Ficus dammaropsis is native to the highlands in Papua New Guinea. It is extremely rare in cultivation but you do see them from time to time on plant forums when someone suddenly has some to sell.
SEEDLING-SIZE PLANTS AVAIL JAN 2026
The reason Ficus dammaropsis is rare in cultivation is that basically it’s really hard to propagate. There are a number of reasons for this. First, in PNG it has a wasp pollinator that is specific to Ficus dammaropsis that does not exist in the US. It’s not a great idea to import things that might throw the local ecosyste off so importing the wasps is probably not a great idea. So no seeds.
It being a Ficus you would think it would be eay to just root from a cutting. It is not lol. Ficus dammaropsis tends to be hollow on the inside of any cuttings you take. Because of that increased surface area internally, bacterial infections and mold usually take over the cuttings before they root (it takes a while, too, which is the other problem). So you won’t see rooted cuttings for sale.
The most sucessful way to propagate it, by far, is by a method called “air layering” which some of you collectors will be familiar with. If you’re not, this is where you root part of the mother plant while it’s attached still which allows the mother plant to provide hydration and also lets the baby plant feed itself using photosynthesis. After months, the baby plant is ready to separate from the mother plant and it’s an automatic 5 gallon plant – very established. Or so it goes with most plants. With Ficus dammaropsis, about 50% of the air layerings fail as well. So that’s why F dammaropsis plants are few and far between.
It should be noted that they used to say there were two forms of Ficus dammaropsis – highland form and lowland form. Howeverm these two forms had different pollinators and a lot of other differences such that they gave the lowland form it’s own name: Ficus brusii. This is F. dammaropsis (used to be “Ficus dammaropsis “highland form”
Here is the nomenclature of the plant we are selling:
Kingdom: Plantae, Phylum: Streptophyta, Class: Equisetopsida, Subclass: Magnoliidae, Order: Rosales, Family: Moraceae, Genus: Ficus, Species: Ficus dammaropsis
The plants for sale are in a 4-6″ pot and rooted from cutting (it can be done, it’s just really really hard). At this size, the plant is small and easy to ship and handle (it get to be a monster plant with 3 foot long leaves) and you can even do bonsai with it. We will be beginning to ship these out toward the end of January 2026. If you live somewhere where it’s cold between here and your place, we can delay shipping until spring if you so request. In any case, for any plant you buy, you can opt to buy a heating pack for it for $5 USD which is recommended during winter.
Growing tips: It need well-drained soil with adequate compost component. The soil should be a tiny tine but on the acid side if possible but ourse grows fine in a balaned pH soil (ie: I just stuck it in the ground). It can be sensitive to frost, especially as a younger plant. Most people plant them near enclosed areas so they are somewhat protected from frost. It likes sun but if it get super ridiculous where you are, it might be good to protect it from afternoon sun (I’m looking at you, Arizona). Too much wind can damage the leaves, especially in young plants, so if it gets super windy where you’re at, protecting it from the wind might be a good move. However, I’m sure most of you know how to care for a Ficus dammaropsis based on the fact that people who buy these tend to be highly-knowledgeable plant collectors.
Ready to order? HMU and we’ll invoice you through Zelle. We can also hold a plant for 7 days if you wanna mail a check cause you don’t have Zelle. Credit card payments are also okay though Paypal