Ficus benghalensis ‘Audrey’

Ficus benghalensis ‘Audrey’ is a tropical ornamental plant, increasingly popular as a houseplant, valued for its matte, velvety leaves with a slight sage-green hue.

Main features:

• Leaves: large, oval, with a velvety texture and very visible white central veins. The leaf surface is matte, with a pleasant soft green shade.

• Stem: woody, with a light-colored appearance, often decorative as the plant matures.

• Growth: has a moderate to fast pace and can become a shrub or a small tree indoors, reaching 1.5–2 m in height in a pot. In the wild (India), it becomes a giant tree, considered the national tree of India.

• Light: prefers strong indirect light; also tolerates medium light, but without enough light it may lose leaves.

• Watering: let the soil dry out by 40–50% between waterings. It is sensitive to excess water, which can cause yellowing and leaf drop.

• Temperature: moderate; does not tolerate temperatures below 12°C.

• Humidity: prefers moderate humidity but tolerates indoor air. Adapts more easily than Ficus lyrata.

• Soil: airy and well-drained mix, based on peat, universal soil, and perlite or bark.

Additional care:

• Rotate the pot periodically to maintain a symmetrical shape.

• Wipe the leaves regularly with a damp cloth to remove dust and allow efficient photosynthesis.

• It is more tolerant than other figs to environmental changes, but may still react with the loss of some leaves if moved suddenly or overly stressed.