Creeping fig
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Middling It gives warning, with time to act.
Also called climbing fig, climbingfig, creeping rubber plant and ok-gue.
Creeping fig is toxic
- Toxic to cats. Toxic principle: Proteolytic enzyme (ficin), psoralen (ficusin). ASPCA ASPCA names the genus (Ficus sp.), not the species.
- Toxic to dogs. Toxic principle: Proteolytic enzyme (ficin), psoralen (ficusin). ASPCA ASPCA names the genus (Ficus sp.), not the species.
- Toxic to people. Can cause skin allergy. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it. RHS
What the sources say about its care
Sources file this plant under other names: Ficus sp (ASPCA, genus only). Citations below point at the name its source uses.
- Light
- Full sunRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H2 — 1–5°C 1–5 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- ToxicASPCA names the genus (Ficus sp.), not the species.ASPCA, filed as Ficus sp. · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- ToxicASPCA names the genus (Ficus sp.), not the species.ASPCA, filed as Ficus sp. · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- Can cause skin allergy. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Leaf blade tips go crisp and brown
On a creeping fig the browning starts furthest from the midrib and works inward, and it crumbles rather than smears. The centre of each leaf blade is untouched.
Transpiration rises as the air dries, and the tissue furthest from a vein loses first. Penn State Extension notes there is no single humidity figure that suits every indoor plant, which is why this site publishes a range rather than a number.
Telling it apart: What else in the room changed. Edges that browned when the radiators came on point at the air rather than at the watering.
Penn State ExtensionCreeping fig brown leaf tips and edges: causes- Pale dry areas across the upper leaf blades only
Affected tissue goes pale and then papery, and the boundary follows where the light falls rather than the shape of the leaf blade.
Full sun is what its source names, and outdoors that sun comes with moving air that cools the foliage. Behind still glass the same light heats the tissue well above the room, and the exposed patches dry out first.
Telling it apart: Whether the patches grow. Scorch is done once it happens; a leaf spot keeps spreading.
RHSCreeping fig leaves turning yellow: causes- The older part of the vine yellows while the compost stays soaked
On a creeping fig the yellowing climbs from below. Affected leaf blades feel limp rather than papery, and water sits in the saucer long after it drains through.
Water held around the roots for days leaves them without air, and a root without air stops working within a week. Its source describes moist but well-drained soil for good reason.
Telling it apart: Lift it from the pot. Firm pale roots mean the water is not the problem; brown soft ones that smell sour mean it is.
RHSCreeping fig leaves turning yellow: causes
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Creeping fig.
Routine care
- Watering
- Water regularly while it grows, and less from fall to late winter.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- Increase from seed, or from semi-hardwood or leaf-bud cuttings.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- Prune when needed.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by banded greenhouse thrips.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Under glass, scale insects, mealybugs, thrips and glasshouse red spider mite can occur. Diseases: honey fungus can occur.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Ficus pumila, commonly known as the creeping fig or climbing fig, is a species of flowering plant in the mulberry family, native to East Asia and naturalised in parts of the southeastern and south-central United States. It is also found in cultivation as a houseplant. The Latin specific epithet pumila means "dwarf", and refers to the very small leaves of the plant.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- C. & S. China to Temp. E. Asia and Indo-ChinaWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Central and Southern China, Eastern AsiaNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026E AsiaRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- subtropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- climbing shrub or lianaWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Vine; habit climbing, spreadingNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Climbing (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 96–180 in; width 36–72 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 2.5-4 metres; spread 1.5-2.5 metres after 5–10 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Only the adult form grown outside flowers: tiny unisexual blooms in the leaf axils, hidden in a fleshy fig that fig wasps enter at the tip to pollinate. Indoors it seldom flowers.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers green in summerRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Uses
What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.
It is not normally grown for its fruit, but when prepared correctly the fruit is popular in Asian countries.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Creeping fig
Other Ficus
Chinese banyanFaded, yellow-white areas on the sunny side of the canopy
Common figA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
Fiddle-leaf figEdges of the leaf blades brown while the middle stays sound
Rubber plantCrisp margins that appear in winter
Ara BanyanSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Banana leaf figSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
More of the Moraceae family
Congo FigSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Delta FigSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
- No photograph yetFicus binnendykiiSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Indian LaurelSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Peepul TreeSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
- No photograph yetWeeping figEdges of the leaves brown while the middle stays sound
Plants with similar care
BougainvilleaCrisp margins that appear in winter
English ivyCrisp margins that appear in winter
Heartleaf philodendronA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
MonsteraBrown brittle margins with a green centre
Purple passionLeaf blade tips go crisp and brown
Swiss cheese vineEdges of the leaf blades brown while the middle stays sound
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.