I found this robust strangler fig a few blocks from my house while doing a morning walk. We are getting close to the absolute northern limit for this fantastic tropical species. Erna Nixon Park, the old-growth hardwood-and-palm hammock park on the mainland just 7 miles from my house lacks the species entirely (at least as far as I can tell). 

This specimen is one of the older ones on our island (at least that I've seen thus far), and I'm guesstimating that it's been wrapping itself around this old cabbage palm for decades. I've noticed that most locals treat the strangler fig as a parasite (which, I realize, it truly is), and there are several examples in and around Indialantic where a strangler fig that has just begun to trunk has been cut off of the palm. I think that's sad. In my opinion, nothing looks more tropical in Florida than a wild palm being surrounded by a wild strangler fig with gray root-turned-trunk and beard-like aerial roots coming down. I honestly wish I could buy one like this (with that wish doomed to be unfulfilled because no one sells specimens like this and I have no money).

I should add that my kids like to call them "Dagobah trees" because they look like the crazy stuff on Yoda's planet from the Star Wars movies :-)

Neat! I too love the look of strangler figs (though probably wouldn't like them on my own palms). Interestingly, they actually don't kill palms by strangling them (palms don't have a cambium layer), but by competing with them for light and in the root zone. It's the same situation in Manatee/Sarasota counties as in Brevard, they are super common on the barrier islands and in the warmer spots of the mainland, but they are virtually absent more than a mile or so inland. Emerson point preserve in northern Manatee county has them abundantly in the forested section, along with wild Royal palms. 

 

You don't have to buy one though, because I have had success with both seeds and rooting cuttings from strangler figs. If you find one with red berries on it, you can spread the tiny seeds onto soil in a pot, and you'll get hundreds of teeny tiny plants. Here's what they look like when they first sprout (from when I did this in 2009)

 

They grow pretty quickly after that. Mine reached 5 feet by the end of the first growing season. You could also cut a branch off of one that you like and root it in a pot with some powdered rooting hormone. 

 

They'll look a little different at first because they're growing straight into the ground rather than from a tree, but they'll eventually develop aerial roots from the higher branches and you'll get the look that you want. 

 

Alternatively, if you're ever in Manatee county, I have a Ficus benghalensis you can have. It's been growing in a pot for 6 years and I won't be able to plant it for at least another 7 years. 

Thanks for the tips. I actually have quite a few of them growing in my backyard (all of which I'm in the process of removing), but none on palms. It's their relationship with sabal palms that really fascinates me. There's nothing else quite like a strangler fig in the rest of the country. I love the stages: (1) harmless epiphyte adding interesting greenery to palm; (2) deadly parasite starving the palm of all nutrients and light. If I were to grow a seedling in a pot, do you think I could plant it in the side of a sabal palm and fertilize it for more rapid growth?

1 minute ago, Yunder Wækraus said:

Thanks for the tips. I actually have quite a few of them growing in my backyard (all of which I'm in the process of removing), but none on palms. It's their relationship with sabal palms that really fascinates me. There's nothing else quite like a strangler fig in the rest of the country. I love the stages: (1) harmless epiphyte adding interesting greenery to palm; (2) deadly parasite starving the palm of all nutrients and light. If I were to grow a seedling in a pot, do you think I could plant it in the side of a sabal palm and fertilize it for more rapid growth?

 

If it were me, I would grow the seedling in a pot filled with sphagnum moss until it had a good root system, then tie the whole thing to the tree (sans pot) and treat it like an orchid (water often and fertilize lightly every two weeks). I think that should work to get it established. 

Good idea :-)

I have long appreciated this species and am at awe when I see the trees growing around palms here in FL (mainly Sabal palmetto as Yunder Waekraus pointed out).  I am even more excited to see your photos of that specimen thriving so far north, and indeed right at the northern natural limit.  I believe Merritt Island is as far north as it has ever been found on the east coast.

Per Keith's advice, try a small branch or twig in sphagnum moss in a pot during the warmer months or in a greenhouse and you should have no problem obtaining a plant of your own.  I looked for a plant for years and the ones in S. FL were always too firmly rooted to remove intact.  Finally, 3 1/2 years year ago I removed a small specimen from the top of a parking garage in South Beach.  It only had a small portion of the root mass left but I stuck it in sphagnum in a terrarium and it sent out lots of long, healthy white roots within a month.  Today, I am growing it in a pot with the plant being originally centered over three inverted, stacked, bottomless clay pots of diminishing circumference to create a cone shape that would eventually allow the roots to solidify around it, creating a trunk for what I plan to be a really cool bonsai.  The roots have now almost entirely encircled and covered the pots below and next spring I plan to chop the top off (and take more cuttings from this for more plants!) to allow for branches to grow lower and eventually form the bonsai tree canopy.  Here is a photo of what it looks like as of tonight:

I also have a Ficus aurea specimen I planted as a yard tree that has grown by leaps and bounds this summer and must be 10-12 feet by now.  It does not have a host tree, but I'll bet the Sabal palmetto immediately to its right is feeling a bit uneasy.  If you look closely, the tree also has a FL native leafless vanilla orchid vine (Vanilla barbellata) growing up the base and a Tillandsia planted in the branches.

 

One last interesting tidbit about Ficus aurea, large wild specimens can be found in the center of the state as far north as central Polk County, so it's reach into Central FL is not only at the coastlines.  I may have to stealth plant a rooted cutting in the canopy of a local Sabal palmetto, so we have one in this area that can grow as it usually does further south.

 

 

If the seeds germinate easily, it seems like you could tuck some seeds and germination medium into the old boots of a Sabal to someday achieve that look. Then thin it out to the healthiest one once they've sprouted.

10 hours ago, palmsOrl said:

I have long appreciated this species and am at awe when I see the trees growing around palms here in FL (mainly Sabal palmetto as Yunder Waekraus pointed out).  I am even more excited to see your photos of that specimen thriving so far north, and indeed right at the northern natural limit.  I believe Merritt Island is as far north as it has ever been found on the east coast.

Per Keith's advice, try a small branch or twig in sphagnum moss in a pot during the warmer months or in a greenhouse and you should have no problem obtaining a plant of your own.  I looked for a plant for years and the ones in S. FL were always too firmly rooted to remove intact.  Finally, 3 1/2 years year ago I removed a small specimen from the top of a parking garage in South Beach.  It only had a small portion of the root mass left but I stuck it in sphagnum in a terrarium and it sent out lots of long, healthy white roots within a month.  Today, I am growing it in a pot with the plant being originally centered over three inverted, stacked, bottomless clay pots of diminishing circumference to create a cone shape that would eventually allow the roots to solidify around it, creating a trunk for what I plan to be a really cool bonsai.  The roots have now almost entirely encircled and covered the pots below and next spring I plan to chop the top off (and take more cuttings from this for more plants!) to allow for branches to grow lower and eventually form the bonsai tree canopy.  Here is a photo of what it looks like as of tonight:

I also have a Ficus aurea specimen I planted as a yard tree that has grown by leaps and bounds this summer and must be 10-12 feet by now.  It does not have a host tree, but I'll bet the Sabal palmetto immediately to its right is feeling a bit uneasy.  If you look closely, the tree also has a FL native leafless vanilla orchid vine (Vanilla barbellata) growing up the base and a Tillandsia planted in the branches.

 

One last interesting tidbit about Ficus aurea, large wild specimens can be found in the center of the state as far north as central Polk County, so it's reach into Central FL is not only at the coastlines.  I may have to stealth plant a rooted cutting in the canopy of a local Sabal palmetto, so we have one in this area that can grow as it usually does further south.

 

 

Neat project!

3 hours ago, redbeard917 said:

If the seeds germinate easily, it seems like you could tuck some seeds and germination medium into the old boots of a Sabal to someday achieve that look. Then thin it out to the healthiest one once they've sprouted.

Yeah, that sounds good. Sadly, the two large cabbage palms on my property are astride the property line, and I will be removing them at some point.

I have a friend who lives just to the south of Erna Nixon park and he has several very old Strangler figs on sables. I will try and stop down and get some pics in the next week or so. His house is in the neighborhood behind Cheddars on 192.

 

 

24 minutes ago, Dmcdonald said:

I have a friend who lives just to the south of Erna Nixon park and he has several very old Strangler figs on sables. I will try and stop down and get some pics in the next week or so. His house is in the neighborhood behind Cheddars on 192.

Perhaps there are some in the park. If so, they weren't noticeable to me.

 

 

I love Stangler Figs too.  I have one in a 2 gal. pot that I got from a member of the Palm Society of South Texas who lives in Austin.  I actually got two from him, and I gave one to a friend who lives in the Rio Grande Valley near Harlingen.  He plans on planting his on an old Washingtonia trunk or on some vertical railroad ties he has set up in his tropical jungle yard he has created.  I don't know what to do with mine.  I would like to plant it in my yard here in Corpus Christi, but my yard is so small and I am running out of space.

On ‎1‎/‎1‎/‎2016‎ ‎5‎:‎16‎:‎12‎, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

I love Stangler Figs too.  I have one in a 2 gal. pot that I got from a member of the Palm Society of South Texas who lives in Austin.  I actually got two from him, and I gave one to a friend who lives in the Rio Grande Valley near Harlingen.  He plans on planting his on an old Washingtonia trunk or on some vertical railroad ties he has set up in his tropical jungle yard he has created.  I don't know what to do with mine.  I would like to plant it in my yard here in Corpus Christi, but my yard is so small and I am running out of space.

I planted mine about a week and a half ago.  I put it in the back corner of my yard between a Brazilian Pepper that I am in the process of getting rid of in the very corner of my fence and a Pineapple Guava I have planted on the other side.

John,

 

Glad to see you were able to find a spot for the F. aurea.  Would have loved to have kept one here in Austin, but we just get a little too cold too often. Though so far this year, I think it would have been ok. The F. virens I am trialling is so far (fingers crossed).  Good luck with it. Should do well in your area.

On 12/7/2015, 10:06:40, palmsOrl said:

I have long appreciated this species and am at awe when I see the trees growing around palms here in FL (mainly Sabal palmetto as Yunder Waekraus pointed out).  I am even more excited to see your photos of that specimen thriving so far north, and indeed right at the northern natural limit.  I believe Merritt Island is as far north as it has ever been found on the east coast.

Per Keith's advice, try a small branch or twig in sphagnum moss in a pot during the warmer months or in a greenhouse and you should have no problem obtaining a plant of your own.  I looked for a plant for years and the ones in S. FL were always too firmly rooted to remove intact.  Finally, 3 1/2 years year ago I removed a small specimen from the top of a parking garage in South Beach.  It only had a small portion of the root mass left but I stuck it in sphagnum in a terrarium and it sent out lots of long, healthy white roots within a month.  Today, I am growing it in a pot with the plant being originally centered over three inverted, stacked, bottomless clay pots of diminishing circumference to create a cone shape that would eventually allow the roots to solidify around it, creating a trunk for what I plan to be a really cool bonsai.  The roots have now almost entirely encircled and covered the pots below and next spring I plan to chop the top off (and take more cuttings from this for more plants!) to allow for branches to grow lower and eventually form the bonsai tree canopy.  Here is a photo of what it looks like as of tonight:

I also have a Ficus aurea specimen I planted as a yard tree that has grown by leaps and bounds this summer and must be 10-12 feet by now.  It does not have a host tree, but I'll bet the Sabal palmetto immediately to its right is feeling a bit uneasy.  If you look closely, the tree also has a FL native leafless vanilla orchid vine (Vanilla barbellata) growing up the base and a Tillandsia planted in the branches.

 

One last interesting tidbit about Ficus aurea, large wild specimens can be found in the center of the state as far north as central Polk County, so it's reach into Central FL is not only at the coastlines.  I may have to stealth plant a rooted cutting in the canopy of a local Sabal palmetto, so we have one in this area that can grow as it usually does further south.

 

 

Looks good Will.. Should become a really stunning specimen after a couple years. Have seen numerous finished specimens on display at some of the bigger plant sales that everyone stops to admire. The "Green Island" form of F. macrocarpa and Ficus petiolaris/palmeri  are a few other awesome Bonsai worthy species, if you haven't tried one yet.