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Seeking further info. on Ficus rubiginosa


Walt

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About 1-1/2 years ago a Palmtalk forum member was kind enough to send me Ficus rubinginosa seeds, as he knew I liked the Ficus genus.

I sowed these ultra small seeds in a community pot and set them on a coffee table where it would get lots of sun during the day. Many of the seeds sprouted and the small plants stayed small for the longest time. I wasn't even sure they were F. rubinginosa, but thought they might be a weed plant from weed seeds in my potting soil.

But after some months, the plants started to kick in their rate of growth. I then separated the plants into separate pots and the continued to grow nicely. Last fall I planted one (smallest that I had) in the ground to see how it would fare over the winter. I had it planted in a more protected area, so I thought it would do well as long as my lows didn't drop below 30 degrees F.

As it turned out my in-ground rubinginosa did well and was not hurt. Now I have many nice potted rubinginosa I plant to plant out here and there about my property. They seem to have increased their growth rate since it's been getting into the mid 80s almost everyday now, and getting more sunlight each day. I have them in my greenhouse at present time.

I'm very excited to see how these trees grow over the coming spring, summer, and fall months.

I was wondering if others here have experience growing this species and can post photos of theirs rubinginosa, or trees that aren't theirs, but ones they find growing in their travels.

Below are two photos I took today of my Ficus rubinginosa trees. Like I said above, I noticed they have picked up their growth rate the past week or more. My big Ficus altissima 'variegata' tree has shed many old leaves and is kicking out new leaves with abandon now. I'm champing at the bit now to get my rubinginosa in the ground.

Ficusrubinginosa_zps384aeccd.jpg

Ficusrubiginosaleaves_zps7103de7e.jpg

Mad about palms

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F. rubiginosa is quite common here in San Diego. It's one of the few Ficus that form aerial roots in our dry climate. Once established, they will live on no irrigation even on rocky bone dry soil, 3" rain/year. Their roots are very aggressive.

Matt Bradford

"Manambe Lavaka"

Spring Valley, CA (8.5 miles inland from San Diego Bay)

10B on the hill (635 ft. elevation)

9B in the canyon (520 ft. elevation)

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Walt--

Looking good!

F. rubiginosa is under-utilized in Florida. Perhaps the hardiest evergreen fig in CA, comparable to F. microcarpa. I suspect that absolute cold tolerance would vary depending on provenance, with smaller-leafed forms hardier. Should be good in your place except during coldest years, but will likely resprout from stump or large limbs if frozen back. (Certainly hardier than F. altissima). May need winter protection for first few winters if temps drop into upper 20sF. Should take 25F with age (though may suffer some damage if not hardened off).

SoCal and SoFla; zone varies by location.

'Home is where the heart suitcase is'...

_____

"If, as they say, there truly is no rest for the wicked, how can the Devil's workshop be filled with idle hands?"

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F. rubiginosa is quite common here in San Diego. It's one of the few Ficus that form aerial roots in our dry climate. Once established, they will live on no irrigation even on rocky bone dry soil, 3" rain/year. Their roots are very aggressive.

Wow that's some drought tolerance! Think it's because the aggressive roots quickly tap groundwater?

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Walt--

Looking good!

F. rubiginosa is under-utilized in Florida. Perhaps the hardiest evergreen fig in CA, comparable to F. microcarpa. I suspect that absolute cold tolerance would vary depending on provenance, with smaller-leafed forms hardier. Should be good in your place except during coldest years, but will likely resprout from stump or large limbs if frozen back. (Certainly hardier than F. altissima). May need winter protection for first few winters if temps drop into upper 20sF. Should take 25F with age (though may suffer some damage if not hardened off).

Is this the hardiest evergreen ficus?

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Walt--

Looking good!

F. rubiginosa is under-utilized in Florida. Perhaps the hardiest evergreen fig in CA, comparable to F. microcarpa. I suspect that absolute cold tolerance would vary depending on provenance, with smaller-leafed forms hardier. Should be good in your place except during coldest years, but will likely resprout from stump or large limbs if frozen back. (Certainly hardier than F. altissima). May need winter protection for first few winters if temps drop into upper 20sF. Should take 25F with age (though may suffer some damage if not hardened off).

Is this the hardiest evergreen ficus?

What about hardiness of ficus luschnathiana? from Argentina...

07690.gif

elevation 328 feet

distance from mediteranean sea 1,1 mile

lowest t° 2009/2010 : 27F

lowest t° 2008/2009 : 33F

lowest t° 2007/2008 : 32F

lowest t° 2006/2007 : 35F

lowest t° 2005/2006 : 27F

lowest t° 2004/2005 : 25F

Historical lowest t° 1985 : 18F

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I've heard anecdotal evidence that F. luschnathiana is the hardiest evergreen fig and I have some seedlings here which I will try outside when they are a bit bigger. I think F. japonica might also be a contender but that can be partially (or sometimes fully) deciduous so doesn't really come under the 'evergreen' category but it certainly has the impressive trunks that many of the evergreen types have. What about F. macrophylla... I always thought that was a couple of degrees hardier than F. rubiginosa?

I'm really keen to hear other people's experiences.

Edited by Josh76
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Walt--

Looking good!

F. rubiginosa is under-utilized in Florida. Perhaps the hardiest evergreen fig in CA, comparable to F. microcarpa. I suspect that absolute cold tolerance would vary depending on provenance, with smaller-leafed forms hardier. Should be good in your place except during coldest years, but will likely resprout from stump or large limbs if frozen back. (Certainly hardier than F. altissima). May need winter protection for first few winters if temps drop into upper 20sF. Should take 25F with age (though may suffer some damage if not hardened off).

To my knowledge, I've never seen a Ficus rubinginosa in Highlands County, Florida (where I reside). But I'm sure has heck going to establish them here! So far I've planted out three 3-gallon sized ones. They are close to four feet in height. I planted the first one late last year and it went through this past winter unscathed. Where I have it planted saw no frost and no temperature below 30 degrees.

Yesterday I planted another one and today another. I have four left in 3 gallon pots that I'm going to step up into 7 gallon pots and hold them for awhile.

I have two large Ficus altissima 'variegata' trees. I planted them one year apart. The first one (shown below) has been making a wholesale change in leaves. Old leaves are just raining down while new leaves are pushing out. One the other hand, my other tree is hardly shedding leaves at all. But I think these trees go through cycles, as some years I don't get a wholesale drop in leaves.

Neither of my F. altissima were hurt this past winter. I look forward to watching how my Ficus rubinginosa tree grow. In the pots they are really kicking in growth. Once the rainy season starts here I expect these ficus will explode in growth.

Ficusaltissimavariegata_zps15fdae60.jpg

Above photo: My oldest Ficus altissima 'variegata'. I've raked up fallen leaves three times already, as the tree is changing out the old leaves.

Ficusaltissimavariegataleaves_zpseac523a

Above photo: New leaves forming on my Ficus altissima 'variegata'. Over the years I've made cuttings from this tree and have four smaller trees here and there about my property.

Mad about palms

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In topic but a bit OT:

How can you tell apart F. altissima and F. benghalensis? I was recently in Miami (also drove by Kampong house) and I saw huge F. benghalensis (but some could have been F. altissima).

I saw many seedlings of F. religiosa and benghalensis. How is that possible? Are they pollinated by the wasps that pollinate F. aurea? or the wasps have been "imported"?

The local F. aurea is really beautiful. I wonder why it isn't used more for landscaping. I wonder if it could grow in California. It looks like it starts as epiphyte more than any other Ficus I have seen.

I am also growing Ficus crocata, cotinifolia and obtusifolia from Caribbean Mexico. F. cotinifolia has smaller leaves that are brown and red when in good light and new . Ficus obtusifolia is fast growing and has beautifull large glossy leathery leaves. I have seen it growing as a banyan but also growing on the beach as a small tree right in the sand where only coconut palms and sea grape were growing. It must be salt tolerant.

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In topic but a bit OT:

How can you tell apart F. altissima and F. benghalensis? I was recently in Miami (also drove by Kampong house) and I saw huge F. benghalensis (but some could have been F. altissima).

I saw many seedlings of F. religiosa and benghalensis. How is that possible? Are they pollinated by the wasps that pollinate F. aurea? or the wasps have been "imported"?

The local F. aurea is really beautiful. I wonder why it isn't used more for landscaping. I wonder if it could grow in California. It looks like it starts as epiphyte more than any other Ficus I have seen.

I am also growing Ficus crocata, cotinifolia and obtusifolia from Caribbean Mexico. F. cotinifolia has smaller leaves that are brown and red when in good light and new . Ficus obtusifolia is fast growing and has beautifull large glossy leathery leaves. I have seen it growing as a banyan but also growing on the beach as a small tree right in the sand where only coconut palms and sea grape were growing. It must be salt tolerant.

Ficus aurea really should be used more in landscaping. It's very hardy, and during the hurricanes it was the only tree left standing in some natural areas. It also forms prodigious aerial roots and can grow into a decent size "banyan". It is also salt tolerant, as I have seen it growing amongst mangroves along the ex tone where tropical hardwoods and mangroves intersect.

It's semi deciduous though, and almost all of the larger specimens go through a completely leafless period in late spring. Maybe this is why it isn't used often? Or people just have no idea about aurea's potential

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Here's an old picture of the base of one of my rubiginosa trees as it just started producing aerial roots. I really like this species (the banyan forms anyway), and it grows very well here. So well, it is classed as a banned weed biohazard species which is illegal to grow or spread. I don't have to remove my existing trees though.

My place is frost free so I cant comment of frost tolerance, but certainly it is very happy with prolonged low temperatures above freezing. I've seen it growing in NZ in places that regularly get down to at least -5C.

P1000224.jpg

Waimarama New Zealand (39.5S, 177E)

Oceanic temperate

summer 25C/15C

winter 15C/6C

No frost, no heat

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Walt--

Looking good!

F. rubiginosa is under-utilized in Florida. Perhaps the hardiest evergreen fig in CA, comparable to F. microcarpa. I suspect that absolute cold tolerance would vary depending on provenance, with smaller-leafed forms hardier. Should be good in your place except during coldest years, but will likely resprout from stump or large limbs if frozen back. (Certainly hardier than F. altissima). May need winter protection for first few winters if temps drop into upper 20sF. Should take 25F with age (though may suffer some damage if not hardened off).

Is this the hardiest evergreen ficus?

What about hardiness of ficus luschnathiana? from Argentina...

I'm not familiar with Ficus luschnathiana. Do you have pics? Curious as to why it isn't in CA landscapes...

SoCal and SoFla; zone varies by location.

'Home is where the heart suitcase is'...

_____

"If, as they say, there truly is no rest for the wicked, how can the Devil's workshop be filled with idle hands?"

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Walt--

Looking good!

F. rubiginosa is under-utilized in Florida. Perhaps the hardiest evergreen fig in CA, comparable to F. microcarpa. I suspect that absolute cold tolerance would vary depending on provenance, with smaller-leafed forms hardier. Should be good in your place except during coldest years, but will likely resprout from stump or large limbs if frozen back. (Certainly hardier than F. altissima). May need winter protection for first few winters if temps drop into upper 20sF. Should take 25F with age (though may suffer some damage if not hardened off).

Is this the hardiest evergreen ficus?

What about hardiness of ficus luschnathiana? from Argentina...

I'm not familiar with Ficus luschnathiana. Do you have pics? Curious as to why it isn't in CA landscapes...

I don't have this plant, and it is not seen here.but i found this picture:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qD-VEimHNnA/STrT_5fEFFI/AAAAAAAAAE0/9vrwUH6cOYA/s00-h/higueron+Ficus+luschnathiana.jpg

higueron+Ficus+luschnathiana.jpg

You can see how it grows on other plants. Here the butia hold the ficus at it first stage and after the ficus will struggle the butia...

Edited by gilles06

07690.gif

elevation 328 feet

distance from mediteranean sea 1,1 mile

lowest t° 2009/2010 : 27F

lowest t° 2008/2009 : 33F

lowest t° 2007/2008 : 32F

lowest t° 2006/2007 : 35F

lowest t° 2005/2006 : 27F

lowest t° 2004/2005 : 25F

Historical lowest t° 1985 : 18F

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  • 6 months later...

I'm puzzled now concerning the ficus trees I grew from seed that I got from Josh -- who told me they were Ficus rubiginosa (which I believe he thinks they were).

I'm puzzled because all the reference material I find online say the underside of the leaves are rusty colored. Also, Ficus Macrophylla leaves are also rusty colored on the underside -- and my small trees' leaves look very much like either species.

However, none of my Ficus trees (still small) have rusty colored leave undersides. So far I've planted four of these ficus trees in the ground, the last one about two weeks ago, shown in below photos.

As you can see, the undersides of the leaves are green, not rusty color. Not even a hint of rusty color, from the bottommost oldest leaves to the top most newest leaves. (All four trees I planted look the same .)

I'm wondering if the leaves' undersides will develop a rusty color when my tree gets bigger. If not, then what species of ficus do I have? To me the leaves appear in all other aspects to be Ficus rubiginosa -- or maybe Ficus macrophylla.

I'm not complaining by any means, I'm just puzzled. I just would like to know what ficus species I have. To those of you that are familiar with both Ficus rebiginosa and Ficus macrophylla -- what is your guess, either why the leaves don't have rusty colored undersides or if it is a different species?

Does anyone have an online reference source that says Ficus rubiginosa may not have rusty colored leave undersides?

All online reference sources I've checked (plus my copy of The Tropical Look) states that Ficus rubignosa and Ficus macryphylla have rusty colored leave undersides. Josh, if you are reading this, please chime in with your opinion.

I'm as pleased as punch with my ficus treees, I would just like to know for sure what species of ficus it is (or if there is maybe a variance within the species).

Ficus_zps5478a1c1.jpg

Ficusleaves_zps8bd8f484.jpg

Mad about palms

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Rubiginosa has a wide variation in leaf size and tomentum on underleaf surface (true for macrophylla too), I personally prefer the ones with green both sides. Colour can vary a lot too, form a light green to an almost blue-green. Your trees look a lot like macrophylla to me though, from the leaf size and spacing. If it is rubiginosa it is a very large leaf form. But photos are deceptive, can you spot something beside the leaves for scale?

Rubiginosa and macrophylla are very hard to distinguish as small seedlings. I have seedlings of both species as continual volunteer weeds in my nursery, and I can't tell them apart until they are about 6 months old. Most get thrown away.

Edited by Bennz

Waimarama New Zealand (39.5S, 177E)

Oceanic temperate

summer 25C/15C

winter 15C/6C

No frost, no heat

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Yes, I will juxtapose something to show the scale of the leaves and post back. I wasn't aware there were forms without tomentum (just based on what little I've read online), and that's what I was trying to establish. The seeds were given to me as F. rubiginosa and I have every reason to believe that. It was just that the abaxil side of the leaves have no brownish/rusty tomemtum at all on them. The lack of tomentum doesn't bother me at all. I just want to know what species of ficus I have.

Mad about palms

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Hi Walt, ficus id can be confused, and there are a lot of trees in NZ that have been imported misidentified, even from serious commercial seed companies. This is an issue at moment with a court case going on... another story! Confusion between rubiginosa and macrophylla is very common, despite the quite obvious differences. Your tree looks like macrophylla with the leaf spacing, but rubiginosa can look like that too, less commonly. Macrophylla almost always has bright red sheaths (not sure of the correct term) over the new leaves before they open, your tree appears to be lacking this feature, suggesting rubiginosa. You'll notice my tree in the earlier photo has lighter green leaves than yours, with a small amount of tomentum. Heaps of variation in rubiginosa, much more so than most online references suggest.

Waimarama New Zealand (39.5S, 177E)

Oceanic temperate

summer 25C/15C

winter 15C/6C

No frost, no heat

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Bennz:

Well, from all the characteristics you've given, I believe my trees are in fact F. rubiginosa -- just as Josh said they were when he sent me the seeds. Again, I was just somewhat confused concerning the lack of tomentum. My climate and yours are very dissimilar. While my climate has lots of heat, I do get at least light freezes almost every winter. Some winters I get hard freezes that can kill back ficus wood. The past two winters I bottomed out at 0 degrees C and -1C respectively. Fortunately, none of my ficus trees incurred injury. But back in December of 2010 (our winter in the northern hemisphere) my large Ficus altissima 'variegata' was almost entirely defoliated, plus suffered major wood damage to some limbs. It's since recovered nicely.

Thanks for all your advice. I feel confident now that my tree is in fact a Ficus rubiginosa.

Mad about palms

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The amount of tomentum on F. rubiginosa varies greatly, even amongst introduced plants in SoCal. If you're near SCBG (Torrance), visit the grove of unnamed /non-provenanced F. rubiginosa. Likely, these came from Aussie seed; maybe as selections sent here to evaluate for street/landscape use in the 60s. Planted too close together by today's standards, many if not most of these rubiginosa lack tomentum (and growing room, and irrigation...)

Additionally, almost all volunteers of F. rubiginosa I've seen in CA are completely green. And considering that the fruits likely come from a rusty-leafed tree nearby in the CA landscape, this suggests to me that maybe tomentum presence is less common than its name suggest??

FWIW, the Australian Ficus obliqua is rather similar to F. rubiginosa (green forms), but tends to have bright yellow fruits, very glossy leaves. It is also pollinated to some extent in CA (probably with same wasp as pollinates F. rubiginosa here.) Trees of F. obliqua at SD Zoo, Balboa Park, Chavez Ravine Arboretum, LA Arboretum.

SoCal and SoFla; zone varies by location.

'Home is where the heart suitcase is'...

_____

"If, as they say, there truly is no rest for the wicked, how can the Devil's workshop be filled with idle hands?"

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If memory serves, F. rubiginosa does not have an acute leaf-tip (or at least only slightly so), and the leaves are smaller. Your pic looks a lot like F. macrophylla to me. I agree with those above that the abaxial leaf-surface of rubiginosa may have lots or little (or just about none) of that rusty tomentum. As I remember in California the usual form sold back in the '80s and '90s was I think called 'Florida' (or was of that type) and had a lighter green, slightly undulate leaf and no visible tomentum. Both are beautiful but to me the rusty form looks very much like some smaller-leafed form of Magnolia grandiflora at a quick glance! But they are great for California owing to their ability to drop aerial roots, particularly in the cool fog-belt. There are beautiful old specimens (just coming up on 60 years planted) at the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland growing over the water. Very banyan-ish for a climate where just about no other Ficus seem to want to drop a root!

Michael Norell

Rancho Mirage, California | 33°44' N 116°25' W | 287 ft | z10a | avg Jan 43/70F | Jul 78/108F avg | Weather Station KCARANCH310

previously Big Pine Key, Florida | 24°40' N 81°21' W | 4.5 ft. | z12a | Calcareous substrate | avg annual min. approx 52F | avg Jan 65/75F | Jul 83/90 | extreme min approx 41F

previously Natchez, Mississippi | 31°33' N 91°24' W | 220 ft.| z9a | Downtown/river-adjacent | Loess substrate | avg annual min. 23F | Jan 43/61F | Jul 73/93F | extreme min 2.5F (1899); previously Los Angeles, California (multiple locations)

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I stumbled upon this link http://www.somemagneticislandplants.com.au/index.php/plants/11-plants/1355-ficus-rubiginosa yesterday when Googling Ficus obliqua, that fastfeat posted -- and what it says concerning Ficus rubiginosa only further adds to my puzzlement concerning the leaves of this species.

Re: It is reckoned by some botanists that there are two forms of the tree, f. rubiginosa with hairy leaves that are rusty red on the underside, occurring in both NSW and Queensland, and f. glabrescens, with glabrous leaves, confined to Queensland, and where the lower surfaces of the leaves have the merest suspicion of red, and to which all the ones I have seen on Magnetic Island would appear to belong.

I'm not going to agonize over the species any further. I will go assume it is Ficus rubiginosa, as Josh said they were. I believe he collected the seeds in Spain or Portugal. Makes no matter to me whether my trees are F.rubiginosa or F. macrophylla. But if they survive my climate, I will post photos from time to time of their growth progress.

Mad about palms

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Geoff: I have no idea the growth rate of Ficus rubiginosa, but I doubt in my lifetime I will need to be concerned about my trees growing too big. But I've planted four of them, and they are in locations that can accommodate growth similar to those in your photos. However, they will displace other trees (mainly slash pines) that will have to be cut down. No problem in that regard. Further, if I feel the ficus trees are getting out of hand I will cut them back.

The variegated F. rubiginosa is interesting.

Mad about palms

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Makes no matter to me whether my trees are F.rubiginosa or F. macrophylla. But if they survive my climate, I will post photos from time to time of their growth progress.

Hi Walt,

What climatic factors are you concerned about? Rubiginosa is largely a temperate fig, which also extends into the tropics. Your place has climate very similar to the warmest parts of the natural range, as mine does to the cooler parts (except the coldest parts have MUCH more frost than I get). Rubiginosa tends to prefer drier areas (rocks etc), and doesn't need good soil. Handles heat, wet, drought, frost. It also produces 1,500,000 viable seeds per kg of ripe fruit, which is why it has such high weed potential.

This is a tree that is harder to kill than to grow.

Waimarama New Zealand (39.5S, 177E)

Oceanic temperate

summer 25C/15C

winter 15C/6C

No frost, no heat

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Are you old? In 10 years this plant could go from a 1 gal to over 20' tall... and it gets faster and faster. I doubt those trees in the photos are more than 30-40 years old.

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Makes no matter to me whether my trees are F.rubiginosa or F. macrophylla. But if they survive my climate, I will post photos from time to time of their growth progress.

Hi Walt,

What climatic factors are you concerned about? Rubiginosa is largely a temperate fig, which also extends into the tropics. Your place has climate very similar to the warmest parts of the natural range, as mine does to the cooler parts (except the coldest parts have MUCH more frost than I get). Rubiginosa tends to prefer drier areas (rocks etc), and doesn't need good soil. Handles heat, wet, drought, frost. It also produces 1,500,000 viable seeds per kg of ripe fruit, which is why it has such high weed potential.

This is a tree that is harder to kill than to grow.

Bennz: Well, I'm happy to hear about such growing conditions of Ficus rubiginosa. I love the ficus genus and look forward to seeing my trees get big. For sure my soil (almost pure sand) is poor, with respect to nutrients. However, all my other species of ficus seem to grow quite well in such soil. Also, my soil is typically drier than most of Florida, as I'm on the east side of the Lake Wales Ridge, and the water table is lower as opposed to the coastal locations and inland areas down off the ridge. Thus far the four Ficus rubiginosa trees I've planted (this summer) are growing well and seem to be perfectly happy.

Mad about palms

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Are you old? In 10 years this plant could go from a 1 gal to over 20' tall... and it gets faster and faster. I doubt those trees in the photos are more than 30-40 years old.

Old is a relative term! That being said, I sure hope to live longer than 10 more years. If I'm lucky I may make 30 more years. I assumed the trees in your photos were much older than 30-40 years, I guess because I've read so much about early exotic tree plantings in So. Cal.

If Ficus rubiginosa's growth rate is similar to the two Ficus altissima 'variegata' trees I'm growing, then I will be more than pleased. Even if they only grow at half the rate I would be pleased.

The below Ficus altissima 'variegata' was planted in April of 2000 as a 3 gallon, and was about 3-4 feet tall. It grew very fast over that summer, but on January 5, 2001 it was frozen down to the roots. I thought the tree (single trunk) was dead so I cut it flush with the soil. Several weeks later I began to see new growth (multiple) coming off the sides of the now flush to the ground trunk. The tree started to regrow with multiple trunks. Over the years, on colder winters, it would get partially defoliated, sometimes small branch die back, but it would always regrow quickly. But in 2010 ( both January and again the following December) we had very cold winters. In fact, December of 2010 averaged the coldest December in Florida ever. Not absolute lows, but average low temperature for the month.

The altissima in below photo had a few 6"+ diameter branches killed on the north side (the coldest side) in December of 2010. My other altissima (not shown) recieved less damage as it is growing in a more sheltered location. Both of these trees, I estimate, are about 40 feet tall.

Ficusaltissima_zps301a9df7.jpg

Ficusatissimatrunk_zps74eba274.jpg

Mad about palms

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  • 2 weeks later...

Walt,

I must have received seeds from the same PalmTalk member, and had the same experience you did. In fact, after the seeds sprouted and the wispy little seedlings appeared, I was certain they were nothing more than weeds. I contacted the donor and he assured me they were indeed F. rubiginosa seedlings. Sure enough, he was correct. Knowing how much you like Ficus, I was going to ask if you wanted a cutting, but I see you have plenty. :) Here's how mine are looking as of a couple weeks ago. Notice they are already developing aerial roots (visible near the base of the plant on the right).

F.rubiginosa.20140907-01.jpg

Tom

Bowie, Maryland, USA - USDA z7a
hardiestpalms.com

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Walt,

I must have received seeds from the same PalmTalk member, and had the same experience you did. In fact, after the seeds sprouted and the wispy little seedlings appeared, I was certain they were nothing more than weeds. I contacted the donor and he assured me they were indeed F. rubiginosa seedlings. Sure enough, he was correct. Knowing how much you like Ficus, I was going to ask if you wanted a cutting, but I see you have plenty. :) Here's how mine are looking as of a couple weeks ago. Notice they are already developing aerial roots (visible near the base of the plant on the right).

F.rubiginosa.20140907-01.jpg

Tom: Your plants look great. I suppose you will have to move your plants indoors once nighttime temps drop down to freezing.

When my wife and I lived in Ellicott City, Md., she was growing a Ficus benjamina and Ficus elastica in pots indoors. Little did I realize then that one day my wife and I would be growing those same species in Florida -- but in the ground. Funny thing, when my wife first drove down here to Highlands County to check it out (so as to eventually move here) she happened to see a large Ficus elastica tree growing in the front yard of a house right across from the real estate office we stopped at. When my wife saw that tree she told me she definitely wanted to move here! Up until that point I wasn't sure if my wife was 100% behind me on moving down here. I owe her decision to move here all to a Ficus elastica tree!

I'm glad the I.D. is finally settled on my Ficus rebiginosa. It was the lack of tomentum on the leaves underside that threw me off. I assume your Ficus rubiginosa leaves also lack tomentum on the leaves' underside?

Walt

Mad about palms

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Great story, Walt. If only my wife were a gardener. Oh well...at least we're not arguing over what to plant.

Yep - soon I will have to bring in all my plants - a task that usually takes a several days. First stop is the garage, then they gradually get moved into the sun room after I clean them up a bit. Dreading that. The coldest it's been so far is 49F, with nothing too cold in the foreseeable future. Of course, that can change quickly.

No tomentum on the undersides of mine, either. The wiki page clearly shows that. It's a nice-looking fig that wouldn't normally be available around here. It's my only fig if I don't count the F. pumila I have growing up the trunk of one of my large potted Phoenix roebelenii and the one growing outside next to the front porch (comes back every year from the roots). Maybe one day I'll be growing all this stuff outside, too. :)

Tom

Bowie, Maryland, USA - USDA z7a
hardiestpalms.com

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  • 6 months later...

Hi Walt,

I'm just catching up on this thread now and am pleased that the seeds I sent around the world are creating a whole new generation of Ficus trees :)

It's particularly interesting to read the discussion about various forms of F. rubiginosa. I was recently in touch with Ben in New Zealand (Bennz) who mentioned that there is a variant of F. rubiginosa known as F. australis, which is commonly grown in southern Europe and produces copious aerial roots from a young age. This certainly makes sense seeing that your seeds were from a tree in the Barcelona botanic gardens (southern Europe) and it was covered in aerial roots - see pictures of the mother tree here.

I also noticed, when googling 'Ficus australis' that CalPoly's Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute mention that F. rubiginosa var australis has less rusty undersides to the leaves - see link here.

So I would deduce from this that the seedlings you have are indeed F. rubiginosa var. australis.

Edited by Josh76
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Hi Walt,

I'm just catching up on this thread now and am pleased that the seeds I sent around the world are creating a whole new generation of Ficus trees :)

It's particularly interesting to read the discussion about various forms of F. rubiginosa. I was recently in touch with Ben in New Zealand (Bennz) who mentioned that there is a variant of F. rubiginosa known as F. australis, which is commonly grown in southern Europe and produces copious aerial roots from a young age. This certainly makes sense seeing that your seeds were from a tree in the Barcelona botanic gardens (southern Europe) and it was covered in aerial roots - see pictures of the mother tree here.

I also noticed, when googling 'Ficus australis' that CalPoly's Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute mention that F. rubiginosa var australis has less rusty undersides to the leaves - see link here.

So I would deduce from this that the seedlings you have are indeed F. rubiginosa var. australis.

Hi Josh 76, I certainly hope that all four of my Ficus rubiginosa trees I have planted out grew to look like the tree in the linked photo! Also, the fact that my F. rubiginosa leaves have less rusty undersides is consistant with the information in your second link. As you know, I was puzzled about that.

About a week ago I planted out my tallest Ficus luschnathiana I grew from seed you gave me. Plus, I planted out the Ficus umbellata (if that is what it is) that was given to me last year. This tree is about 7 feet high now and is a faster grower than F. luschnathiana. I still have three potted L. luschnathiana left.

I have one very nice Ficus rebiginosa left in a 10 gallon pot, and that one is in the Palmtalk "For Sale" forum. It's not that I want to sell it, but I don't need any more with four of them in my landscape now. However, if it doesn't sell it will go in the ground by this June.

One thing I believe may be true, is that I'm the only one in my county that has a Ficus rebiginosa var. australis!

Mad about palms

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That's great Walt - would love to see some pics of your F. luschnathiana when you have the chance.

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That's great Walt - would love to see some pics of your F. luschnathiana when you have the chance.

Ok, Josh76: Here's two photos of what I believe are Ficus luschnathiana I grew from seed you sent me. It seems you might have originally sent me three species of ficus seeds, I just don't remember. Note the size difference of the tree ficus pots in the first photo. Note especially the ficus on the left, the shortest one. This one may not be Ficus luschnathiana, I'm not sure. But in any event it was from seed you sent me

In the second photo below, that is the F. luschnathiana I planted out about a week or so ago. I planted it in an area with lots of native Serenoa repens (saw palmetto). I may just continue to grow the potted ficus for awhile, but I will step them up in pot size.

Ficus%20luschnathiana%202_zpsc6iapgrf.jp

Ficus%20luschnathiana_zpsqtgblqfj.jpg

Mad about palms

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Looks like avocados Walt! Seriously though, is luschanthiana a banyan type fig? I don't know much about this one except its from Argentina.

Waimarama New Zealand (39.5S, 177E)

Oceanic temperate

summer 25C/15C

winter 15C/6C

No frost, no heat

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Thanks for the pics Walt. That's very interesting to see the smaller stature of the plant on the left in the first photo. My seedlings (much smaller than yours) more closely resemble that plant. The seeds were sent to me by a friend of a friend in Buenos Aires and it's possible that he collected seeds from more than one tree so there is a possibility that we have two separate species.

Another theory I have is that because this fig (like many others) can start life as a epiphyte, eventually strangling its host and becoming a tree in its own right, is there a possibility that there are both juvenile and adult growth forms? The plant on the left has a less upright habit but the leaves look similar, just smaller.

Ben - I believe F. luschnathiana does become banyan-like in adulthood. In Walt's second photo you can start to see the aerial roots at the bottom of the trunk.

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Looks like avocados Walt! Seriously though, is luschanthiana a banyan type fig? I don't know much about this one except its from Argentina.

Bennz: I can say for a fact they are not avocado trees (I've sprouted large avocado seeds)! The seeds were tiny, like ficus seed are. I had no idea ficus seeds were so small until I ordered some Ficus benghalensis seeds, then realized I'd better not sneeze while holding them!

Mad about palms

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