How to Grow Pilkhan Tree: Air Layering, Roots and Clearance
The huge, low spreading trees that shade the Lahore canal and old Mall roads are mostly pilkhan. Learning how to grow a pilkhan tree is easy; finding the right place for one is the hard part. Air layer a branch or plant a nursery sapling in spring or the monsoon, water it for two summers, and it will grow into a giant fig that can reach about 35 m in its native forests. That is a tree for parks, canal banks, wide roads and farm deras, at least 10 m from any building.
Before you dig
- Names: pilkhan, pilkan, white fig, grey fig; Ficus virens
- Size: a big tree, up to about 35 m where it grows wild; usually less in cities, but always very wide
- Roots: strong surface roots and hanging aerial roots
- Leaves: sheds briefly in late winter, then flushes coppery pink new leaves
- Propagation: air layering and large cuttings work best; seed works but is slow
- Clearance: about 10 m from houses, 5 m from boundary walls and drains
- Home plot under 1 kanal: skip
Prefer to listen? This post as a 7 min video · Watch the video
Where does pilkhan belong?
| Place | Verdict | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Parks, canal banks, wide roads, school grounds | Plant | Deep shade, birds, long life |
| Farmhouses and large plots (2 kanal plus) | Plant | Room for the crown and roots |
| 10 marla to 1 kanal house | Skip | It will reach walls, drains and the neighbour |
| Pot or bonsai | Maybe | Works as a bonsai or a few years in a big pot |
By climate it suits the Punjab plains (Lahore, Faisalabad, Delhi), Islamabad and Peshawar, and the hot dry belt of Multan and Bahawalpur with water. In Karachi it grows but needs more watering on sandy, salty soil. Young trees in Islamabad can lose leaves to frost and recover in spring. The hills are too cold.
How do pilkhan roots behave near a house?
Like most big figs, pilkhan has thick, shallow, spreading roots and, with age, aerial roots from the trunk and lower branches. Its seeds, dropped by birds, also sprout in cracks of walls and roofs, where the roots slowly split masonry. The RHS general guidance applies: roots can spread up to three times the tree’s height, drains with leaking joints draw roots in, and the risk to buildings is highest on shrinkable clay.
- House, especially older brick on shallow footings: about 10 m.
- Boundary wall, paving, driveway: at least 5 m.
- Sewer, septic tank, underground water tank: 6 m or more.
These are cautious rules, not guarantees. If a seedling appears in a wall joint or on your roof, pull it while it is small; waiting a year means chiselling roots out of brickwork.
How to propagate pilkhan
Air layering (the method that works best)
- In March to April or July to August, choose a healthy branch about as thick as a thumb or a broom handle.
- About 30 to 45 cm from the tip, remove a ring of bark around 2 to 3 cm wide. Scrape the exposed wood lightly. White latex will ooze; let it stop.
- Wrap a fist of damp moss or cocopeat around the cut. Cover with clear plastic and tie both ends tightly.
- Check after four to eight weeks. When roots show through the plastic, cut the branch below the ball.
- Pot it in a 15 to 20 litre bag, keep it in shade for two weeks, then move it to sun.
Success is usually high in warm, humid months, which is why it is the traditional way nurseries multiply big figs.
Large cuttings
Thick stem cuttings, about wrist thick and 60 to 90 cm long, planted at the start of the monsoon and kept moist, often root. NParks lists both seed and stem cuttings as propagation methods.
From seed
Possible but slow. Mash ripe figs in water, sieve out the tiny seeds, and scatter them on a damp tray of fine soil without covering. Keep humid and warm. Seedlings take a long time to reach planting size.
The trick for a tree in one summer
Do the air layer on a branch already a metre or more long. Instead of a twig, you get a ready sapling that can go straight into a park or farm pit after one month of shade hardening. Ask a friend with an old pilkhan for one branch at the start of the monsoon.
Best time to plant a pilkhan tree
February to March after frost risk, or July to August in the monsoon. Dig a pit about 75 cm wide and deep, mix the soil with a third compost or well rotted manure, plant at bag depth, firm and water until the pit is soaked. Stake loosely for the first year.
How fast does pilkhan grow, and how tall?
Fast when young and well watered: a monsoon planted sapling can give a small patch of shade within a few years. It slows as it ages but keeps spreading outward, so the crown often becomes wider than the tree is tall. NParks records it to about 35 m in the wild; city trees in Pakistan are usually smaller but very broad.
Care for the first two years
- Water: deep soak twice a week in the first summer, weekly in the second; every two weeks in winter. In 45C weeks, add a soak. See how often to water in summer and winter.
- Feeding: compost or well rotted manure in spring; see mustard cake, ash and cow dung for plants. No heavy chemical feeding needed.
- Shaping: keep a single trunk and lift the lower branches gradually in late winter.
- Frost: wrap young trees on frost nights in Islamabad and Peshawar.
- Leaf drop: a short bare spell in late winter followed by pink new leaves is normal.
Pests and problems
Thrips and leaf rollers sometimes curl the new leaves in spring; the tree grows out of it. Scale and mealybugs on young plants can be scraped or hosed off. Fallen figs and bird droppings stain cars and paving under the canopy, which is reason enough not to plant it beside a car porch.
Pilkhan sap is a milky latex that can irritate skin and eyes; wear gloves and glasses when air layering or pruning, and wash skin afterwards. Big limbs are heavy: any cutting above head height or near power lines is a job for trained tree workers. Fallen figs on tiles are slippery. If you spray anything for pests, read the label, wear gloves and keep children and pets away until it dries. Fig pollen is not a major problem, but if spring allergies trouble you, check the Pakistan pollen calendar for the trees that are.
Pilkhan tree questions
Do pilkhan roots damage houses?
They can lift paving, enter leaking drains and split walls where seedlings take hold. Keep the tree about 10 m from the house and remove wall seedlings early.
How tall does a pilkhan tree grow?
It can reach about 35 m in the wild. Planted trees in Pakistani cities are usually smaller but grow very wide.
How do you grow pilkhan from a cutting?
Use a thick stem, about wrist thickness, planted at the start of the monsoon and kept moist. Air layering a branch on the tree is more reliable.
Can I grow pilkhan from seed?
Yes, by sowing the tiny seeds from ripe figs on damp soil, but it is slow. Air layers give a planting size tree far sooner.
When is the best time to plant pilkhan?
February to March or the monsoon months, July and August, when roots can grow before heat or frost.
Is pilkhan the same as peepal or bargad?
No. All three are figs, but peepal has heart shaped leaves with a long tip, bargad has big leathery leaves and many pillar roots, and pilkhan has smaller, smooth leaves.
Can pilkhan be grown in a pot?
For a few years, or as a bonsai with regular root pruning. It will never become a real shade tree in a pot.
Why is my pilkhan losing all its leaves?
A short leaf drop in late winter is normal and is followed by pinkish new leaves. Leaf loss in summer points to drought or waterlogging instead.
Explore other shade and flowering trees in Phool aur Paudhe, including the much larger semal tree.