All About Indoor Trees

Written by Kelly Fletcher

There’s truly no better way to bring the outdoors inside than with a dramatic indoor tree. Complimentary to any design style, interior trees have become a timeless staple in biophilic-minded interior design. But like a quality piece of furniture, indoor trees are an investment, and without the right care and lighting, they can turn into a sunk cost.

It’s important to be mindful of your home's unique environment when choosing an indoor tree and to be sure you’re ready for the care that the tree entails. Let’s dive into the care requirements, lighting suggestions, and general tips for popular indoor trees!

General Indoor Tree Tips

Rotate!

Plants grow towards the sunlight so we recommend rotating your trees a few inches once a month to ensure even growth.

Fertilize!

You don’t need a super fancy fertilizer to keep your indoor trees happy. We recommend using a nitrogen dominant, water soluble fertilizer, which means the first number in the NPK ratio (which will appear like 9-3-6 on the bottle) is the highest. Fertilize your indoor tree once a month for as long as you’re seeing new growth!

Dust!

Dusting your leaves not only makes them aesthetically look nice, but it’s a great way to keep tabs on potential pest issues and it helps them photosynthesize (or create energy for new growth) more efficiently.

Check for pests!

It can be devastating to catch a pest infestation too late on large indoor trees, which is why it’s important to regularly check your tree for plant pests! We’ve got an in depth article on pest management here if you’d like to learn more.

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Fiddle Leaf Fig (Ficus lyrata)

Among one of the more popular indoor trees is, of course, the Fiddle Leaf Fig. But they’ve garnered a reputation for being a finicky, temperamental tree– which can be true, but if given the correct care, Fiddle Leafs can be pretty easy going!

Lighting

Most ficus prefer bright indirect light, which means you’ll want to place this tree a few feet back from a south or west facing window that isn’t obscured. Supplemental light, such as a grow light, can be helpful in homes that don’t get much natural sunlight! If your heart is set on this ficus and you just don’t have the best lighting situation for it, we absolutely recommend a grow light, but be mindful of your watering technique.

Watering

We typically don’t recommend a ridgid watering schedule for your plants because factors such as overcast weather and length of daylight can change the rate at which your soil dries and watering without checking your soil first can easily lead to overwatering.But we’re going to immediately note the exception to that rule which is Fiddle Leaf Figs! They are the one plant we recommend an actual watering schedule for because they thrive with a routine. They don’t love change of any kind. So if your FLF is in a great lighting situation, you may find yourself watering once or twice a week. You’ll have to find the right cadence by checking your soil moisture level though. You’ll want to keep their soil consistently moist but not super wet, they don’t tolerate over or under watering and both can lead to leaf loss (defoliation.)Tips- Like we mentioned, FLF’s don’t like change of any kind, big changes in their environment, such as relocation, can cause them to go into shock and drop leaves. So if this happens when you first get your tree, don’t panic and allow the tree to adjust to the new space! This also means that any adjustments you’d like to make to the tree, such as rotation for even growth, should happen slowly and gradually. Fiddle Leaf Figs are prone to scale. You can learn all about how to identify and treat scale in our blog!

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Ficus Aubrey

This gorgeous ficus has been growing in popularity in recent years and is one of my personal favorites! Slightly more even tempered than the Fiddle Leaf, Ficus aubrey is the perfect tree to achieve an airy, light look!

Lighting

Most ficus prefer bright indirect light, which means you’ll want to place this tree a few feet back from a south or west facing window that isn’t obscured. Supplemental light, such as a grow light, can be helpful in homes that don’t get much natural sunlight! This ficus will tolerate medium light, so if you’ve got an east facing window that gets a few hours of morning light, you can place this tree there as well!

Watering

As we mentioned in the Fiddle Leaf section, we cannot recommend enough checking the soil before you water it. For larger plants and trees, we use a soil sleuth which is a tool that allows you to check the soil moisture throughout the entire plant, not just the top soil! This is important because your topsoil will dry much faster than the soil towards the bottom of the planter. This is the best way to prevent over watering! You’ll want to keep the soil of Ficus aubrey consistently slightly moist but not wet.

Tips

We’ve found with this tree that spider mites can be an issue, especially if the tree is near a vent in your home! Learn how to identify and treat spider mites here!

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Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica)

These ficus are the perfect choice if you have a space that doesn’t get much natural light. They sport these stunning dark, glossy leaves that are sure to make a statement!

Lighting

These ficus can tolerate medium light, which means you can place them near an east or north facing window. They can even tolerate low light if they have supplemental lighting such as a grow light! Although, the more light the better, they’ll thrive in bright, indirect light. Keep in mind that having a plant in a medium to low light environment will often mean that you’re watering less and growth will be slower.

Watering

Rubber Trees are sensitive to overwatering as they prefer to dry out completely in between waterings! Be sure to check your soil moisture level and be extra cautious of this if your tree is in a medium to low light situation.

Tips

You may find yourself dusting this plant more than other because dust just tends to look more prominent against the dark leaves!

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Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina)

Another Plant Savvy favorite! Ficus benjamina looks so whimsical in a space and offers a beautiful canopy for your home. I think these ficus just bring such warmth to any space!

Lighting

Most ficus prefer bright indirect light, which means you’ll want to place this tree a few feet back from a south or west facing window that isn’t obscured. Supplemental light, such as a grow light, can be helpful in homes that don’t get much natural sunlight!

Watering

Check your soil moisture level with a soil sleuth and water when the soil is slightly moist but not wet. These trees can tolerate drying out slightly but prefer their soil to stay consistently moist!

Tips

We’ve seen this tree get spider mites and scale which are both a menace to treat on a tree with so many leaves (trust me!!) You can find a full blog on treating and identifying scale and spider mites here, but the best way to start with treatment for these ficus are to take them outside and spray the pests off with pressurized water.

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Dracaena

Dracaena are our go to choice for medium to low light situations! They’re relatively easy to care for and will grow into your space in such a dynamic way! Across the board, Dracaena have similar care and lighting requirements (other than variegated varieties which will require more light) but there are so many gorgeous varieties of this tree to explore!

Lighting

Like the Ficus elastica, Dracaenas can tolerate medium light, which means you can place them near an east or north facing window. They can even tolerate low light if they have supplemental lighting such as a grow light! Although, the more light the better, they’ll thrive in bright, indirect light. Keep in mind that having a plant in a medium to low light environment will often mean that you’re watering less and growth will be slower.

Watering

Dracaenas prefer to dry out completely in between waterings! Be sure to check your soil moisture level and be extra cautious of this if your tree is in a medium to low light situation. Dracaenas are sensitive to overwatering and prone to root rot if their soil stays wet for too long.

Tips

You can strategically prune and use light manipulation to guide Dracaenas’ growth pattern. This can be achieved by rotating them or using supplemental grow lights. This takes time but the results really pay off!

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If you’re considering bringing an indoor tree into your space. It’s important to research your options and choose something that you know will thrive based on the care you’re able to give as well as the environment! As always, please reach out if you’d like any help choosing the right plants for your space!

Until then, happy planting!

Kelly