Ficuses are some of the most impressive trees known to man. The widest tree in the world, covering about 14,500 square meters of land, is a ficus. The oldest tree with a known planting date in the world, is a ficus. Buda reached enlightenment under, can you guess? A ficus. However, my love for the ficus started from a much simpler point: it was the most beautiful tree in our family garden back in Spain.
With this love for ficuses, I decided to buy a small one as soon as I moved into my new apartment in London. I planted the tree in a pot and left it in my room hoping it would grow. Those hopes soon vanished, as after waiting for months, and attempting different watering, lightning, and positioning combinations, the tree was no larger than it was when I bought it. I resigned to accept the fate that it would remain a desk decoration, and I should be happy it survived.
This changed the day I saw my roommate's succulent plant, which he bought the same day I did, and in contrast with my ficus, was growing steadily. This prompted me to take one last step before considering my ficus stalled: I replanted it into a larger pot. About five times larger than the original. The results were immediate. New leaves started sprouting days after, and the ficus doubled its size within the first month after repotting, showing no signs of slowing down.
In retrospect, this was the obvious solution. Ficuses are trees that symbolize greatness but can suffocate under limitations. Beyond gardening, this led me to think about human nature. As plants, humans vary in temperament and potential. Some, like my roommate’s succulent, flourish in secure, restricted environments. Others, like the ficus, can achieve the remarkable but choke under limitations.
If you identify as a ficus, understand that the conventional, safe path might suffocate you, while others will thrive under the same circumstances. It is up to you to repot yourself into situations that will allow you to flourish, by taking risks and deviating from the standard. You are capable of achieving great things, and the only thing separating you from such greatness is the space that you permit for yourself to grow.