How To Care For And Grow Your Banyan Tree
Native to: Indian subcontinent
Watering needs: Medium (every 1-2 weeks)
Lighting needs: Bright indirect sunlight
Difficulty: Low maintenance
Great for: Making a statement
Pet-Safe: No
1.0 Choosing Your Banyan Tree
2.0 Picking The Right Spot (Lighting, Air Conditioning, Temperature)
3.0 Caring For Your Banyan Tree (Watering, Dusting, Re-potting)
4.0 Beginner Questions
5.0 Some Common Problems
6.0 Buying Banyan Trees Online
1.0 Choosing your Banyan Tree
Banyan Trees are simple.
It’s Alright If You See:
Droopy Leaves After Re-Potting
Banyan Trees take a couple of weeks to acclimate after re-potting and it's totally fine.
Leaves Falling Off
If it’s only a couple of leaves that have turned yellow and fallen off, then it’s just a natural part of the life cycle of the Banyan Tree and nothing to worry about.
But, Watch Out For:
Excessive Leaf Fall
Indicates a watering issue.
Root-rot
This will require re-potting.
2.0 Picking The Right Spot (Lighting, Air Conditioning, Temperature)
Half of plant parenthood is choosing the perfect spot.
Lighting
The more light it gets, the faster and taller your Banyan Tree will grow. However, avoid direct sunlight for more than 4 hours a day, to keep its leaves from scorching or drooping.
When you bring your Banyan Tree home, place it as close to a window as you can, making sure it has the largest possible view of the sky. Then, keep an eye on it for a few days. We highly recommend placing it near a window for the first month, so it gets acclimated to its new home.
If you see scorch marks on your Banyan Tree, then that means it’s getting too much sunlight.
Pro-tip: You don’t need to worry about UAE windows, most of them are tinted, so the sunlight coming through is already filtered indirect light, not direct. If you were to keep your Banyan Tree near a non-tinted window, you would see scorch marks on its leaves within the hour.
Air Conditioning
Place your Banyan Tree as far away as possible from the direct air escaping from your AC vent. The dry air may cause its leaf tips to start turning brown.
Temperature
Banyan Trees are happiest between 18 °C and 27 °C.
Note: Temperatures below 18 °C can be harmful to your Banyan Tree.
3.0 Caring For Your Banyan Tree (Watering, Dusting, Re-potting)
How to keep your plant alive (and also show your love).
Watering
Maintain moist soil
Wait until the top 1-2 inches of soil is dry (poke your finger into the soil to check!). Once it's dry, slowly water the soil so that it's completely saturated — you'll know it's fully saturated when water drips out the drainage holes at the bottom of the nursery pot.
The more light your plant gets, the more often it’ll need to be checked and watered.
They can tolerate tap water better than most other houseplants, though it's still best to leave the tap water out overnight to allow chlorine and calcium (found in tap water in the UAE and most places) time to evaporate.
Pro-tip: When checking your soil for moisture, make sure to test different parts of the soil, in case you come across a wet pocket. To be extra sure, you can also stick your finger through the bottom of the drainage holes underneath its nursery pot, to feel for moisture.
Rule of thumb: Expect to water your Banyan Tree every 1–2 weeks, and more often with more light. Having said that, soil moisture should be your primary indicator for when you should water your plant.
Dusting
Once a month, gently wipe away any dust on your plant.
Wiping your Banyan Tree free of dust with a damp rag once a month will help it soak in light and breathe through the little pores on its leaves (stomata).
Note: Avoid commercial leaf shine as that can harm its leaves.
Re-potting
Leave it in its nursery pot
Leave your Banyan Tree in its nursery pot for now till it gets acclimated to its new home (6-12 months).
Time to re-pot
Your Banyan Tree will need to be re-potted every 1-3 years, and this will be followed with a period of droopiness but don’t worry, that’s normal.
When re-potting, transfer your Banyan Tree into a pot that's about 2–3 inches in diameter larger than its current one (or one or two sizes up).
Remember, always go for a pot with drainage holes.
Pro-tip: To keep watering simple and easy, you can simply re-pot your Banyan Tree into a larger nursery pot and place that nursery pot in a larger planter.
If you’re stuck anywhere in the process, reach out to our team at hello@plntd.ae, and we’ll help you out right away.
4.0 Beginner questions
Ask away, grasshopper.
How easy is a Money Tree to care for?
Banyan Trees are low maintenance plants:
- They can tolerate low light levels (though they grow faster the more they get)
- They can tolerate tap water (though it's best to leave the tap water out overnight to allow the chlorine to evaporate)
- They can go 1-2 weeks between drinks (the more light they get, the more you can expect to water them)
Can I use UAE tap water to water my Money Tree?
Yes. Banyan Trees can be watered using UAE tap water.
However, to ensure your plant is as healthy as possible, it is best to account for the high level of chlorine and calcium found in UAE tap water (like tap water in most places):
- Leave tap water out for 24-48 hours before using it. This will allow the chlorine time to evaporate.
- When watering your Banyan Tree, make sure to water through the soil until it is dripping out the bottom of the nursery pot. This flushes out any excess build-up of calcium (and other minerals) from the soil.
Finally, look out for tell-tale signs of too much chlorine or calcium:
- Scorched brown tips at the leaves = too much chlorine.
- White crystals on the soil = too much calcium.
Will AC harm my Money Tree? What temperature should I set it to?
Banyan Trees are tropical plants that thrive in warm, humid climates.
ACs achieve the opposite results: they make the temperature colder, and the air dryer.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when setting your AC temperature and deciding where to place your Banyan Tree in a room:
- The ideal temperature for Banyan Tree, as with most indoor plants, is between 18°C - 22°C at night, and 22°C - 27°C during the day. Though they CAN tolerate lower temperatures, you'll need to REDUCE your watering drastically, as the risk of overwatering increases the lower the temperature is.
- Whenever possible, place your Banyan Tree (this applies to all plants) as far away from the AC vent as possible.
- To combat the drying effect of the AC, mist your Banyan Tree with water and a mister to replicate its native climate, as closely as possible. Once a week is minimum; once a day is ideal!
Do I have to re-pot my Money Tree as soon as I receive it?
In short, no.
Once you receive your plant, place it in the spot you plan to keep it in (whilst still in its nursing pot) and allow it at least 6 months (ideally 12) to acclimate to your home's temperature and light levels.
Once acclimated, you can choose to either re-pot your plant or leave it in its nursing pot.
5.0 Some Common Problems
Don't let this list fool you; Banyan Trees are low maintenance.
Black Spots
Cause: Overwatering
Suggestion: Allow soil time to dry out completely (sometimes this can take 2-4 weeks), then slowly re-water.
Brown Spots
Cause 1: Overwatering
Suggestion: Allow soil time to dry out completely (sometimes this can take 2-4 weeks), then slowly re-water.
Cause 2: Underwatering
Suggestion: Light brown spots mean a severe lack of water. Maintain the same amount of water but increase your frequency of watering.
Browning Leaf Edges
Cause: Dry environment, low humidity
Suggestion: Try moving your plant away from any nearby AC vents, giving your plant a shower, misting regularly, or the pebble-tray method to increase humidity.
Droopy After Re-potting
Cause: Stress from re-potting
Your Banyan Tree will take a couple of weeks to acclimate to its new planter. Don’t worry, it’s nothing to worry about :)
Fungus
Cause: High humidity
Suggestion: Open a window to let air circulate and reduce humidity.
Leaves Falling Off
Cause 1: Natural life cycle
Suggestion: If it’s only a couple of leaves that have turned yellow and fallen off, then it’s just a natural part of the life cycle of the Banyan Tree and nothing to worry about.
Cause 2: Watering issue
Suggestion: Both over- and underwatering can be the cause. Identify your issue and adjust your watering schedule accordingly.
Roots Out of Drainage Holes
Cause: Healthy growth
Suggestion: Time to re-pot!
Scorch Marks
Cause: Too much sunlight or too much direct sunlight
Suggestion: Consider moving it further indoors.
Yellow Leaves
Cause 1: Natural life cycle
Suggestion: If it’s only a couple of leaves that have turned yellow and fallen off, then it’s just a natural part of the life cycle of the Banyan Tree and nothing to worry about.
Cause 2: Overwatering
Suggestion: Allow soil time to dry out completely (sometimes this can take 2-4 weeks), then slowly re-water
Cause 3: Not enough light
Suggestion: Move your plant to a place with more sunlight, but not outdoors or under direct sunlight.
Cause 4: Nutrient deficiency
Suggestion: Consider getting fertilizer and re-potting.
Cause 5: Underwatering
Suggestion: Both over- and underwatering can be the cause. In case of underwatering, maintain the same amount of water but increase your watering frequency.
6.0 Buying Banyan Trees Online
When shopping for a plant online, look out for the following:
Height
If you're looking for a table-top plant, then go for one that's 40cm tall. A 60cm tall plant would work well on a low side-table. Plants about 1 meter or taller would work well as statement floor plants.
Note: Stated heights will always include the height of the plant AND planter.
Pot style
This is all about the vibe you're looking for, and you'll typically have a choice amongst different colors and shapes.
If you're looking for subtlety, we suggest a circular pot in white. To make more of a statement, look for contrasting shapes and colors!
Delivery
It goes without saying that your plant supplier should meticulously package all plants.
When you personally buy a plant from a store, you're able to rush it home, ensuring it stays outside for as little time as possible. But when you order online, your plant will ride-share with a lot of other plants all on their way to their new homes.
Depending on where you live, weather can play a big part in your plant's health along the way.
If possible, ask your plant shop what precautions they take to ensure your plants stay as safe as possible en route to you.
Reviews
Reading customer reviews is a good way to get an idea of the customer experience provided by the seller (here's ours, by the way), but you need to practice caution there.
Don't expect to be able to tell a fake review right away, some reviewers can be great con artists, and some negative reviews can be fake to harm the seller.
Your best bet is to zoom out and look at multiple comments from multiple categories to get a good overview of whether you can trust this company and/or their review section.
For example, look at how recent the reviews are, and how spread apart. Was there a sudden spike of comments in a short amount of time? Do they sound like they're all written by someone rehashing the same template? Do they all sound too positive to be real?
Yes, going all detective on reviews can be a chore, but Future You will thank you for it.
Returns and refund policies
Things can go wrong.
Sometimes it's no one's fault, and sometimes there's nothing anyone can do.
So the best practice is to offer (and honor) a no-questions asked return/refund policy. Check out the seller's policy before you make a purchase, so you know you're insured in case things don't work out.
You can check out our return/refund policy here.
Ready to adopt a Banyan Tree?
Your Banyan Tree can't wait to meet you — just choose a height and pot and let's introduce you two!
The Ficus Benghalensis, commonly known as the Banyan Tree, is native to the Indian subcontinent. Regarded as sacred in various cultures, including being the national plant of India, the Banyan Tree symbolizes longevity and wisdom.
