17 Best Types of Ficus Tree to Grow at Home (2024)

Ficus trees are some of the most popular plants for growing indoors as houseplants. Each variety produces attractive foliage and unique silhouettes that can truly make them a delight to cultivate in your home. Keep reading to learn all about the best types of ficus trees and some of the most popular species for growing as houseplants.

1. Fiddle Leaf Fig (Ficus lyrata)

The fiddle leaf fig might be the most popular type of ficus to grow indoors. These trees have lovely, slender, brown trunks and broad, glossy leaves that are shaped similarly to fiddles, growing broader at their bases and tips. Native to western Africa, fiddle leaf fig trees can grow to be about 50-feet tall in their natural habitat. Indoors, they can grow to be about 10-feet tall.

Further reading: Fiddle Leaf Fig plant care at home.

2. Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila)

The creeping fig or climbing fig plant is a popular variety of ficus that grows natively in eastern Asia. As its common name suggests, this ficus is a vine with a creeping or climbing habit. As a result, you’ll need to support it so it can climb. While a creeping fig can cling to the walls of your home on its own, pulling it away can actually damage the paint on your walls.

3. African Fig Tree (Ficus cyathistipula)

This ficus species can grow as small trees, shrubs, or hemiepiphytic lianas that cling to the sides of other trees in the tropical forests of Africa. Grown indoors, the African fig tree typically grows into a small tree with ovate leaves papering the plant’s slender trunk with large, lush foliage.

4. Mistletoe Fig (Ficus deltoidea)

This species of ficus is native to southeast Asia. It features bright-green, rounded leaves and grows as a tree or hemiepiphytic shrub in its native climate. The mistletoe fig gets its name from the reddish-white berries the plant produces when it has ample sunshine. These berries result in the plant resembling the famous plant used for kissing at Christmastime.

5. Common Fig (Ficus carica)

Native to western Asia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean, the common fig is the species of fig you are likely most familiar with because this species of ficus tree produces the fruits we all know as “figs.” At some point, you have probably enjoyed these sweet fruits, which are often available dried, used in jams, or found in fig-based desserts.

6. Red Leaf Fig (Ficus congesta)

The red leaf fig is native to northeastern Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Papuasia where it grows in rainforests, often along streams and creek beds. Mature leaves are vibrant green in color and long (about 5 to 10 inches), and they sprout from branches in alternate patterns that look like rosettes when viewed from above. New foliage growth has a reddish-orange, coppery coloring, and that’s where the Ficus congesta gets its common name.

7. Burgundy Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica ‘Burgundy’)

Native to the rainforests of South America and India, the burgundy rubber tree is a cultivar of the Ficus elastica. It features large, glossy, deep-green, ovate leaves that are each striped with a unique center vein in a strikingly bright red or burgundy color. This plant is relatively easy to grow, but it does not adapt well to change. So, be sure before you choose a location in your home.

8. Variegated Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica ‘Ruby’)

The variegated rubber tree or ruby rubber tree is one of the most striking ficus plants to grow at home. It features large, broad leaves that are splashed with cream, green, and a striking pink or red color. While this rubber tree is one of the most attractive, it does need more sunlight than other rubber trees because its less-green leaves do not photosynthesize as efficiently as their vibrant green counterparts.

9. Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica ‘Robusta’)

This cultivar of the Ficus elastica features a more compact silhouette and wider leaves, making it a great choice of houseplant thanks to its high-impact foliage and low-profile size. It’s also one of the easiest ficus trees to grow indoors in an artificial environment because it can tolerate the lower light conditions that are often common indoors while also handling the lower humidity that’s usually present inside.

Further reading: Rubber tree plant care at home.

10. Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica)

Although there are several cultivars of the Ficus elastica, this species, native to southeastern Asia, is the original rubber tree, and it’s one of the most popular houseplants. The rubber tree grows a slender, brown trunk from which large, broad, ovate leaves in a glossy green sprout in an alternating pattern around the stalk. In the wild, this ficus tree can reach almost 100 feet. Grown indoors, however, it’s much more manageable.

11. Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina)

When you think of a basic ficus, the Ficus benjamina (commonly called weeping fig, Benjamin fig, or ficus tree) is most likely the plant you are picturing. These ficus trees are commonly trained to grow with braided stems or trunks and a prominent pom-pom-shaped burst of fluttery foliage at the top. The weeping fig is the official plant of Bangkok and a favorite in office spaces worldwide.

12. Indian Banyan (Ficus benghalensis)

The Ficus benghalensis (aka Ficus Audrey) is native to India hence its common native the Indian banyan. Going by measurements of canopy coverage, several Indian banyans growing in Idia are classified as some of the largest trees in the world. Grown indoors, you can rest easy, knowing your banyan houseplant won’t achieve the same impressive size.

13. Chinese Banyan (Ficus microcarpa)

The Ficus macrocarpa has common names, including Chinese banyan, Malayan Banyan, Indian laurel, and curtain fig. Its native habitat spans the tropical regions of southeastern Asia and Australia. This tree species produce whitish-red berries and is often cultivated in miniature form as a bonsai tree.

14. Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla)

The Moreton Bay fig, large-leafed ficus, or Australian banyan grows as a large (almost 200 feet tall), evergreen tree in its native range in Australia. These ficus trees have large, showy root systems that protrude and survive above the ground, giving these trees a theatrical appearance in nature and when cultivated indoors.

15. Retusa Bonsai (Ficus retusa)

Native to the Malay archipelago, this ficus tree can grow to be just over 30 feet tall when growing in its natural habitat. However, the Ficus retusa is commonly called the retusa bonsai because it is most often cultivated indoors as a miniature bonsai tree.

16. Alii Fig (Ficus maclellandii)

Native to India, China, and southeastern Asia, the Alii fig or banana-leaf fig produces two kinds of leaves – both long and narrow. Those growing near the top on higher branches are broader than the narrower leaves growing toward the plant’s base from branches closer to the ground.

17. Council Tree (Ficus altissima)

Commonly called the council tree or lofty fig, the ficus altissima is native to southeastern Asia and can reach heights of up to about 100 feet when growing in its natural habitat. It is an epiphytic ficus that grows by “strangling” or climbing up neighboring trees.

Grow the Right Ficus Tree for Your Home

No matter which ficus tree is your favorite, it is important to select a species that will grow well in your home’s environment. When selecting a type of ficus tree and location for it in your home, be sure to carefully consider the light conditions, temperature, and humidity in the plant’s specific spot. Taking care to provide your new ficus with the right environmental conditions will help ensure you enjoy a long, happy life with your houseplant.