Ficus Species, Roxburgh Fig

On Apr 26, 2020, Anton15 from Hong Kong,
Hong Kong wrote:

Ficus auriculata is a stunning small foliage and fruit tree. The leaves get huge, beautifuly broad roundish fan shaped and very attractively pleated.
The thing that I personally love about them is the flush of new leaves that appear in the rainy season. Out of the candle red leaf sheaths of the leaf buds emerge those huge lovely pleated fan shaped leaves in a stunning deep red that turn coppery then slowly fade to a lovely pastel orange/pink flush even when the leaves are aready pretty large. By the time they mature they become a lovely bright green. A couple of flushes a year so it is often covered in colour in the wet season.

It's not a very tall tree but spreads rather charmingly like it was a giant. Very large shrub size tree, thick trunk with thick low slung b... read moreranches forming a cloud of foliage. The thick branches and trunk low down get encrusted with large flattish figs which are very sweet and delicious, turning a reddish brown when ripe, inside a deep luscious juicy red. Some trees are sweeter than others

I've seen this tree growing all over South East Asia both as an ornamental and as a fruit tree. It's use in garden landscapes in SEA is legendary. The big colourful leaves are a stunning foil to finer leaved shrubs in my garden. It prefers high humidity and warmth and gets the biggest most spectacular leaves where summer rainfall is seasonally very high. Evergreen in optimal climates like the humid coast but if stressed or getting too dry in the dry season it will drop many of it's leaves. To avoid this water periodically in the dry season. This tree is ideal for Southern Florida In America or anywhere else there is sufficient humidity warmth and water in summer. A cooler winter is tolerated as long as the temps don't fall much bellow 10- 15%C. It only grows in Nepal where it's a native at very low* elevations. Often sold as F. auriculata "Everest", however don't read too much in the Everest part, that's just marketing. It's only really suitable for zones ten and above or with great care in a micro climate slightly less. It does need optimal conditions to look optimal, so more on the tropical side is best. There are other ficus species which can take a great deal more cold in their stride.

Often sold as a pot plant, it does quite well as one too particularly in warm humid bright bathrooms or largish open air courtyards where it looks positively gorgeous. Not one for air-con and dry air, spider mite and leaf drop will render it leggy.

Fast growing in the ground in the beginning, then grows thicker and sturdier, only rapidlly in very short bursts when conditions are optimal and the tree gets covered in lovely colour. It's attractive even as a small tree. Best to allow the space width wise to reach its full lovely potential. You can support the low thick horizontal branches on blocks to train them off the ground or they may rest on the ground eventually. Both look graceful, interesting and utterly in character. The branches my root eventually but not aggressively like a banyan would. Full sunshine which will also give you the best colour.

On May 5, 2012, alenemurphy from Camarillo, CA wrote:

I've had this tree growing in my yard for about a year. The leaves all fall off mid to late winter but they quickly start growing again in spring. I love this tree and its beautiful leaves for our tropical backyard. It was the first thing I planted when we started to re-do our yard, and of course, now it is not in the right place, so I'd like to move it. It is not huge (about 4ft). Has anyone had any experience doing this? I assume it will fair well as most of ficus root easily. Is there a specific time of year that would be best to do this?

On May 23, 2009, markdeutsch from Pass Christian, MS wrote:

There are two reasons to start cuttings of this tree in at least a 3gal. pot. The leaves get so big, they transpire much water. This makes them subject to drying if moist soil is not maintained. Also, if it's put in a small pot, it quickly outgrows it. Save yourself some trouble by starting with a medium or large one. I'm amazed at how fast this tree grows ! I began a year ago with a six- inch start in a 1 gal. pot. It grew to 3 feet tall in 3 months. Mother plant was almost dormant in winter protection. It is now 5 ft. tall with 2 ft long leaves. It is this size after taking about 10 cuttings off. In the cool of March I stuck a 6 inch piece in the native soil of 5.5 ph. It is now,in late May, about a foot tall with 7 hand-sized leaves. Because I'm at the border of Zone 8B-9A, I expe... read morect ground-growing specimens to be frost-pruned, but return vigorously in warm weather.

On Apr 18, 2008, GaTropical wrote:

Grows quite well as a perennial in southern Georgia (zone 8b). Grows 8 to 10 feet tall in a single season with 18+ inch leaves before dying to the ground with the first freeze. Got my cutting from a plant grown outdoors in Anniston, AL (northern AL) so is probably hardy as a perennial much further north than here. Excellent plant to add a tropical touch to a temperate garden.

On Oct 7, 2003, palmbob from Acton, CA (Zone 8b) wrote:

This is a spectacular tree and has incredibly nice, large leaves that are maroon when just emerging. Though not a tall tree, it can be very wide (20-30') and is a prolific producer of large figs though not sure how edible they are... they grown in large quantities right off the trunk, sometimes nearly covering it... figs flattish shaped. This native of South China is growing in several locations about Southern California