Should I give up on this Ficus Religiosa ?

Ironbeaver

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I've had this tree for about 3.5 years and always struggled with it. It always seems to go through a boom and bust growth pattern, doing well for a month or two, then the leaves drop and it takes forever to recover. Not sure if it's environmental or pests or what. It might be ready for a re pot. If I can't get it figured out, I may pass it on. I also realized you can't see the third trunk in this photo.
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Close up of a "dry" bud.
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Don’t give up.. get some stronger growlights and you’ll have back budding and can take cuttings in no time. I have mine in an enclosure (aquarium I picked up by the dumpster) with a cpu fan and some led lights, and I might be getting more growth indoors than during my outdoor season.
 

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Oh and wait for it to start pushing new growth and give it a repot. I like pumice and spaghnum for my ficus.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Ficus religiosa comes from lower elevations in India and SE Asia. It demands heat and humidity to have a period of active growth. If your home is too cool, it will be ''semi-dormant'' for the entire time. My house is cool enough that only when outside, in full summer heat, will my ficus wake up and grow. Often it takes a month of warmer than 25 C (75 F) to wake them up, by then it is July, and by middle of August in my location it begins to cool. There are years where I only get 6 to 8 weeks of good, vigorous growth. The rest of the year grow is slow, often weak, and the tree resents any repotting or hard pruning being done during cool weather. I imagine this is why your ficus is growing so slowly. - my thought anyway.

Try a agricultural heat pad under your tree and the brightest lighting set up you are able to do in its place. If the heat pad could keep the potting media above 25 C, the heat will also keep the trunk and branches warmer, which could keep it growing more vigorously.

Otherwise, switch to more cold tolerant species.
 

Ironbeaver

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Good stuff here. On another site, Jerry Meislik suggested it looked like spider mites, so I'll treat for those bastards as well.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Cool tolerant Ficus, here I mean might keep growing vigorously even when temperatures dip as low as 15 C (about 60 F), these should do better in a average Toronto home or apartment without a heat mat. Ficus don't totally stop growing in cooler weather, but most will switch from vigorous growth to fairly slow growth. Repotting and pruning during cool weather is not recommended.

Ficus microcarpa and any of the Taiwanese ficus seem more temperate than F religiosa

Ficus natalensis - Natal Fig, wide distribution in northeast South Africa, seems to tolerate cooler weather, (not cold, just a little cooler)

Ficus sp, 'Chiapas' similar to the willow leaf fig, but different, from Chiapas, Mexico, also known as Ficus sp. 'Mexicali' distributed by Jerry Mieslik, it was collected in city of San Cristobal, state of Chiapas, Mexico, This one grows vigorously even when a bit cool, a dip into the 50's F, (+10's C) won't stop vigorous growth, though prolonged cool below 15 C will slow growth to the semi-dormant speed.

Ficus sp, Willow leaf fig as distributed by Weigert's Nursery in Florida. The origin (Jim Smith) and name of this species is unclear, it is often call F. salicifolia or F. nerifolia, but in the first case it clearly is not the African species F. salicifolia, and its provenance does not trace back to Africa, and the species F. nerifolia is poorly defined. Don't know what species it is really, but it is great for bonsai. It may in reality be a Neotropical species. Seems to grow well even when somewhat cool.

Ficus carica - Culinary, or Mediterranean fig, the fig you find in the grocery store - leaves are large, the internodes can be long, it is a coarse shrub with no fine branching, but there are some dwarf cultivars, a good one for the ''Eat your Bonsai'' collection if you find a dwarf cultivar. Most cultivars are USDA zone 7 hardy, some a little more hardy. They grow rapidly during the short warm summers, and will keep growing as cooler weather sets in.

Ficus aurea & citrifolia - the ''Florida'' strangler fig, both species can be found in Florida. Leaves tend to be about 4 inches, but can reduce. Native to Central America, and into Florida.

Ficus pumila - Creeping fig, this is a thin stem vine, but it is very cold tolerant. I've seen it growing on fences and walls in Memphis, USDA zone 7, a delightful small leaved Ficus. It takes forever to develop a trunk, you must force it to get bushy, then let all the branches grow out many feet. It is possible to create trunks over 3 cm in diameter, which combined with the small leaves can make a nice shohin. I believe Bruce (@Shima ) has one with a trunk over 7 cm, maybe as much as 10 cm in diameter. Worth a try as a long term project. It will take years to develop a trunk.
 

Ironbeaver

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I have ficus-
Religiosa
Microcarpa
Microcarpa tiger bark
Benjamina
Benjamina too little
Carica negronne
 

Shima

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Ficus pumila - Creeping fig, this is a thin stem vine, but it is very cold tolerant. I've seen it growing on fences and walls in Memphis, USDA zone 7, a delightful small leaved Ficus. It takes forever to develop a trunk, you must force it to get bushy, then let all the branches grow out many feet. It is possible to create trunks over 3 cm in diameter, which combined with the small leaves can make a nice shohin. I believe Bruce (@Shima ) has one with a trunk over 7 cm, maybe as much as 10 cm in diameter. Worth a try as a long term project. It will take years to develop a trunk.
Hi Leo...Here's a few shots of the pumila past and present. I prefer the more relaxed version as it is today. The only absolutely care-free bonsai on my benches. It began as a cutting stuck between the lava rocks about 75 years ago. About 5" caliper at soil level. P1020446.jpegP1010829.JPGP1020827.jpeg
 

Giga

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it needs to be grown outdoors and it would appear it lacking in what it needs. I stopped doing tropical years ago becuase I got tired of provide aqueduct space and lighting for them
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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@Shima
Thanks Bruce for the pictures again. I never get tired of seeing this tree. It is the only F pumila I have ever seen with a 5 inch diameter trunk. Wonderfull. I like the more relaxed current view, and clearly the trunk has added more size and texture of age since the earlier picture.

So 75 years to get a 5 inch diameter trunk. That is slow to ''trunk up'', I'm fairly certain that if one lived in Hawaii, Florida or along the Gulf Coast, you could, by growing this outdoors and letting it run, get a significant trunk quicker than 75 years, but it won't happen in 5 years, or 10 years. It will take time to get a Ficus pumila to ''trunk up''.

Bruce, the first time you potted up this F. pumila, how old was it? I assume it was a found ''yard a dori'' as Ficus pumila is not native to Hawaii. How old do you think it was when you collected it.
 

Shima

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Hi Leo. It wasn't a yard a dori, it was given to me by a friend who had his whole collection violently thrown to the cement on filled land by a strong quake. . Pots smashed, broken branches. It was a mess. He was "up there" and gave his whole collection away. It would have never attained this girth up here where it was 42F this morning and the fire has been going every day for weeks. So I was able to rescue it and take it to the next level. One of my favorite tasks in bonsai next to collecting. This ficus is so care-free. I haven't touched it from the first picture to the present. I've had it about 15 years.
 

amcoffeegirl

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I have tried to grow pumilla as I love tiny trees. I never seem to get it right with these. Of course I am starting with nursery grown cuttings. Is there a secret?? If I had a greenhouse maybe :)
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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I have tried to grow pumilla as I love tiny trees. I never seem to get it right with these. Of course I am starting with nursery grown cuttings. Is there a secret?? If I had a greenhouse maybe :)

Hi, Amcoffeegirl - You are in Iowa. I suggest buying your ficus pumila in May, and as soon as it is warm enough, above 50 F at night, move it outside to a bright shady area. Repot it into a pot where it can grow out, and then be cut back, over and over again, put it in a deciduous mix. After the Ficus starts growing you can give it more sun. They will take up to full sun, but half sun to 3/4 sun is okay. Too shady and growth will be thinner, and weaker. The Ficus pumila will then have June July and August to get established and grow out. Prune it back hard in August, then let it grow until time to bring inside. Bring it back inside sometime in Sept or October. Prune it back just enough to comfortably fit in your light set up or windowsill. Next spring back outside when weather warms enough. Next August, prune it back hard (key is this hard pruning is while in active growth) Repot every second or third year, unless it gets root bound and using water too fast, then repot sooner.

Key is to work with our miserable climates. Chicago-Milwaukee weather is not wildly different than your weather. Late May, June, July and maybe half of August are the only months the weather is really conducive for Ficus to grow rapidly. Get the new tree established during this time.

If you have your Ficus pumila under lights in winter, I suggest setting the timer for 18 hour day length. This will help keep your Ficus growing all winter. Whether it works or not, time will tell, but that is what I would do. More than 18 hours of light is wasting electricity. But any increase in day length can help compensate for the lower light intensities from the light garden, up to 18 hours. No improvement after 18 hours and at 24 hours health of tree declines slightly (not fatally, but slower growth than 18 hour day length).
 

Ironbeaver

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Shima

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There is a smaller leaf version of the Religiosa, grows wild down here.
Would have sent a few up if I could.
Also becomes a sizeable tree.

Will look for seed.

Images attached.
Good Day
Anthony

View attachment 178091

View attachment 178092
This would make a fine bonsai. The standard leaves are on the large size. A significant tree to us Buddhists.
 

justBonsai

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This would make a fine bonsai. The standard leaves are on the large size. A significant tree to us Buddhists.
It'd definitely be cool to find a small leaf variety that maintains the heart shaped leaves.
 
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There is a smaller leaf version of the Religiosa, grows wild down here.
Would have sent a few up if I could.
Also becomes a sizeable tree.

Will look for seed.

I'd happily bribe you for some seed . . .?
It also sounds like you could start your own business selling rooted cuttings or seedlings of this dwarf or otherwise small-leafed ficus religiosa.
not sure about the legalities of shipping live plants, but I know they do on etsy.
 
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