# Weeping Fig (Ficus Benjamina)



## AndrewFromSoCal (Jan 1, 2007)

I have a 37g aquarium I was going to use for some crested geckos (dimensions escape me right now, i'm at school) and I read something that said the _Ficus Benjamina_ was one of their favorite plants. Now, I looked it up online and it said it grew to 30m in height. How is it possible people use this for terrariums? Any insight would be very helpful.


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## Curt61 (Jan 16, 2007)

Hey, I am not sure, but there could be a smaller verson of that plant and that is what people are talking about. Or maybe that is what they live in out in the wild.

Curt.


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## thekidgecko (Oct 30, 2006)

They can get that big. A good pair of clippers prevents that though.  They stay quite small when trimmed.


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

*Help is on the way!*

Actualy, I always thought they were the "favorite" of true chameleons, but okay--how tall is your tank?

There are SEVERAL dwarf varieties of benjamina, Too Little" being the tiniest, almost a "genetic bonsai." Try googling this--if you cannot find any trade names, lemme know. One unsolicited word of advice, though: stay away from the variegated form, for two reasons: (1) it is not easy to grow and; (2) it visually competes with the animals! 

--Incidentally, fuggedabout how TALL F. benjamina gets in the wild--it gets as WIDE--with a crown that shields light from any herbaceous plants below it :shock: 

I sometimes wonder if it were not for their lack of cold tolerance, the genus Ficus might have become the dominant dicot on this planet....


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## arielelf (May 23, 2007)

The Ficus Benjamin is a great plant and would be a great addition to your terrerium. I raise them for use as bonsai and they are by far my favorite trees for bonsai. They do indeed get huge in the wild(if they have the right conditions) Some Benjamins get huge arial roots which can look amazing. They can be pruned so that they will stay small enough for your tank. You just have to cut the last couple leaves with the stem, or the shoot on the end of a branch every so often as it gets larger. This will cause branches to sprout further back down the branch, which will make the tree fill out with more foliage without getting larger. These plants generally like a good bit of light and cannot tolerate constant moist soil, they like to have their roots dry out every once in a while or else they will rot.


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