Ficus insipida - How to germinate?

[idontknowhatnametuse]

I am currently in Merida, Mexico and I collected some Ficus insipida fruits some hours ago. Does anyone know how to sprout their seeds? I was told that I just need to pull them out of the fruit and throw them in soil and they'll germinate by themselves, that makes sense because Ficus sp. sprout everywhere in the city. I also collected Ficus religiosa and I'm hoping to find a Ficus maxima with fruit.

[Silas_Sancona]

8 minutes ago, idontknowhatnametuse said:

I am currently in Merida, Mexico and I collected some Ficus insipida fruits some hours ago. Does anyone know how to sprout their seeds? I was told that I just need to pull them out of the fruit and throw them in soil and they'll germinate by themselves, that makes sense because Ficus sp. sprout everywhere in the city. I also collected Ficus religiosa and I'm hoping to find a Ficus maxima with fruit.

 

Typically  -not familiar w/ the seed off those sp ..so they could be different ( bigger )   Ficus seed tends to be tiny ..like almost the size of sand grains... so, you can let the fruits dry out and essentially " dust " them over a chosen germination container.  You'll get lots of blank seeds in a fruit too that will look " good " but won't do anything. 

After that, successful germination comes down to keeping them moist ..but not soaked ( seedlings rot easily ..Personal experience ) lots of air flow, humidity,  warmth and in bright indirect light  ..until they're big enough to handle more sun ( also personal experience.. ) Because you're - generally speaking- more humid than here in the desert, exposure to -any- sun might not turn seedlings to ashes right from the start. 

You can use you're own judgment on when they're ready to be separated post germination. 

Imagine they'll likely grow quite quickly as well there ..though F. benghelansis  seems to germinate / grow quickly after germination pretty readily on its own in -at least one- ideal spot locally (  = park that is irrigated regularly and seems to provide decent conditions ( lots of cover for seedlings to grow up through ) for seedlings i've seen popping up. )

Don't expose them to any cold this winter. 

Many Ficus sps can be started from cuttings too so, ..if no fruits on any F. maxima / other sps. you encounter but want to grow, you can try them from cuttings ( minimum pencil thickness / 10" long. ) too.

Either way, share updates.