Jump to content
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT LOGGING IN ×
  • WELCOME GUEST

    It looks as if you are viewing PalmTalk as an unregistered Guest.

    Please consider registering so as to take better advantage of our vast knowledge base and friendly community.  By registering you will gain access to many features - among them are our powerful Search feature, the ability to Private Message other Users, and be able to post and/or answer questions from all over the world. It is completely free, no “catches,” and you will have complete control over how you wish to use this site.

    PalmTalk is sponsored by the International Palm Society. - an organization dedicated to learning everything about and enjoying palm trees (and their companion plants) while conserving endangered palm species and habitat worldwide. Please take the time to know us all better and register.

    guest Renda04.jpg

Ficus dammaropsis salt tolerance


Austinpalm

Recommended Posts

Anyone growing F. dammaropsis at the beach or another salty location.  I obtained a very nice sapling and over the course of a month after I planted it, it has lost all of the leaves it arrived with.  It has put on 2 new leaves but the first has already dropped and the second looks like it is browning up and close to dropping.  There were several leaf buds late last week, but most appear to be browning now as well. The stem still feels solid but is also going from green to brown. The site getsficus2.thumb.jpg.818fa0f477c185d6a1e0c619d0887907.jpg strong sun until about 1pm and then is in shade for the remainder of the day.  I do water it fairly often (every other day) since planting, but am trying to reduce that.  My yard has a thin layer of clay loam over sand and is at 8ft above sea level and 200yds from the bay.  So I am sure there is a lot of salt in the soil.  I do have a nice hill of clay loam with shade that I could move to if need be, but would really like to keep it where it is if possible.  Thoughts on if this is a salt issue or just sun and the plant will acclimate?

Clay

South Padre Island, Zone 10b until the next vortex.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Austinpalm said:

Anyone growing F. dammaropsis at the beach or another salty location.  I obtained a very nice sapling and over the course of a month after I planted it, it has lost all of the leaves it arrived with.  It has put on 2 new leaves but the first has already dropped and the second looks like it is browning up and close to dropping.  There were several leaf buds late last week, but most appear to be browning now as well.

Clay, it doesn't look good, but I don't know if it is a salt issue or the exposure.  I'm a little over double the distance from the Pacific but at a much higher elevation, so no issues with groundwater intrusion of salt water.  Mine receives mid-day to late afternoon sun and seems to appreciate it so I would be surprised that the amount of sun yours is getting is the issue. unless it is just fresh out of a greenhouse before you planted it a month ago.  The reason I'm concerned is that mine does this die back thing routinely, however the stem that dies back has offshoots below it that become the new growth points.  Yours looks a lot like when a branch on mine is going into this die back phase. 

I'm reluctant to encourage you to try transplanting it to the higher ground you mention, just because it already is traumatized and it could be the death blow.  On the other hand, if its a lost cause in the place you are growing it, you don't have much to lose.  If you decide to get another one, I would definitely consider creating an elevated planter box.  Another question is do you see problems with other plants relative to salt water intrusion and root systems?  Perhaps you can answer your own question based on experience.  Good luck whatever you decide to try.

33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the reply Tracy.  I do occasionally see salt issues with other plants, but had read on a Florida web site that most ficus species were salt tolerant.  Perhaps not Dammaropsis so much.   I think I will move it back to a pot in semi shade for the a few months and see if it recoups. 

Clay

South Padre Island, Zone 10b until the next vortex.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Clay did you get the "lowland form" (which has now been described as a separate species iirc)? Don't think the highland form will grow for you 

Jonathan

Katy, TX (Zone 9a)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/29/2021 at 1:59 PM, Xenon said:

Clay did you get the "lowland form" (which has now been described as a separate species iirc)? Don't think the highland form will grow for you 

Been trying to figure that out.  The gentleman I purchased it from was not sure.

Edited by Austinpalm

Clay

South Padre Island, Zone 10b until the next vortex.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/29/2021 at 11:59 AM, Xenon said:

Clay did you get the "lowland form" (which has now been described as a separate species iirc)? Don't think the highland form will grow for you 

 

3 hours ago, Austinpalm said:

Been trying to figure that out.  The gentleman I purchased it from was not sure.

They are pretty distinctive in appearance.  JoshO had this posted as Lowland form for sale back in 2019 on this site (I just cut his photo and pasted it here).  I had one of these from an earlier batch Josh had but lost it several winters ago.  Below is the other form or species now.  I posted a picture of the "trunk" if you can call it that.  I got it as a 5 gallon plant something over 7 years ago.  I have yet to see one that produces the red fruit that doesn't want to eventually lay down it's limbs.  Green fruit form seems to be more upright from what I have seen.  Compare your leaf structure prior to them dropping to the plant Josh was selling and the one I'm growing, which is more corrugated and remains very rigid and that will tell you something about the form of your plant.

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/uploads/monthly_2019_07/IMG_0404.jpg.57a963cd468f4c129ceeb167580bdb33.jpg

 

20210929-BH3I5666.jpg

20210929-BH3I5667.jpg

20210630-BH3I4586.jpg

33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are pix of the leaves it arrived with.

Seems more like the plant in JoshO pix to me.  But maybe I'm not seeing something.

IMG_3683.JPG

IMG_3684.JPG

Clay

South Padre Island, Zone 10b until the next vortex.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are  two photos of the "green fruit" form I bought from Josh-O (Josh also sells the red fruit variety, but these are the green fruit ones).

* Both are currently in buried pots while waiting for their final destination to be ready. I don't know about salt tolerance as I'm not right on the coast, but hopefully these will help identify which type you have. 

IMG_0365.thumb.jpeg.975844f530e17f882149b9ea4c0bb5ee.jpeg

IMG_0366.thumb.jpeg.dadb0f90e83d13b6191a4baabf1f11e2.jpeg

 

Edited by idesign123
  • Like 1

Stacey Wright  |  Graphic Designer

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was trying to figure out the highland/lowland differences recently and got confused after reading earlier Palmtalk threads on the subject.

Would you say the following would be an accurate description of the differences?
If not, please correct as needed...

Highland Form:
- Green fruit
- Tends to be more upright
- More "pleated" leaves
- More sun tolerant?
- More common right now

Lowland Form:
- Red fruit
- Tends to hug the ground more
- Flatter leaves leaves (less "pleating")
- Less sun tolerant?
- Relatively rare ( @Josh-O seemed to imply that the red one is more for conservatories)

The above list could be COMPLETELY wrong (as I'm a little confused on the differences). If someone who actually knows could post a corrected list that would be awesome, as I found the earlier threads on the subject a little confusing. Thanks to anyone who can set the record straight (for me if no one else).

Edited by idesign123

Stacey Wright  |  Graphic Designer

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...