Ficus altissima 'variegata' tree

[Walt]

I planted a small (about 30" high) F. altissima tree in my front yard in April of 2000.

It grew fairly fast, getting up to about 8 feet high by January of 2001. However, the worst radiational freeze I've ever had in my 11 years living here happened on the morning of January 5, 2001. My ficus tree was frozen down to the roots by my low of 22 degrees and heavy frost.

Not knowing much about this species, I figured it was history and cut the trunk flush with the ground so tha it woudn't hinder my mowing around it.

About two weeks later I noticed some green growth sprouting up around the old trunk. As the days past the growth became more pronounced, my tree had survived, albiet now with multiple emerging trunks!

Today my tree tops out (by my estimation) more than 30 feet high with an equal or more spread and hasn't slowed down in growth speed. I've made numerous cuttings off this tree and started two more trees I planted last year, plus given cuttings to others.

Here's my tree after I planted it in April of 2000. The small royal palm to the left was killed during that freeze, but it took several months for it to die, probably from a fungal disease.

Tree as of September 2005:

Tree as of July 2006:

Tree as of August 2008. The P. selloums to the right, for scale, range from 7 to just over 8 feet high. Notice the side spread going way out on the left side of tree.

Since that horrible freeze of January 5, 2001, my ficus has been slightly damaged by two more radiational freezes, both in the high 20s F. My tree was mostly defoliated on the north side up to about 15 feet, where the damage stopped. This was due to air stratification, i.e., the air became warmer with increasing elevation about ground level. However, the damage quickly grew out by late springtime.

My Ficus altissima is by far my fastest growing ficus. No other one comes even close in speed. I'm also growing two varieties of F. elastica, F. alii, F. benjamina, F. lyrata, and F. microcarpa.

I've tried making rooted cuttings from local F. bengalensis and F. aurea, but have had no luck.

I will continue this post in Part 2.

[Walt]

View of interior of tree.

Ficus altissima 'varigata' Part 2

Close up of aerial/subsidiary roots:

Looking up into canopy from within:

Variegated leaf detail:

[Walt]

Wide-view showing Ficus Altissima in front yard

I.D. sign I have near base of ficus -- which constantly needs to be moved outward each year so that it isn't covered up by spreading growth!

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

Walt,

Great pics! You must have a ginormous yard to have all those ficus. I cannot tell the difference between F. altissima and F. bengalensis, is it possible for you to show leaf details of both or other identifying features?

Jerry

[Josh]

Beautiful ficus Walt. I love ficus myself, I'll have to post some pics of mine while they still look nice. Theres a new bug in town here that I'm afraid might wipe most of our ficus out, it's called the fig white fly. I just noticed it recently in my area within the past month.

[Walt]

Walt,

Great pics! You must have a ginormous yard to have all those ficus. I cannot tell the difference between F. altissima and F. bengalensis, is it possible for you to show leaf details of both or other identifying features?

Jerry

Jerry, only the F. altissima shown is that large. All the rest of my ficus trees are much smaller.

My wife has already given me hell for planting the subject ficus in the front yard. However, when I planted it I was a neophyte and didn't realize how large they could get.

To make matters worse, I planted (one year later) another F. altissima along my driveway going back to my main property (5.60 acres). It's in a more shaded area and hasn't grown as fast, but it's now starting to encroach on the driveway. Of course, I can keep it trimmed back.

The late Bob Riffle saw my altissima and I joked with Bob that one day it would be a monster. When I last visited Bob, a couple years before his passing, he had planted maybe a half dozen of F. altissima along one of his property lines to screen off an undesirable neighbor. I told Bob (the trees were planted close to his house) that it was a mistake, that one day those trees will be displacing his house. He laughed. And the ficus genus was one of Bob's favorites.

I have compared altissma leaves with benghalensis and they are markedly different. But I understand there's a green form of altissima (I have varigated). One difference is that altissima leaves are more brittle, whereas benghalensis are more soft and supple.

There's some large F. benghalensis about two miles from me at lakeside where I used to take cuttings from. However, the owner has since fenced off his property and I don't want to trespass.

Here's the smaller F. altissima growing close to my driveway. BTW, that small royal palm has now been in the ground 2-1/2 years and will not grow. In fact, it's only opened one frond all year long.

[Walt]

Beautiful ficus Walt. I love ficus myself, I'll have to post some pics of mine while they still look nice. Theres a new bug in town here that I'm afraid might wipe most of our ficus out, it's called the fig white fly. I just noticed it recently in my area within the past month.

Josh,

Heaven forbid that white fly arrive here! Yes, post some pics by all means of your ficus.