Glass Jar Garden

Plants

Creeping fig 'Minima' as drawn in the simulator

Creeping fig 'Minima'

Ficus pumila 'Minima'

BeginnerFine in a closed jar

A smaller, slower creeping fig that mats over stone and wood.

What the simulation uses

Light
2,500 to 10,000 lux
The brightness it grows well in.
Humidity
50 to 95 % RH
Air moisture it is happy in; below the lower end it dries out.
Temperature
15 to 30 °C
Comfortable range; outside it growth slows.
Dies at
below 1 or above 38 °C
Days beyond these temperatures kill it.
Soil pH
5.5 to 7 pH
Soil acidity it prefers.
Grows up
2.5 cm/month
How fast it gains height in good conditions.
Spreads
2.5 cm/month
How fast its edge creeps outwards.
Copes with wet
fair
How well it stands soggy soil; poor means rot comes quickly.
Copes with still air
good
Sealed jars have still air; poor means grey mould finds it.
Copes with shade
good
How well it holds on in dim light.
Copes with drying
fair
How well it survives the jar drying out.
Water use
0.08 ml/cm²/day
Water drawn up from its roots per cm² of leaves in room air; a sealed jar cuts this to a fraction and returns it down the glass.
Leaf drop
3 %/month
Share of its leaves it sheds each month as litter for the cleanup crew.
Soft leaves
yes
Soft new growth that hungry isopods will nibble.
Full size
17.5 cm tall, 65 cm wide
Its size when grown, before the lid stops it.

Care

Day length
10 to 14 h
Substrate
Moist

What kills it

Description

Slow and mat-forming, this one dresses a back wall or a piece of hardscape nicely. It still needs the odd trim to stay in bounds. Wear gloves when you cut it, as the sap can irritate skin.

Also called climbing fig, mini creeping fig.

Estimated, where sources were thin: growth rates for 'Minima'; temp_lethal_c max; mature size in terrarium.

Sources

Grow it in a jar