I only found one post on this species of Ficus and that post didn't have photos that were accessible because the link was no long good.  I'm curious if anyone else has any experience growing this.  I'm keeping it potted because the description is that it is a true rock splitting ficus.  I read that they may defoliate in the winter but if you have any first hand knowledge please share.  I may use this to post updates in the future.  I was attracted to it's large leaves and the red leaf stems and have only had it for about a month, planting it up this last weekend from it's tiny 4" x 4" x 4" plastic pot.

I own 2 potted plants that I've grown for 3 years. They have retained most of their leaves through the winter. They are slow growing so far and look like yours.

Hi 94˚, Lo 64˚

They are extremely slow growing; as far as I remember they keep most of their leaves over winter.

Saw this at Green Thumb.  They were about 3 inches tall for 19 bucks.  Should have bought it because it is all gone.

12 hours ago, BigFrond said:

Saw this at Green Thumb.  They were about 3 inches tall for 19 bucks.  Should have bought it because it is all gone.

The is a wholesale grower of these in northeastern San Marcos, so Green Thumb may very well get restocked at some point.  La Costa Anderson's Nursery here in Leucadia has purchased from them and has them available although I don't recall the price.  I have a friend in La Habra Heights that owns a retail nursery that recently acquired a few to add to his inventory  as well, Hacienda Growers Nursery.

22 hours ago, Peter said:

They are extremely slow growing; as far as I remember they keep most of their leaves over winter.

Peter it sounds like you were growing it at one point.  Were you growing this in ground or potted?

54 minutes ago, Tracy said:

 

Peter it sounds like you were growing it at one point.  Were you growing this in ground or potted?

I had one in the ground for a couple of years; moved it out into a pot last year as it grew a few inches in that time.  I've got a friend in Escondido with perfect conditions and his has only grown a couple of feet in about 8 years-looks perfect but that's just too slow for my small garden.     On the plus side it seems quite hardy, always looks good, and moved very easily with no set back when I pulled it out of the ground.

On 10/7/2021 at 8:10 AM, Peter said:

They are extremely slow growing; as far as I remember they keep most of their leaves over winter.

Mine almost lost all it's leaves over winter, getting down to 1 leaf before starting to grow again in the spring.  Perhaps it was smaller and it's first year out of the greenhouse.  All the leaves are new over the last couple of months, as it has now dropped the last pair of leaves it was holding coming out of winter.  I have it in a filtered light situation with pretty decent sun in the am, but indirect light after mid-day.  It seems like it will remain a nice potted specimen for a long time based on your experience and plant.

This Ficus is proving to be an excellent small container plant.  I love the leaf shape, the red leaf petioles and new leaves with the red veining.  It is definitely worth looking for this species if you are looking to fill a relatively small space with a potted plant. 

The Ficus abutifolia is a little taller in a year but I am still waiting for branching to occur.  I never cease to be impressed by the nice deep veins and color of the leaf stems on this species.

How are everyone else's performing?

2 hours ago, Tracy said:

The Ficus abutifolia is a little taller in a year but I am still waiting for branching to occur.  I never cease to be impressed by the nice deep veins and color of the leaf stems on this species.

How are everyone else's performing?

Mine are only slightly larger than in '21. Yours is far more attractive, with larger and more colorful leaves. Because of our stronger sunlight, and higher temperature, I have to grow them in a shady location to avoid scorching the leaves. Hopefully 2 years from now I can move these 2 potted plants to a better lit location, and try to more closely match your beautiful results.

Hi 100˚, Lo 69˚ Some gusts from Harold, but very little rain so far

Decided to put mine back out in the garden

3 hours ago, Peter said:

Decided to put mine back out in the garden

Cool!  Keep us posted on how it transitions and performs in ground.  I have only been adventuress enough to put a Ficus dammaropsis and a Ficus socotrana (vasta) in the ground due to the size of my lots and fear of Ficus roots.  If this grows slowly enough I might be willing to let it go in the ground eventually.  I have hesitated in that the first paragraph description on the PlantzAfrica describes these as a "true rock splitting" fig. https://pza.sanbi.org/ficus-abutilifolia

Despite cool nights we are now experiencing, I'm not seeing any leaf drop on mine.  It is a little tempting to put it in the ground eventually.

Great job of cultivation this year. I certainly understand the reason you're concerned about giving almost all figs any opportunity to do serious damage to almost everything on your property. I think the only safe way to enjoy their full potential, is to plant them in huge areaa like the Edison estate or in a golf course (did you ever notice the huge fig in Caddyshack?).

I reread the content of the link you posted in August, and found that this comment "The ability of the roots to reach great depths of up to 60 m and that these may reach sources of underground water, has been recorded." if true, would make me think twice about where to plant one.

This year I used fertilizer on all my figs, primarily for the benefit of F. socotrana in an effort to produce the gigantic leaves you posted on your thread concerning that species. My leaves are larger, but I think I'll need at least 2 more years if I'm lucky.

Hi 68°, Lo 36°

 

On 8/24/2023 at 7:32 AM, Peter said:

Decided to put mine back out in the garden

Peter, how is yours doing now that it is a year in the ground?

Not much growth but seemingly quite happy.

I am updating the growth of mine and am curious how others are doing. 

I'm not sure mine has grown at all from last year.  Looks healthy though

Tracy, I bought one of these earlier this year from the Anderson's La Costa Nursery along with another fascinating "rock-splitter" African species, Ficus glumosa. I have finally been getting around to landscaping some of the barren area along our full-sun-exposed driveway, and I placed the F. abutilifolia there on a small mound of rocks with our native sand/DG "soil," only slightly amended and fertilized. This is a torture-chamber location, and a good number of the smaller things I initially planted have melted in the sometimes-inferno of the desert here, lessons learned...but this Ficus seems to love it. I was hand-watering irregularly and this one seemed to not mind the low level of attention for several months, though we've recently installed irrigation and it has started growing a little more happily with daily water. Foliage-burn has been minimal to non-existent after some older edge-burned leaves cycled through. Perhaps not surprisingly the foliage gets a lot tighter in full sun and I think that gives it a very striking appearance. This really seems to thrive with sun and heat. It reminds me of F. petiolaris, another heat-lover, but the sort of stiff, thick, semi-cupped leaves held in a tight head really give a fascinating and unique look to this African species.

A few weeks ago I planted the other species, F. glumosa, where it gets some summer shade after about 2pm but still suffers the sun at mid-day and seems to have adjusted quite well, similarly to the F. abutilifolia, also after burning a few unadapted leaves. I really like F. glumosa with its bright green, yet fuzzy-hairy, leaves. They have a unique appearance. Neither of these rock-splitters seem to be particularly fast growers, which may be a good thing of course when you're worried about spread and damage potential. It looks from photos on the South African websites like they can become large (not huge) in their native environment, but I suppose with enough irrigation they could get a little out of bounds...but oodles of character!

I'm glad someone is growing these unusual Ficus in quantity, I had never heard of either of the species but I am really glad I stopped at that nursery and picked them up. They both seem like excellent choices for mostly frost-free areas of SoCal.

Here's the Ficus glumosa:

 

8 hours ago, mnorell said:

Tracy, I bought one of these earlier this year from the Anderson's La Costa Nursery along with another fascinating "rock-splitter" African species, Ficus glumosa. I have finally been getting around to landscaping some of the barren area along our full-sun-exposed driveway, and I placed the F. abutilifolia there on a small mound of rocks with our native sand/DG "soil," only slightly amended and fertilized. This is a torture-chamber location, and a good number of the smaller things I initially planted have melted in the sometimes-inferno of the desert here, lessons learned...but this Ficus seems to love it. I was hand-watering irregularly and this one seemed to not mind the low level of attention for several months, though we've recently installed irrigation and it has started growing a little more happily with daily water. Foliage-burn has been minimal to non-existent after some older edge-burned leaves cycled through. Perhaps not surprisingly the foliage gets a lot tighter in full sun and I think that gives it a very striking appearance. This really seems to thrive with sun and heat. It reminds me of F. petiolaris, another heat-lover, but the sort of stiff, thick, semi-cupped leaves held in a tight head really give a fascinating and unique look to this African species.

A few weeks ago I planted the other species, F. glumosa, where it gets some summer shade after about 2pm but still suffers the sun at mid-day and seems to have adjusted quite well, similarly to the F. abutilifolia, also after burning a few unadapted leaves. I really like F. glumosa with its bright green, yet fuzzy-hairy, leaves. They have a unique appearance. Neither of these rock-splitters seem to be particularly fast growers, which may be a good thing of course when you're worried about spread and damage potential. It looks from photos on the South African websites like they can become large (not huge) in their native environment, but I suppose with enough irrigation they could get a little out of bounds...but oodles of character!

I'm glad someone is growing these unusual Ficus in quantity, I had never heard of either of the species but I am really glad I stopped at that nursery and picked them up. They both seem like excellent choices for mostly frost-free areas of SoCal.

Here's the Ficus glumosa:

 

Michael, I'm glad you visited Anderson LA Costa nursery.  I don't recall seeing the Ficus glumosa last year, but it looks like another interesting and fun Ficus to grow.  Marc and Mariah, the owners of the nursery, have a good team that searches for atypical plants to augment the more common offerings. 

I also look forward to watching your in ground Ficus abutifolia.  Did you consider one of the Ficus socatrana they had?  Last time I visited they still have some small specimens.   Marc does the Bonsai plantings they sell and enjoys working with a diverse range of plants,  including the Ficus varieties they sell.

53 minutes ago, Tracy said:

Michael, I'm glad you visited Anderson LA Costa nursery.  I don't recall seeing the Ficus glumosa last year, but it looks like another interesting and fun Ficus to grow.  Marc and Mariah, the owners of the nursery, have a good team that searches for atypical plants to augment the more common offerings. 

I also look forward to watching your in ground Ficus abutifolia.  Did you consider one of the Ficus socatrana they had?  Last time I visited they still have some small specimens.   Marc does the Bonsai plantings they sell and enjoys working with a diverse range of plants,  including the Ficus varieties they sell.

I didn't see any F. socotrana when we stopped by but now you give me a reason to go by there next time I'm in town...the late Ron Harris (who got me into the Palm Society back in the mid-80s and who was the palm curator at the Huntington years ago, and whom I somewhat gratefully blame for setting me on my palm addiction for all these years) once dragged me down to a spot in the Huntington jungle garden where he showed me their Ficus socotrana and he impressed upon me how difficult it had been for them to get that tree due to the isolation, both geographical and political, of Socotra. I always forget to go looking for that tree when I'm there, I wonder if it's still there. (Their interactive map, which is not yet completed in detail, doesn't show it...so it may be gone.) Obviously there are more Socotran plants in the trade in recent years but I've never seen one of these on offer, so will have to try to get one!

On 8/21/2025 at 10:34 AM, mnorell said:

Tracy, I bought one of these earlier this year from the Anderson's La Costa Nursery along with another fascinating "rock-splitter" African species, Ficus glumosa. I have finally been getting around to landscaping some of the barren area along our full-sun-exposed driveway, and I placed the F. abutilifolia there on a small mound of rocks with our native sand/DG "soil," only slightly amended and fertilized. This is a torture-chamber location, and a good number of the smaller things I initially planted have melted in the sometimes-inferno of the desert here, lessons learned...but this Ficus seems to love it. I was hand-watering irregularly and this one seemed to not mind the low level of attention for several months, though we've recently installed irrigation and it has started growing a little more happily with daily water. Foliage-burn has been minimal to non-existent after some older edge-burned leaves cycled through. Perhaps not surprisingly the foliage gets a lot tighter in full sun and I think that gives it a very striking appearance. This really seems to thrive with sun and heat. It reminds me of F. petiolaris, another heat-lover, but the sort of stiff, thick, semi-cupped leaves held in a tight head really give a fascinating and unique look to this African species.

A few weeks ago I planted the other species, F. glumosa, where it gets some summer shade after about 2pm but still suffers the sun at mid-day and seems to have adjusted quite well, similarly to the F. abutilifolia, also after burning a few unadapted leaves. I really like F. glumosa with its bright green, yet fuzzy-hairy, leaves. They have a unique appearance. Neither of these rock-splitters seem to be particularly fast growers, which may be a good thing of course when you're worried about spread and damage potential. It looks from photos on the South African websites like they can become large (not huge) in their native environment, but I suppose with enough irrigation they could get a little out of bounds...but oodles of character!

I'm glad someone is growing these unusual Ficus in quantity, I had never heard of either of the species but I am really glad I stopped at that nursery and picked them up. They both seem like excellent choices for mostly frost-free areas of SoCal.

Here's the Ficus glumosa:

 

We returned from a vacation earlier in the week so I have been catching up on all the growth that occured while we were gone. My potted Ficus abutifolia which sits next to the bbq has blown up with activity. It made me wonder how your in ground specimen is performing?

23 hours ago, Tracy said:

We returned from a vacation earlier in the week so I have been catching up on all the growth that occured while we were gone. My potted Ficus abutifolia which sits next to the bbq has blown up with activity. It made me wonder how your in ground specimen is performing?

Tracy, I just went outside and photographed both the F. abutilifolia and the F. glumosa. Both have grown quite a lot over the nearly 11 months since the above photos, although the F. abutilifolia sure seems to be looking around for some rocks to snake through. I suppose at some point it might decide to be an upright tree? Maybe not. But it has beautiful foliage, a nice lemon-yellow tinge to the bark, and loves the extreme heat out here. The same toughness of character can be attributed to F. glumosa, although that one would be a model student in any teacher's class, neatly confined to their seat with a sense of great propriety! I'm fascinated by the woolly and yet glossy-green foliage.

F. abutilifolia:

F. glumosa:

Wow-nice growth rate Michael! My abutilifolia is so slooowwwww. I'd post a photo but you'd be hard pressed to discern any difference with last year's picture

57 minutes ago, Peter said:

Wow-nice growth rate Michael! My abutilifolia is so slooowwwww. I'd post a photo but you'd be hard pressed to discern any difference with last year's picture

I have assumed it's just heat that really drives the growth on this one, it comes from low elevations in tropical and southern Africa, and I believe it grows on really hot rock surfaces. So I can understand that Tracy's may be slower at his place right at the coast due to the cool climate, but you get plenty of heat in the SF Valley so I'm surprised it would just more or less sit and refuse to grow, unless perhaps it's in too much shade? Maybe some fertilizer and a heavier watering schedule could get it going. It certainly is an unusual plant, and maybe the slow growth on yours is actually a gift, since you get these fascinating leaves without typical Ficus sizes. PlantZAfrica states that this species can take a little bit of frost as well, which is a gift to anyone in an interior climate of course. And while I can't complain about the growth rate on mine, I may start to regret it if it keeps running all over the place, as I really didn't want a thicket or to have it spilling into the neighbor's yard. I guess time will tell, I'm going to leave it alone for now and just watch what it wants to do. Looks like it will have loads of character as time goes by, in any event. I hope yours gets its footing and starts to move a bit for you as the summer moves on.