Ficus Trioderopsis....growth report

[trioderob]

you guys were not kidding about growth - with this hot weather up to heat index 112F this baby is now throwing 20" leaves already.

it is also throwing lateral side branches.

need advice on how to stake up this plant which is top heavy without weakening the trunk which needs movement to grow strong.....

Edited September 20, 2014 by trioderob

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

I don't stake either one of my ficus axeleropsis, I let them do their own thing, it will branch more that way.

They're fast growers even in our cooler temperate redwood rainforest climate, they need a ton of water to grow fast more so than actual heat.

[Hammer]

That is no joke Axel. Mine's leaves were drooping one day due to lack of water. I turned a spinkler on it...I could actually see the leaves stiffen up as the plant sucked up the water. So not only do these things need water, they can absorb it FAST!

[MattyB]

I watered one more than the other during this last heat waye and the one that got more water didn't burn. I've been having problems with burn every year during these end of summer 100+ degree heat waves. Hopefully I can keep them looking good by remembering to add extra water.

Staking is going to be your only way to get an upright structural branch if you're growing this in full sun. It's default habit is a large spreading shrub. It's heavy, so use several large tree stakes, in excess of 7' tall and tie up with flexible tie or rubber banding so it can move a bit, but not too much. One other way that I've done it is to let it sprawl out and then that will force growth to go up once all the lateral branches are developed. Then take an old garden hose and go around several of the branches that are semi upright and cinch them up. That'll force the middle branch to go up because it feels all the other branches around it squeezing in. It's a long process, so plan long term on your shaping plan; 10+ years.

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

Here in Modesto, where the soil has high ph and the water is salty, I have much success lowering my ph with bark and sulphur and occasionally flushing the soil free of salt using gypsum .

Our summers are blistering hot and none of my FD's have burn marks.

[trioderob]

I ended up staking the Trioderopsis as shown.

this will keep it upright thru the winter storms and yet allow alot of movement to build a strong trunk

that's fir bark on top

the growth rate has been epic !

Edited September 23, 2014 by trioderob

[Pando]

Looks nice! Mine is growing strong as well, except it's not branching yet. Getting any figs yet on it?

Edited September 23, 2014 by Pando

[trioderob]

[MattyB]

That looks perfect! Where are the stakes?

[trioderob]

stakes are gone.

trunk got so fat (hard to see in this photo) that the plant is stable in strong wind.

trunk is 3x diameter after a few months in ground with high heat and heavy water.

lets see how it takes the big storm hitting Tuesday.

I think these guys really put out some roots also

lateral branches now approx the size of the original plant in thread #1

leaves are throwing approx two feet long

top branch is now splitting into 4

I will post an end of winter (march) photo next - lets see what happens over winter !

and then one photo every 4 months

Edited December 1, 2014 by trioderob

[MattyB]

If you want it to stay upright, you'll need to stake it up again. That main branch, no matter how fat it is, will end up laying on the ground. Just giving you a heads-up.

[Hammer]

If you want it to stay upright, you'll need to stake it up again. That main branch, no matter how fat it is, will end up laying on the ground. Just giving you a heads-up.

So yer sayin' you could need a 30 foot stake if the main trunk gets that tall?

[trioderob]

in my "why so much love" thread there were many photos showing them standing erect .....

what do you know Matty that I am not seeing in the photos ??????

[Pando]

I sure hope you're talking about the ficus... (lol)

[trioderob]

good Lord

[MattyB]

From my observations, if it's grown in full all day sun, it'll grow very dense and heavy and bend over the branches. Maybe the upright ones are in less than full sun. I've seen them go upright to find more light and those plants are less dense and less heavy. Maybe yours is gonna work out perfect.

[Josh-O]

Hey fellas, any clue where I can get a Ficus Trioderopsis. I'm not much of a plant guy but I really like the way they look. any leads would greatly appreciated

[Brett in Mission Viejo]

My experience is that if they are lightly partially shaded they can grow upright without staking. In full all day sun the weight of the leaf mass maight weigh them down. This 20 foot tall one is partially shaded by a 50 foot Schitzolobium until about 3pm, then gets full late afternoon sun. It has 3-4 nice long branches that are slowly thickening up. :

[Hammer]

Thanks Brett.

[Rory]

Josh, Matty and Jeff in Modesto seem to be the guys to talk to about getting one of these in Southern California. I highly recommend getting one if you can personally, this is one of my absolute favorite plants in my yard aside from my palms, and they seem to grow great in Cali.

[MattyB]

That must be the trick to upright growth Brett: less than full sun.

Unfortunately I do not have any available for sale right now. That reminds me, I've gotta get some more propagations working so I can have some ready in Spring.

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

I have several in ground, but none in containers .

Send me a pm next summer , I might have some.

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

My tallest FD

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[Josh-O]

That must be the trick to upright growth Brett: less than full sun.

Unfortunately I do not have any available for sale right now. That reminds me, I've gotta get some more propagations working so I can have some ready in Spring.

Hurry up Matty, I'll buy one from you or just let you keep borrowing my single fin log..

[trioderob]

the Trioderopsis got fried real bad from the light frost and cool nights this past week.

it now looks like crap

[Pando]

Josh, check with Jungle Music. They don't have them at this point, but Phil sold a few batches during the last few months, so get in the queue if you can.

I have one that I bought from Jeff Rood, looking perfect as ever, even after the recent lows.

edit: sorry to hear that, triode, it'll bounce back. They hate cold wind, so try to protect it (put a cardboard box over it or something).

Edited January 4, 2015 by Pando

[Hammer]

the Trioderopsis got fried real bad from the light frost and cool nights this past week.

it now looks like crap

Sorry to read that. So you think it will recover?

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

My ficus dammaropsis still look good in spite of three freezing mornings in a row.

Lowest temp being 29.5f.

The key here is having some short of a canopy near by.

I have four in ground. The 3 surrounded by other plants are good without any other protection.

While generally don't try to protect my plants, I put an umbrella over the one I felt might get damaged.

It looks fine. So keep the frost off of them and they' should do ok.

[trioderob]

50-60 % of leaf growth died from frost

hope it looks better in summer

[MattyB]

Interesting report Triode, thanks for sharing. Mine has holes in the leaves from the hail, but luckily we didn't get frost.

[Hammer]

50-60 % of leaf growth died from frost

hope it looks better in summer

Any chance you could post a picture? I for one would like see how beat up it is and how it progresses through its recovery. Likely a good learning experience for many.

[trioderob]

ok here is a updated photo showing the frost damage - 75% defoliated

the leaves ended up in the compost bin

Edited January 10, 2015 by trioderob

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

Here is my most exposed f d.

No lost leaves but a couple have crispy tips.

[Hammer]

ok here is a updated photo showing the frost damage - 75% defoliated

the leaves ended up in the compost bin

For what it's worth, your FD doesn't look nearly as bad as I imagined. I bet that thing comes roaring back. Heartbreaker in the meantime.

[Hammer]

Here is my most exposed f d.

No lost leaves but a couple have crispy tips.

Looks like it's in pretty good shape. Awesome for the Modesto climate I would think.

[trioderob]

it came roaring back !

after a week of warm weather new leaves are exploding all over !

[Moose]

Must have unlocked the secret ...

[Tracy]

On 9/21/2014, 10:47:57, MattyB said:

Staking is going to be your only way to get an upright structural branch if you're growing this in full sun. It's default habit is a large spreading shrub. It's heavy, so use several large tree stakes, in excess of 7' tall and tie up with flexible tie or rubber banding so it can move a bit, but not too much. One other way that I've done it is to let it sprawl out and then that will force growth to go up once all the lateral branches are developed. Then take an old garden hose and go around several of the branches that are semi upright and cinch them up. That'll force the middle branch to go up because it feels all the other branches around it squeezing in. It's a long process, so plan long term on your shaping plan; 10+ years.

Looks like I missed this before planting mine.  I guess I wasn't looking for trioderopsis, but Ficus dammaropsis.  Darn or dammaropsis!  Perhaps I should use your cinch up method except I don't have a central stem now.  The central stem died back on mine after it pushed it's first couple of new shoots to the sides.