Commonly Mis-Planted Plants
Most of the sweet little plants we refer to as houseplants are actually tropical giants faring from places like the Amazon or jungles of Africa or Indonesia. You know those National Geographic moments where trees tower high and giant roots hang down, that would be the ficus tree we all try to grow in our home. We see many of these plants end up in area landscapes next to the house or by the sidewalk or drive. Though they look nice now, many can end up being giants causing damage to roofs, concrete areas, even plumbing. So to prevent problems like this, we created a list of the most common houseplants with their average size for our area. Always ask when in doubt.
Ficus Tree, Ficus benjamina- average height 15-25-; width 10-20 or more. They are evergreen but susceptible to freezing. They send down air roots that will anchor to the ground. These roots can find their way into sewer and septic lines.
Rubber Plant- another type of ficus- average height 10-15-; width 10 or more. Like other forms of ficus they will send air roots down making a large mass of woody growth.
Fiddleleaf Fig- yet another type of ficus- average height 15 or more; width 8 or more.
Norfolk Island Pine- not a pine at all- average height 30 or more; width 6. These are used as Christmas trees but planted in the ground they are the tall straight dark green with layered branches giving them their mistaken identity.
Ponytail Palm- the swollen base of this succulent can reach 3 to 4 across with a height of 10 or more. The base can store a years supply of water making it extremely heavy.
Schefflera large leaf- average height 15 or more; width 6. The leaves create an umbrella effect. Some can be seen blooming during the summer noticeably with tall reddish spikes protruding from the tops.
Split Leaf Philodendron- average height 6 or more; width 10 or more. This truly can be a giant taking over patios or even flower beds if not pruned. They send out long roots to anchor themselves finding their way onto and into anything.