Ficus Elastica 'Burgundy'

[Sandy Loam]

This is my first year growing ficus elastica 'burgundy' in the ground here in Gainesville, northern (colder zone) Florida.  It has done fine all "winter" and we only have three weeks of "winter" left at this point.  We are having a cold snap right now, but it is not affecting this tree at all. I am surprised. Has anyone else has success growing ficus elastica "burgundy" into a tree in the equivalent of USDA climate zone 9a? I am becoming optimistic.

 

My maximum low temperature for the 2015-2016 cold season was 31 degrees Fahrenheit one night, and this did not cause any damage to my ficus elastica 'burgundy'. It receives a warm up every day anyway. Our average high for this time of year is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit in the day time.

Please share your success stories (or failures) with this tree.

 

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

My ficus elasticas freeze at temps below 30f.

But that only seems to bother the ones out in the open . I have one on my porch been there over 20 years but never got damage with temps in the low 20's.

so canopy seems to be be the key for those of us in zone 9

 

jeff

[The Silent Seed]

Dang, that's tough! 

In pots? Or in the ground? 

[topwater]

I have a few in zone 9 that have seen lows down to 25* with minor burn. No canopy, but they are planted next to my house in full sun. I recently found a variegated  F. elastica and I'm curious to see if it grows as well as the green. I bet yours will do OK. 

[Walt]

I have Ficus elastic burgundy  You can bet your butt it will start freezing back once below 28 degrees or so for fairly long duration. I've had mine for 12 or more years and it's never amounted to much. It hasn't been hurt for the past four winters because my lows haven't been below 30 degrees (the magic mark, I have found).

My guess once you get a 25 degree night or below your ficus will be frozen down to it's roots (or close to it). It's happened to mine, the last time in December of 2010.

I'm growing many species of ficus (I like the genus). My Ficus altissima 'variegata' is hands down the fastest grower of all my species. My largest one is shown in the below video I uploaded to YouTube in May of 2015.

 

[DoomsDave]

Ficus elastica has some cool cultivars!

There's one not far from me that has red and yellow variegation. Much prettier than plain yellow variegation, which looks like advanced glyphosate poisoning . . . .

Try to get a picture.

 

[Sandy Loam]

looking forward to the photos, doomsdave.

Walt, i just saw a good-sized ficus elastica in Tampa Bay and it was doing well. I guess your county, Highlands, is colder than Tampa Bay in winter.

 

[Walt]

7 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

looking forward to the photos, doomsdave.

Walt, i just saw a good-sized ficus elastica in Tampa Bay and it was doing well. I guess your county, Highlands, is colder than Tampa Bay in winter.

 

Highland County isn't monolithic in low temperature. It varies greatly between outlying low areas to relatively high ground areas to lakeside areas. My property runs 7-8 degrees colder on the coldest nights than high ground areas, and up to 12-14 degrees colder than lakeside areas on the coldest nights. I venture to say lakeside areas are a solid zone 10b most winters. The below Ficus elastic tree is growing here in Highlands County, about 4-5 miles north of the town of Lake Placid. It's located at a girls 4-H camp on the S.E. side of Lake Francis, and was planted back in the early 1950s along with other species of ficus. It's the largest Ficus elastic I've come across in Highlands County -- or for that matter, anywhere in the state of Florida. The camp director told me the ficus has been cut back many times to keep it away from the house you see in the photo.

The below link is from Google Map showing the 4-H camp's  proximity to the lake, which even in January has water temperatures in the high 60s.

https://www.google.com/maps/@27.3346364,-81.4019234,1036m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

[DoomsDave]

I started a new thread but this looks mouthwatering . . .

[ExperimentalGrower]

Old thread! But current issue at least for me. Just hit 28.6F with frost two nights ago here at my place in Vallejo and my potted Ficus elastica (burgundy) soared through it like a champ. At least so far, damage might show up later but it came through solid. For those with them planted in the yard... how do you contend with their root systems?

I am considering putting mine in the ground but also concerned it’s going to crumble the foundation of my home like a saltine cracker. 
 

-Justin 

[Merlyn]

I have two small ones in the ground, about 2 feet tall maximum.  I planted them in the middle of November, and they did fine in a couple of 33-36F cold snaps with light frost in early December.  The 28F with frost on Christmas night torched the top leaves on both.  One was mostly defoliated, the other had a couple of palms nearby (Butia and B. Alfredii) that gave it probably a bit of protection.  Both seem to be survivors.  Damage was obvious pretty quick, though it took a week to tell which leaves were going to totally die and which were just slightly damaged.  Nearby other frost-tender plants like Ficus Lyrata and seagrapes were similarly torched at the top and somewhat damaged on the lower leaves.  A Ficus Benghalensis "Audrey" was completely defoliated, but was also only about 2 feet tall.

[Silas_Sancona]

19 hours ago, ExperimentalGrower said:

Old thread! But current issue at least for me. Just hit 28.6F with frost two nights ago here at my place in Vallejo and my potted Ficus elastica (burgundy) soared through it like a champ. At least so far, damage might show up later but it came through solid. For those with them planted in the yard... how do you contend with their root systems?

I am considering putting mine in the ground but also concerned it’s going to crumble the foundation of my home like a saltine cracker. 
 

-Justin 

Can't really think of anything that would stop the roots on Ficus, esp. the big boys like elastica.. ( so called " root barriers" would only work temporarily )  Finest of roots can get through the tiniest of crack and greatly expand it once "settled in", so to say..

Only thing that may slow it down is being very conservative w/ water.  That said, no matter what,  roots will keep seeking water.. in the neighbor's yard, your/ the neighborhood sever/water lines..  If your yard is what would be typical for most in the Bay Area, might just keep this one locked up in a pot, or maybe consider planting in a park.

[ExperimentalGrower]

3 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Can't really think of anything that would stop the roots on Ficus, esp. the big boys like elastica.. ( so called " root barriers" would only work temporarily )  Finest of roots can get through the tiniest of crack and greatly expand it once "settled in", so to say..

Only thing that may slow it down is being very conservative w/ water.  That said, no matter what,  roots will keep seeking water.. in the neighbor's yard, your/ the neighborhood sever/water lines..  If your yard is what would be typical for most in the Bay Area, might just keep this one locked up in a pot, or maybe consider planting in a park.

Good info, thanks. This is the reality I’m coming to terms with. Just sounds like an unwise idea to put it into the ground no matter the mental gymnastics I engage in. 

[ExperimentalGrower]

4 hours ago, Merlyn said:

I have two small ones in the ground, about 2 feet tall maximum.  I planted them in the middle of November, and they did fine in a couple of 33-36F cold snaps with light frost in early December.  The 28F with frost on Christmas night torched the top leaves on both.  One was mostly defoliated, the other had a couple of palms nearby (Butia and B. Alfredii) that gave it probably a bit of protection.  Both seem to be survivors.  Damage was obvious pretty quick, though it took a week to tell which leaves were going to totally die and which were just slightly damaged.  Nearby other frost-tender plants like Ficus Lyrata and seagrapes were similarly torched at the top and somewhat damaged on the lower leaves.  A Ficus Benghalensis "Audrey" was completely defoliated, but was also only about 2 feet tall.

Thanks for the info! How’d your B. alfredii handle the 28F frost event? I’ve read they’re very hardy but also read they’re not fond of frost, and less hardy than some have thought. I have a sizable one in a container but stowed it under my pergola during the frost due to uncertainty and not wanting to take a chance that might set it back.

[Merlyn]

2 hours ago, ExperimentalGrower said:

Thanks for the info! How’d your B. alfredii handle the 28F frost event? I’ve read they’re very hardy but also read they’re not fond of frost, and less hardy than some have thought. I have a sizable one in a container but stowed it under my pergola during the frost due to uncertainty and not wanting to take a chance that might set it back.

I actually posted a sizeable thread with photos here:

The B. Alfredii did fine.  One had a bit of yellowing/spotting on one frond, but the other 4 had no noticeable damage.  I'd guess a heavy frost in the mid-20s would do some damage, but the early reports of frost damage seem to be mostly with smaller plants.  Mine were 5-6' tall in the ground initially, and haven't seen any significant cold damage yet.

[ExperimentalGrower]

39 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

I actually posted a sizeable thread with photos here:

The B. Alfredii did fine.  One had a bit of yellowing/spotting on one frond, but the other 4 had no noticeable damage.  I'd guess a heavy frost in the mid-20s would do some damage, but the early reports of frost damage seem to be mostly with smaller plants.  Mine were 5-6' tall in the ground initially, and haven't seen any significant cold damage yet.

Ah got it. I’ll check out that thread. Thanks!

[clinenotklein]

Not to resurrect the thread, but I finally got an account (long-time lurker) and am in ficus mode at the moment. In the next few days I'm going to be out on Hilton Head Island to finally check if an extremely nice 8-9' by 10' Ficus Elastica Burgundy recovered from the crazy 2018 ice storm/freeze. Money on the table it came back from the roots. Should have photos soon. I'm also going to check and try to get photos of the lone Bismarckia on the island that was planted in front of a popular nursery. I'll put them with the Elastica here, but I'll also start a separate thread on it or put it as a reply to an appropriate Bismarckia thread. 

[clinenotklein]

For anyone on this thread, here's where it went.