2 nice Banyan Trees

[Eric in Orlando]

I was down in Jupiter,FL for Christmas. Driving around yesterday I saw these 2 nice Banyan Trees, Ficus benghalensis.

[QUINNPALMS]

those are sooo cool!

[MattyB]

Awesome! I want to make a bridge out of the banyaning branches. Is that possible?

[Walt]

I have a family member that lives in a condo on Jupiter Island. I recall while driving around that area seeing many Ficus benghalensis trees.

At the entrance of my subdivision there is a 13 acre property bordering the southeast shore of lake Clay. I counted five large Ficus benghalensis there, plus some more ficus species I'm not familar with (two shown below). I've taken cuttings numerous times from some of the banyan trees there but can never get a rooted cutting. I try every spring with no success.

These photos were taken October 25, 2010. I just today drove by them. No winter damage so far. In fact, in my 13 years living here there's never been winter damage. Yet, my place less than 1-1/2 miles away, my ficus are burned and defoliating badly. I've stated this axiom on many occasions: In my part of inland Florida, there's no substitute for a warm (relatively speaking) body of water to hold up nighttime temperatures.

[Walt]

Two short grainy videos of the two ficus trees (click on image to play video):

[koolthing78]

  On 12/27/2010 at 8:26 PM, Walt said:

I have a family member that lives in a condo on Jupiter Island. I recall while driving around that area seeing many Ficus benghalensis trees.

At the entrance of my subdivision there is a 13 acre property bordering the southeast shore of lake Clay. I counted five large Ficus benghalensis there, plus some more ficus species I'm not familar with (two shown below). I've taken cuttings numerous times from some of the banyan trees there but can never get a rooted cutting. I try every spring with no success.

These photos were taken October 25, 2010. I just today drove by them. No winter damage so far. In fact, in my 13 years living here there's never been winter damage. Yet, my place less than 1-1/2 miles away, my ficus are burned and defoliating badly. I've stated this axiom on many occasions: In my part of inland Florida, there's no substitute for a warm (relatively speaking) body of water to hold up nighttime temperatures.

That's impressive. Here in St. Pete, where the absolute minimums were not as bad last January, there are ficus species all over town--many of them huge--that still have yet to show signs of life. (A good deal more are showing only minor signs, like litte clumps of leaves along the otherwise barren branches--looks like they're full of mistletoe, or something). It's really a shame, because that was always something I loved about St. Pete, the abundance of those glossy green leaves.

[Eric in Orlando]

That is a big one Walt !

We have 2 getting some size here at Leu Gardens. They are almost 30ft tall and getting a wide spread. Also have some big prop roots off the main trunk and getting aerial roots. Suprisingly they had no damage after last years shatty winter. I grew them from cuttings from a good sized tree that used to be just south of downtown Orlando. It had froze back in the Dec. 1989 freeze. There was a big stump but it was back about 30-40ft then the lot was cleared a few years ago and the idiots took the tree out too.

[Walt]

Eric and Eric S.: The owners of this property allowed me to tour it about 5-6 years ago, maybe more. One of the banyan trees actually has a small tractor entrapped in all the subsidiary roots. They told me all of these banyans and lots of other tropical stuff were planted by his father back in the 1950s. There must be 25 or so large royal palms on the property.

This property is in a favorable location and runs far warmer than property just a little further out. On January 5, 2001 I had my coldest freeze here ever. I recorded 22 degrees about 10 feet out from the south side of my house. Archbold Biological Station (8 miles to the south) tied their all-time low temperature record with 13 degrees.

All my ficus species were frozen down to the roots. Yet, all the ficus around the lake were untouched.

But tomorrow morning may be another story. Both FAWN and Fox News Tampa Bay are calling for a low of 20 degrees in Lake Placid. If that is so, I will be in the teens. Archbold may break a new low record. If this happens I'm giving up my palm and tropical growing hobby. I'm not fighting it anymore. I don't mind a set back every 3-5 years, but not three years in a row, especially a total devastation set back.

I can only hope what I did fully protect survives tonight, plus the palms that I only protected the trunks and growth buds. But with so many, many nights of cold, I just don't know. I dropped into the high 20s this morning with light frost. That makes five days already down in the 20s. That's unprecedented, even for my cold pit.

I'm retired, but I can't go anywhere until the wife retires, so I'm stuck here for now. Even then, she tells me we aren't moving.

[BS Man about Palms]

Hang in there Walt.... and everyone down there...