Creeping fig
Ficus pumila
Also called Climbing fig and Fig ivy
Houseplant · Trees & big statementsThe only fig that is not a tree. It sticks itself flat to whatever it touches with a cement that takes the paint off when you pull it away — a wall in a warm climate is a twenty-year problem, and it is a listed weed across the American southeast.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Easy
- Water
- Every 5 daysDrench and drain — water the whole surface until it runs from the holes.
- Light
- Medium indirect
- Feed
- Every 45 days
- Humidity
- High
- Hardiness
- Tender — no frost at all RHS H2, to 1°C
- Size
- 0.4 m tall · 1.2 m across
- Lifecycle
- Climber
- Origin
- East Asia — China, Japan and Vietnam
Is it safe for pets and people?
Affects dogs, cats, horses. Signs: mouth and gut irritation if chewed; a skin rash wherever the milky sap touches.
The milky sap, from any cut surface.
RHS category C. The sap is a latex — wear gloves to prune and wash it off skin at once.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-08-05.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- The small leaves go papery all over in a day, and this plant does not refill them — it wants evenly damp compost, unlike every other fig here.Crisping when it dries out · disorder
- The clinging roots take paint and render off with them when pulled. It is a listed weed across the American southeast and in New Zealand for exactly this reason.Cemented to the wall · disorder