Ficus on Hilton Head Island, SC (zone 9a+)

[clinenotklein]

Hello, long time lurker and now poster from the coastal Southeast. Was going to post some relatively long-term Ficus on Hilton Head Island in response to another ficus thread, but it looked dead as a doornail. Photos are brand new. 

First, an Elastica 'Burgundy' that I first found in 2017 and finally got around to checking to see if it came back from the 2017-2018 ice storm/freeze. It was only a little larger in 2017, so I'm assuming it made a strong comeback over the last couple years to its original size. Did not see damage (or lack thereof).

A little closer. 

And last, a long-term Benjamina that my dad says has been there 15-20 years and is constantly pruned to control its size. 

Edit: Bonus one.  Not as big of a deal though cause it's probably only been there a couple years and the other one has likely been there 10+ years. 

Edited October 18, 2021 by clinenotklein
Forgot a plant

[chinandega81]

Very impressive. I wouldn't have believed it without seeing it! I didn't think those trees could survive there a single winter, much less multiple ones. That's great, I hope they are more widely planted in the area since those all look great!

[bubba]

Hilton Head, based upon it’s lowland location and closeness to the Atlantic Ocean, has to have a microclimate. In particular, that Ficus benjamin looks phenomenal. I would try a Queen or other edgy palm specimen (Paurotis palm, Sargeant Cherry palm, etc)

[Walt]

I have one Ficus elastica 'burgandy,' but it's not a very fast grower. I'm growing about 14 species of ficus, but hands down Ficus altissima 'variegata' is the faster grower of them all. I'm in USDA zone 9b (top end). In December of 2010 my Ficus altissima 'variegata' took a big hit from freeze and frost. Lost two major limbs on its north side, and all other limbs were partially frozen back to fatter wood. But my ficus came back with a vengeance. Fortunately, December of 2010 was the last time my Ficus was hurt, due to milder winters. My burgandy ficus was also hit bad in December of 2010. It's fully recovered but it doesn't grow near as fast as my altissima. If I lived on Hilton Head Island,  I would definitely be trying Ficus altissmia 'variegata' due to its fast growth rate, because it recovers quickly from freeze damage. In fact, one year after I planted my altissima it was frozen to the ground (January 2001). I cut the small diameter trunk flush with the ground because I thought the tree was dead, but in a few weeks I started seeing new growth emerge. 

[clinenotklein]

8 minutes ago, Walt said:

I have one Ficus elastica 'burgandy,' but it's not a very fast grower. I'm growing about 14 species of ficus, but hands down Ficus altissima 'variegata' is the faster grower of them all. I'm in USDA zone 9b (top end). In December of 2010 my Ficus altissima 'variegata' took a big hit from freeze and frost. Lost two major limbs on its north side, and all other limbs were partially frozen back to fatter wood. But my ficus came back with a vengeance. Fortunately, December of 2010 was the last time my Ficus was hurt, due to milder winters. My burgandy ficus was also hit bad in December of 2010. It's fully recovered but it doesn't grow near as fast as my altissima. If I lived on Hilton Head Island,  I would definitely be trying Ficus altissmia 'variegata' due to its fast growth rate, because it recovers quickly from freeze damage. In fact, one year after I planted my altissima it was frozen to the ground (January 2001). I cut the small diameter trunk flush with the ground because I thought the tree was dead, but in a few weeks I started seeing new growth emerge. 

Currently I have a Benghalensis for that purpose, but because of your posts I've looked into Altissima 'Variegata.' Is it the same as "Yellow Gem"? If I got one, I'd want it to be the fast growing one. 

[Walt]

On 10/21/2021 at 5:26 PM, clinenotklein said:

Currently I have a Benghalensis for that purpose, but because of your posts I've looked into Altissima 'Variegata.' Is it the same as "Yellow Gem"? If I got one, I'd want it to be the fast growing one. 

Yes, I just did a Google on yellow gem, and it does appear to be Ficus altissima 'variegata'. I've never heard that common name.  I also have a Ficus bengalensis, and it's not nearly as fast as my altissima.  Below is a photo of my altissima in April of 2000 (just after I planted it). Mind you, the ficus was frozen down to the roots in January of 2001. The second photo shows my ficus in 2004.

[clinenotklein]

Could be early branching that made it take off like that. More photosynthesis.  A lot of rubber trees have a bad habit of not branching until they absolutely have to. 

[Walt]

22 hours ago, clinenotklein said:

Could be early branching that made it take off like that. More photosynthesis.  A lot of rubber trees have a bad habit of not branching until they absolutely have to. 

After the single trunk was frozen to the ground it re sprouted with multiple trunks. I had a single trunk ponytail palm, and it was frozen down to the base, but re sprouted with five trunks.

 

[clinenotklein]

3 hours ago, Walt said:

After the single trunk was frozen to the ground it re sprouted with multiple trunks. I had a single trunk ponytail palm, and it was frozen down to the base, but re sprouted with five trunks.

 

Which was what I meant by early branching. Seems to be a way to make Ficus bulk up fast–people in the bonsai world chop their plants back hard to make them grow faster. 

Edited October 24, 2021 by clinenotklein

[Walt]

On 10/23/2021 at 10:49 PM, clinenotklein said:

Which was what I meant by early branching. Seems to be a way to make Ficus bulk up fast–people in the bonsai world chop their plants back hard to make them grow faster. 

Here are two pics showing cold damage defoliation and subsequent recovery of my Ficus altissima 'variegata' back in 2009.

[clinenotklein]

Going to update asap with more photos and some freeze data (spoiler alert: the big one was pretty hard hit but there are other elasticas in the area that were totally undamaged, and the benjimina only suffered tip burn at the top and is, as of April, 5-6" bigger in every direction lol. 

[bubba]

In the summer of 1973, my best friend and I ended up at Sea Pines for a summer job. We thought that we would be working on the golf course but were shocked to find that we had been appointed waiters at the Cafe Calibogie! In my first foray as a waiter in Saturday night prime time, I hurled an entire tray of six (6) entrees full Monty directly onto the unsuspecting table of good people. My buddy did not do much better. We were quickly moved to early mornings or late afternoons in a different venue.

This turned out to be the greatest favor ever given to us by our boss, a maître d’ of great perfection, who favored himself as his own cultural milieu. Our new less strenuous position afforded us golf at Sea Pines for $1.50 each for the cart, when other guests  were paying $50! We lived in the barracks provided by Sea Pines and the waitresses were truly hot, hot, hot. Additionally, the guests that would come from all areas of the Midwest for two week summer vacations all had beautiful daughters! What a fantastic three months that neither my buddy or I will ever forget!

This heavenly situation finally ended on a dull Sunday morning. My buddy had the misfortune of waiting on two large tables, one a screaming brood of children and the other a group of obnoxious adults/parents. My area was empty so I assisted my buddy in this howling environment.

As the group finally departed, my buddy noticed that there was no tip in cash on the table. Correspondingly, he followed the parents to check out to make certain that his gratuity was included in the credit card. To his astonishment, the parents of the Howlers goose egged him. Not to allow this to pass, my buddy looked the parent/payer directly in the eye and called him a “cheap ass”. Our friend, the esteemed maître d’, witnessed the event and charged directly into the scene and fired my buddy on the spot. The maître d’ then turned to me but before he could speak, I told him I considered it a great honor to be terminated by such a clown prince!

There is no question that Hilton Head, which has grown precipitously since those early days, would experience a fantastic microclimate. Having stayed there several years back, I was truly blown away by the vivid development, which I am certain creates a true heat island. I certainly believe that a large array of vegetation and palms is within reach.