radiant.
But no matter how you utilize this plant, you’ll need to know how to cultivate it properly. We wouldn’t want such a pretty plant to pass on without reaching its aesthetic potential, now would we?
Our guide will walk you through the basics of banana leaf figs: their propagation, cultivation, maintenance, and more. Hopefully, you’ll find it a-peel-ing, cringey banana puns aside.
Here are the specifics:
What Are Banana Leaf Figs?The banana leaf fig – aka F. maclellandii – is a member of the Ficus genus, which contains over 900 species of shrubs, trees, and vines.
Hardy in USDA Zones 9 to 11, banana leaf figs hail from east India, Bangladesh, south China, and much of southeast Asia.
In the wild, they are found growing in wet, tropical to subtropical environments.
Banana leaf figs form trunks of smooth, light brown bark with distinct lenticels. This species is a member of the “strangler figs,” a group of epiphytic Ficus plants that can kill their hosts.
They establish themselves around the trunk of a host tree, put down terrestrial roots while dispatching
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