I took mine outside and hosed it off with the jet sprayer, keeping the water away from the base. Even after cleaning it, I saw that it had some leaves that were discolored and that wouldn't come back to life. It went out in the trash.

Any plant will be happier and healthier not coated in dust. You can clean the leaves individually, put it in the shower, or hose it off if it's warm enough.

Love your thread title!

I empathize and have chosen NOT to ficus! LOL At least not the Ficus Benjamina which is not the easiest plant to grow well. I tried this variety twice and all they did was drop leaves and look pathetic. They need a lot of indirect light and a humid environment.

Best way to clean houseplants is to shower them altho that's difficult, if not impossible, with large plants.

Thanks for the laugh! How 'bout putting it in the back of your pickup and going through the carwash? ;)

I have a big one (about 8 feet tall, and quite full and wide) that lives in the bay window in our living room from late October to late March, and goes out onto the covered (but open all around) back porch for the warmer months, where it gets morning sun and all the rain.

Except for a few weeks of moping when it has to come inside, it's been living this way in three houses for about 30 years. I like it.

Live Ficus trees can be finicky. When you find a spot they like, don't move it. Otherwise it will drop leaves. Also if you put it on a porch in the summer, be sure to treat the soil with a systemic insecticide before bring it back into the house. Those little buggers like to follow the plant inside. After bringing the plant into the house, it may drop a few leaves but if it "loves" it's new spot, it will do fine. Yes, wash it in the shower or outside with the hose...covering the dirt/pot.

Thanks, grandma...what it loves most is being outside in the weather, but we're in zone 7, so we have to protect it during the cold months. I know you are right about not liking to move, but it thrives so vigorously outside that we do it anyway.

And thanks for the advice about the insectcide. No problems so far, but we'll do it from now on to make sure none arise.

If you are looking for an easy indoor plant try Dracaena Masangeana (Corn Plant). Usually you only see smaller pots, but ours was a 9 ft plant with five "stalks". We had it for 7 years and it was very easy to grow. It looked great in our vaulted family room. Unfortunately we were relocated overseas for a few years and we left it in the house we sold. A local nursery should be able to special order larger pots.

Here is a link that might be useful: Easy indoor plant

Here is a link that might be useful: Easy indoor plant

This post was edited by chispa on Thu, Nov 29, 12 at 17:44

Ours lives outside most of the year on the deck, and then in the greenhouse. They shed too much for me to bring inside!

Oops, I'm afraid I missed a major point: My ficus os ARTIFICIAL! I

i have brought our ficus in and out seasonally for quite a few years now, but it was put outside for a week recently when our floors were being refinished and it got too cold for it, leaves are browning and it is dropping all of it's leaves... i'm trying to decide whether to live with a bare tree all winter until spring...??? :(

i have an artificial one in our seldom used living room which i like- i keep white lights on a timer on it year round. once or twice a year i take it outside, tilt it and spray it with a hose(lights and all) and let it dry.

we used to have one but finally got rid of it due to all the dust but like fun2BHere we would take it outside and hose it down

I have a huge ficus. It belonged to my grandmother and for years, when she got older and didn't want to deal with a Christmas tree, she strung lights and a few ornaments on it. I was thrilled to get it when she passed on so I do my darndest to keep that baby alive. Since ficus are long-lived plants I should be able to enjoy it for many, many year and have a wonderful living reminder of my grandmother in our house. It spends the summer in a shady spot outside and before I bring it in, I give it a lot of showers. I can't say I've ever thought much about dusting it or noticed that it got too dusty during it's stay indoors.

"Oops, I'm afraid I missed a major point: My ficus os ARTIFICIAL!"

Not to ficus... unless you really need something green in that spot and can't get a real plant to grow there. :) Just my opinion as a dust allergy sufferer...

"Oops, I'm afraid I missed a major point: My ficus os ARTIFICIAL!

Then it will do just fine outside no matter what zone you are in...