Ficus pumila Creeping Fig

Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit

Ficus pumila, commonly called creeping fig, is a woody evergreen vine grown for its ornamental value. Although figs do not visibly flower, as the tiny flowers develop inside the fruits, they are still attractive plants. Ficus pumila has handsome rich-green ovate and heart-shaped leaves and may bear 2-inch-long pear-shaped purple fruit throughout the year in favorable conditions.

This award-winning vine grows vigorously, rapidly climbing or trailing, covering walls, trellis, fences, and supports by adhesive aerial roots. The plant can also be grown as an annual ground cover, a specimen, foundation, or container plant, indoors or outdoors. In the ground, Ficus pumila reaches 10 to 15 feet tall at maturity, but it can be pruned to shape and size. In a container, the plant will stay much smaller, especially with judicious pruning.

An easy-grow plant, creeping fig grows best in dappled sun to partially shady locations with high humidity and humus-rich, moist, well-drained soil, but it will tolerate full sun and drought, once established. The plant is also deer resistant.