This fig grows into an attractive, glossy shrub or small tree, making it both an attractive feature plant or an ideal foil in a mixed arrangement. Known as the narrow-leaf fig, it has graceful, drooping, pointed-tipped foliage, which changes size and shape as the plant ages.
When young, the leaves are long and lance-shaped (8 x 1½ in./20 x 4 cm) developing a more oblong shape in a mature specimen (9 x 3—3.5 cm/3½ x 1¼ —1 ½ in.). The egg-shaped figs, ½ in. (10 mm) across, are borne singly or in pairs. This species originates in areas from southeast Asia to the Philippines.
Size: Height 6 ft. (1.8 m).
For cultivation see F. benjamina.
Propagation: Take tip cuttings, 4 in. (10 cm) long, in spring. The cutting will root better if the bottom ½ in. (1 cm) has become light brown and woody. To prevent latex forming a cap on the base of the cutting, strip the leaves from the lower third and place in water for 30 minutes. Remove, shake off water, and dip the cut surface only in rooting hormone, then insert in soil and seal in a plastic bag1 in a bright place, out of direct sun.