{"product_id":"ficus-benjamina-exotica","title":"Exotica Weeping Fig - Ficus benjamina ‘Exotica’","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrice includes everything:\u003c\/strong\u003e the plant, free delivery and professional installation by our planting team. One price, whole job done.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eExotica Weeping Fig - Ficus benjamina ‘Exotica’\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Exotica’ is the weeping fig with slightly twisted, drawn-out leaf tips, giving a finer and more graceful canopy than the plain species. \u003cem\u003eFicus benjamina\u003c\/em\u003e is used in Australian landscapes for one main reason: it clips into a dense, glossy, perfectly even green wall faster than almost anything else, and it holds that face in heat and humidity. It has to be sited honestly, because left alone it becomes a very large tree with an aggressive root system.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eWhy Exotica Weeping Fig\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eScreening Speed\u003c\/strong\u003e: Fast, dense growth closes a gap along a boundary in a single warm season.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eClipping Response\u003c\/strong\u003e: It reshoots from anywhere on the plant, so it takes formal hedging, pleaching and topiary equally well.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLeaf Quality\u003c\/strong\u003e: Small glossy leaves with pointed twisted tips give a fine, refined texture on a large plant.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eShade Tolerance\u003c\/strong\u003e: It performs in bright shade as well as full sun, which few fast screening plants do.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRoot Vigour\u003c\/strong\u003e: The root system is strong and invasive, so keep it well away from pipes, paving, pool shells, footings and septic systems, or restrict it to a root-controlled planter.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eIdeal Applications\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eClipped Green Wall\u003c\/strong\u003e: Held at 2 to 4m it gives a formal evergreen screen along a fence line.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePleached Hedge on Stems\u003c\/strong\u003e: Trained above a fence it screens upper-storey overlooking without losing ground-level space.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLarge Planters\u003c\/strong\u003e: Root restriction in a substantial planter keeps it manageable in commercial and courtyard settings.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLarge Shade Tree\u003c\/strong\u003e: Where there is genuine open space well away from services it makes a broad, handsome canopy tree.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eSpecimen \u0026amp; Installation\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSpacing (screening\/hedge):\u003c\/strong\u003e 1-1.5m for a clipped screen\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSpacing (feature\/avenue):\u003c\/strong\u003e 8-10m, and no closer than that to buildings or services\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBest Planting Season:\u003c\/strong\u003e Spring through summer in warm soil\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSoil \u0026amp; Drainage:\u003c\/strong\u003e Almost any reasonably drained soil, from sand to improved clay. It is not fussy, but it does want warmth and will not tolerate more than the lightest frost.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEstablishment Care:\u003c\/strong\u003e Water twice weekly through the first summer to drive the fast early growth, then reduce as the canopy fills. Mulch to 75mm clear of the trunk, and begin light formative clipping in the first year so the screen builds density from the base rather than only at the top.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003ePlant Details\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e Held at 2-4m as a clipped screen, 10-15m or more if grown as a free-standing tree\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWidth:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.6-1m clipped, 6-10m as a tree\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGrowth Rate:\u003c\/strong\u003e Fast\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFoliage:\u003c\/strong\u003e Evergreen\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLight:\u003c\/strong\u003e Full sun to bright part shade\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNative to:\u003c\/strong\u003e South and South East Asia through to northern Australia and the Pacific\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFlower Colour:\u003c\/strong\u003e Insignificant, followed by small orange-red figs\n\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nursery Direct","offers":[{"title":"400mm","offer_id":59795336921374,"sku":"ND-0758-400MM","price":975.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200L","offer_id":59795336954142,"sku":"ND-0758-200L","price":3250.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/2536\/8862\/files\/aGPOjJE1ueAE-tIWbZfaY_VjY0kPjT.jpg?v=1787313581","url":"https:\/\/nurserydirect.com.au\/products\/ficus-benjamina-exotica","provider":"Nursery Direct","version":"1.0","type":"link"}