# F. Pumila vs. Marcgravia



## taylorreedmullen (May 23, 2015)

Which would you recommend for covering 3 sides of a vivarium in a fast-ish amount of time? And which would look better?


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## taylorreedmullen (May 23, 2015)

Pros and cons to each would be helpful too


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Which would look better is entirely in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I've come to hate Ficus Pumila (Creeping Fig), due to it's incredibly fast growth rates. I got tired of it taking over tanks if you don't really keep on top of it.
However the very reason I hate it, might make it more attractive for you. It will grow faster than the Marcgravia will.
Additionally, the F. Pumila is much less expensive, and easier to acquire, than Marcgravia is. That may allow you to purchase more F. Pumila than you could afford or find, of the Marcgravia. This of course, allows you to scatter more starts around your wall, allowing for even faster coverage.
Another important aspect would be your lighting. F. Pumila will grow and thrive in the poorest of lighting conditions, while the Marcgravia will demand better quality and brighter light.
If your tank will support the Marcgravia, you will eventually find the Marcgravia much easier to remove the overgrowth on. Marcgravia generally pulls away from walls fairly easily, while the F. Pumila will tear and shred, leaving lots of bits of live material behind that you simply can't remove. It grows back quickly and can eventually be exasperating. When you are removing overgrowth, you will likely have to simply dispose of most of your F. Pumila clippings as dirt cheap and next to worthless. If however, your overgrowth consists of Margravia clippings, you will have a line of people eager to give you a few bucks for some.
Do you intend to have any other plants on your background? If so, keep in mind that it is usually only a matter of time before Ficus will win the overgrowth battle and kill every other plant on the background. Marcgravia, on the other hand, plays very well with others on the background. It's easier to control habbits, allow you to keep many other plants on your background.
For me, the choice is Marcgravia. Here is a tank I did with Marcgravia and MANY other plants on the background.
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/at...1333947946-pumilos-75-corner-viv-pict0029.jpg
From this thread. http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/members-frogs-vivariums/76581-pumilos-75-corner-viv.html


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## taylorreedmullen (May 23, 2015)

Pumilo said:


> Which would look better is entirely in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I've come to hate Ficus Pumila (Creeping Fig), due to it's incredibly fast growth rates. I got tired of it taking over tanks if you don't really keep on top of it.
> 
> However the very reason I hate it, might make it more attractive for you. It will grow faster than the Marcgravia will.
> 
> ...



I was planning on having all f. Pumila except for a drift wood piece in the centre with my treasured Sophronitis brevipedunculata orchid mounted on it and I was planning on just clipping it away from that but from what you're saying that seems nearly impossible so Marcgravia is probably a better way to go. I personally like the looks of the Marcgravia and my viv has sufficient light but I don't know where to get it in large amounts for a decent price.


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## CakeandIguana (Jun 4, 2014)

taylorreedmullen said:


> I was planning on having all f. Pumila except for a drift wood piece in the centre with my treasured Sophronitis brevipedunculata orchid mounted on it and I was planning on just clipping it away from that but from what you're saying that seems nearly impossible so Marcgravia is probably a better way to go. I personally like the looks of the Marcgravia and my viv has sufficient light but I don't know where to get it in large amounts for a decent price.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I have the same problem as you. I need some Marcgravia for a tank but it's extremely expensive, like $20 for a cutting. I've been looking around for a long while. Help would be greatly appreciated!


You could try buying Ficus pumila quercifolia. It's a somewhat slow grower, but it has the cutest leaves(!) and it's quite cheap and available. It definitely won't rampage in your vivarium.

EDIT: Found a pic of Ficus pumila quercifolia-covered wall.


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## taylorreedmullen (May 23, 2015)

Are there any other good vining plants other than those 2? Maybe there's another option. And the f. Pumila quercifolia sounds like a better idea!


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## CakeandIguana (Jun 4, 2014)

Other vines could be: Begonia sp. Lita, Philodendron 'sucres slim' (probably only good for a large vivarium), Cissus amazonica (might be unruly if given too much light), and Cissus discolor (Very large and aggressive grower). I'm guessing there are many peperomia vines too, but I don't know much about the.


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## topher (Oct 9, 2013)

If you are planning on using S. brevipedunculata as a centerpiece you might as well go ahead an spend a couple extra bucks to get ahold of some Marc. sp. You are going to find that F. pumila will quickly overgrow your centerpiece and you definitely do that. In my opinion, Marc. just looks better, as well. It grows flat and has an interesting growth habit.. F. pumila is, well, spastic and boring when it comes to growth habits at times, quickly taking over other plants and as someone else stated, a pain. 

There are some Marcgravia species that will grow quicker than others, one being Marc. rectiflora. If youre willing to pay the 50 bucks a cutting price tag, Marc. sintinesii is my fastest grower by far. It's somewhat rare at the moment, but im sure when the people who have it get some more time with it, cutting prices will drop as it grows very well under common viv lighting. Im sure some will disagree, but for me M. umbelata tends to grow slower and become a little woodier. Just my observations under my lighting, other people will have other opinions.


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## taylorreedmullen (May 23, 2015)

topher said:


> If you are planning on using S. brevipedunculata as a centerpiece you might as well go ahead an spend a couple extra bucks to get ahold of some Marc. sp. You are going to find that F. pumila will quickly overgrow your centerpiece and you definitely do that. In my opinion, Marc. just looks better, as well. It grows flat and has an interesting growth habit.. F. pumila is, well, spastic and boring when it comes to growth habits at times, quickly taking over other plants and as someone else stated, a pain.
> 
> 
> 
> There are some Marcgravia species that will grow quicker than others, one being Marc. rectiflora. If youre willing to pay the 50 bucks a cutting price tag, Marc. sintinesii is my fastest grower by far. It's somewhat rare at the moment, but im sure when the people who have it get some more time with it, cutting prices will drop as it grows very well under common viv lighting. Im sure some will disagree, but for me M. umbelata tends to grow slower and become a little woodier. Just my observations under my lighting, other people will have other opinions.



I think my lighting is sufficient for the size of my tank but If it's not I don't want to waste the money on the Marc. And the reason the s. Brevipedunculata is my centrepiece is because it's my only kind of pricey thing in the tank. It's only a 20 gallon but it's a display tank and I would really like it to look good. If I only got like 2 cuttings would that be enough to cover it over time?


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## topher (Oct 9, 2013)

Marc. has a pretty straight up growing habit, so honestly I dont think it will cover your background "quickly" but given time, yes. Rectiflora is a good option, as you can usually find someone willing to sell a few cuttings for cheap and it grows pretty quickly. Really just comes down to whatever you like better (lookswise).


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## taylorreedmullen (May 23, 2015)

topher said:


> Marc. has a pretty straight up growing habit, so honestly I dont think it will cover your background "quickly" but given time, yes. Rectiflora is a good option, as you can usually find someone willing to sell a few cuttings for cheap and it grows pretty quickly. Really just comes down to whatever you like better (lookswise).



By quickly I mean like a few months if that helps


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## taylorreedmullen (May 23, 2015)

http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h428/Robert_Valera/antique viv/DSC_0065.jpg

But I'm not really going for this look it looks very messy and overlapped. I want just a layer a vegetation that's going 1 direction-ish unless it has larger leaves to cover the mess.


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## taylorreedmullen (May 23, 2015)

Any info on ficus pumila "minima"?


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

If you are considering F. pumila why not consider the standard vivarium pellionias. Pellionia repens and pulchra both will cover a background in a reasonably short amount of time. And I like to call them poor mans marcgravia. They are also reasonable enough to keep them under control and their stems break easily which IMO makes them easier to manage than ficus. 

If you have enough Sophronitis brevipedunculata to take a division I will trade you both pellionias and multiple clippings of marcgravia rectiflora.


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## taylorreedmullen (May 23, 2015)

Pubfiction said:


> If you are considering F. pumila why not consider the standard vivarium pellionias. Pellionia repens and pulchra both will cover a background in a reasonably short amount of time. And I like to call them poor mans marcgravia. They are also reasonable enough to keep them under control and their stems break easily which IMO makes them easier to manage than ficus.
> 
> 
> 
> If you have enough Sophronitis brevipedunculata to take a division I will trade you both pellionias and multiple clippings of marcgravia rectiflora.



I would really like to take up on your offer but I really don't have enough it's quite small and I need it to grow as much as I can to get it to look natural and since they're quite slow growing I don't think I could spare any just yet


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## taylorreedmullen (May 23, 2015)

This is going to be my only Viv ( getting rid of my daygecko  ) and it's only 20 gallon so if I keep up with pruning will the F. Pumila (maybe minima?) be ok? Or will it still somehow kill everything else?


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## nafrawle (Mar 2, 2015)

How about Solanum sp. or Ficus "Panama"? Both are in the price range in between the Pumila and Marcgravia, and both grow aggressively while staying easy to trim.


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## taylorreedmullen (May 23, 2015)

nafrawle said:


> How about Solanum sp. or Ficus "Panama"? Both are in the price range in between the Pumila and Marcgravia, and both grow aggressively while staying easy to trim.



Not really a fan of either of those looks :/


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## taylorreedmullen (May 23, 2015)

I think I might take a chance and go with the creeping fig 'minima' I really do like the look I find it looks lush and tropical. It grows fast and I'll just have to do constant trimming which I don't mind!


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## bicyclephysics (Apr 26, 2013)

Ficus is NOT a tidy plant, if you're looking for something that will grow in one layer/one main direction marcgravia is definitely the better option. Much easier to guide and prune.


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## CakeandIguana (Jun 4, 2014)

Considering the OP wants it to cover 3 walls of the terrarium, I think minima should work well.


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