All About Audrey: This Year's Favorite Ficus

If you've ever owned a fiddle-leaf ficus, chances are you're well aware of their highly finicky nature. This ever-popular fig tree variety is notorious for being difficult to care for, and usually relies on a combination of experienced plant skills and old fashioned luck for it to thrive inside the home. Yet ficus lovers shouldn't despair, because there's a new fig tree on the block, and we present to you...

The Ficus Audrey.

"New" is the operative word here, because this specific fig tree variety (scientifically labeled the Ficus Benghalensis) is one and the same as the Banyon tree that Siddhartha Gautama (aka Buddha) was rumored to have found enlightenment under. So while Buddhism was being established under a Ficus Audrey some 2,500 years ago, this pretty house tree is being propagated left, right, and center in the homes and Instagram feeds of today's ficus fans. And that's for good reason.

The Ficus Audrey, as many plant owners are finding out, is pretty low maintenance when compared to its fiddle-leaf brethren. Far more tolerant of overwatering than the Fiddle, the Audrey still requires good light to survive. Keeping it in or very near a south- or north- facing window should do the trick, but make sure to rotate your Audrey every once in a while to avoid lopsided plant growth.

When it comes to temperature, Audrey's love nothing more than humidity. It's best to keep them far, far away from drafts hot or cold in order for them to thrive.