Ficus dammaropsis red fruit form

[Tracy]

There are Ficus dammaropsis that produce the red fruit and others that produce the green fruit.  I have yet to see a Ficus dammaropsis that produces the red fruit that grows into a real tree.  The few people that I know that have the red fruit form have experienced the same thing I have, which is limb die offs.  The main trunk grows for a period, produces a few branches and then the main trunk dies back and one of the branches becomes the new "main trunk".  Mine grows inside a low wall/fence,  in front of my house, so gets some wind protection.  It seems to max out in height at the elevation of the westerly fence, never really growing above it   Limbs seem to get too heavy with the large leaves that can be like sails when windy.  I guess it isn't surprising that it wants to remain low, below the fence elevation. 

The question is, whether anyone has grown the red fruit form and see it become a multi branched tree without this continual cycling between new grown and old growth die off.  My plant doesn't appear much larger than it did 1 year after I planted it and over the years has died back to be a much smaller plant than it is today.  I have had the plant since about 2012 or 13 and put it in the ground in 2015.   Please share your experience, positive or negative, with the red fruit variety.

[Tracy]

There is a reason I keep this darn Ficus.  As you can see, it's quite colorful.  Len LJG  I remember you had one in your front that you weren't very thrilled with due to similar growth to what I have described.  Did yours ever come out of it or did you remove it?   I guess no one else has any feedback on this variation of the species either?

 

 

[Tracy]

On 12/3/2021 at 10:47 PM, Tracy said:

The question is, whether anyone has grown the red fruit form and see it become a multi branched tree without this continual cycling between new grown and old growth die off.  My plant doesn't appear much larger than it did 1 year after I planted it and over the years has died back to be a much smaller plant than it is today.  I have had the plant since about 2012 or 13 and put it in the ground in 2015.   Please share your experience, positive or negative, with the red fruit variety.

The cycle continues with my Ficus dammaropsis with Sudden Limb Die Off Syndrome or SLDOS as I will refer to it.  I have seen this cycle repeat for several years, with no indication as to why a limb will decide it it time for it to cease being the main growth point and a newer growth point to take the lead.  The rest of the plant remains healthy and growing, time of year has varied for these events, so it isn't correlated to a particular weather condition.

If you have the red fruit form, have you experienced the same or is your plant growing, branching and getting larger.

[Tracy]

Probably a hopeless venture, but a limb on my Ficus dammaropsis broke off yesterday.  I didn't have any rooting hormone in stock and didn't feel like venturing out to buy any when I noticed it just before dinner.  So I just stuck it in the ground kind of close to where my recycle garbage bins are located for the probable outcome.  Cuttings of this are notoriously hard to start, so I'll put my broken branch to the test.  It appears to have snapped off right at the juncture connecting it to the current trunk.  I note current trunk, because the main trunk has varied so much over the years with the continual die backs after a new growth point has emerged that seems to suck all the energy from the old main trunk.

[Firepalm]

Wish I could help you with info about the red fruit variety Tracy, but the only experience I have is with the green fruit form which is essentially a weed at my place in Oceanside.  I have to continually trim it back as it wants to spread out over the entire planter that I have it in.   Seems that no matter how much abuse I throw at it, it thrives in our climate so long as you give it enough water.  

[Tracy]

Potted up this Ficus dammaropsis over the weekend from a 3 to a 10 gallon pot because I haven't decided where to plant it.  At this time, I don't know if this is a red fruit or green fruit variety like my other one that is in the ground.  One of each might be nice, but where to plant it????  Kicking that can down the road a little while longer after picking up this plant this last winter.

[Tracy]

Despite having the trunks die back a few times to near the ground, I finally have what appears to be an erect trunk with some branches.  Photo update for surfermatt

[Expectorating aubergine]

There is a red fruit drammopsis in avengers campus @ california adventure. It's a pretty big tree. It's in the Dr strange area