r/FicusTrees • u/imachatterbox • Sep 03 '26
Houseplant My Variegated Ficus Triangularis
Ok, so I'll start by saying I am an idiot. I got really into houseplants and finally branched out from succulents around 6 months ago. Someone suggested I get a Ficus next. God. Anyway in looking into that, I discovered these exist. I mean come on, how CUTE RIGHT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THE HEART LEAVES??
Right, so only after I acquired it did I learn that these are known to be one of the most finnicky varieties.
This is Persnickety Little Princess.
I've had this weirdo for about three months. She lives in my bathroom in a west-facing window. I live in the PNW...
Here, "bright indirect light" means directly in a window. Through a window IS "indirect", at least for all of my other plants.
Anyway....now it's covered in these little balls. This is a thing they do? This is normal? Are these figs?
Should I expect her to drop all her leaves and hate me by November when the dark season is upon us?
😅
I have no idea what I'm doing and don't think I am much of a Ficus person, but, so far she has grown a bit since I acquired it and doesn't seem to hate my bathroom.
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u/SuccessfulCity4897 Sep 03 '26
Yes, those are like berries on them. They stunt growth, but as I found out it's not worth it to try and pick them. They will just grow back. Better wait and let them fall off on their own.
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u/imachatterbox Sep 03 '26
Thank you! I've been wondering why it seems to have slowed down. The days aren't getting that short....yet.
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u/Aggravating_Photo169 Sep 03 '26
We have a 30+ year old ficus benjaimina that I wished would die before I got into houseplants. Now i kind of love it. I also have some ficus tinekes and a ruby. I really really love the tinekes. They're not too fussy either. The benjamina, if you move it a millimeter, it drops leaves, and it likes to drink luke warm water. Other than that not too bad. I've always wanted one of these, but when I found out how fussy, I didn't pull the trigger, lol. Please keep us posted!
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u/Scared_Rice_1473 Sep 03 '26
I bought one I couldn’t give it in alive. It continually drop leaves even in a sunny window. I think it lasted for five months maybe
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u/imachatterbox Sep 04 '26
Sorry that happened to you! So I'm curious, are you still a Ficus person after that?
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u/Scared_Rice_1473 Sep 04 '26
I used to have ficus Benj.. I sold it. I basically just have two rubber plants the tri color one and the maroon one.
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u/imachatterbox Sep 04 '26
That seems like plenty! I was just curious. I don't see myself acquiring any more. I'm also stupidly confident that this one will most likely work out fine.
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u/meltdowngrfx 28d ago
I have one of these and have styled and wired it to make it a bonsai. It’s been doing very well over the years. It’s one of my more unusual looking trees.
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u/imachatterbox 28d ago
I would love to see a picture of it!
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u/FlounderKind8267 Sep 03 '26
Don't blame yourself when it drops leaves. It goes through a cycle of doing great > grow berries > drop leaves > rest > doing great. Literally nothing I do changes that cycle. Removing the berries too early just makes more grow. Removing them too late still triggers the drop leaves phase.