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What type of fig tree do I have?

9 years ago

Hi I recently purchased a tree and was hoping someone could tell me what kind of tree it is. The greenhouse I purchased it from wasn't sure which kind but said it was a type of fig. Any ideas? Would like to know the name so I can care for it properly. Thanks

Featured Answer

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

9 years ago

Your plant has several binomial names because they keep changing it - Ficus thonningii, Ficus nitida, Ficus retusa, Ficus retusa ssp. nitida or Ficus microcarpa var. nitida. The most common common name is Indian laurel fig, but I've heard it called Chinese banyan, curtain fig, or glossy-leaved fig. As far as I can tell, the name most frequently used by nurseries now is F nitida, but bonsai enthusiasts more often call it F retusa. It should have light gray horizontal markings on the brown bark.

I just picked up a variation of your plant at a Chicago show in Aug - F retusa 'Melon Seed'. It has very tiny leaves and backbuds so vigorously you almost need to stand guard over it so you can rub off the new buds that break all over the entire trunk. The soil the 2 plants I came in was like muck, so I had to repot around Sep 1. I removed at least 90% of the root and foliage mass and they never missed a beat.

Here's one after its initial styling:
{{gwi:92386}}

The several trunks are the result of taking about a 4-5" piece of branch and simply laying it on top of a moist soil. The grower allowed it to root, then kept removing the branches (trunks) he didn't want, plus I removed a few. When I bought it, it was in a 3 gallon pot and the foliage mass was about the size of a half bushel basket.

To keep yours looking nice, get in the habit of pruning it hard in early June, then selectively through the summer by removing branches that don't contribute to the plant's eye appeal. By pruning in June, you remove all the lanky growth it puts on over the winter. That means you'll always be keeping only the tight growth that occurs from early June through early fall.

Al

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Comments (10)

SJB2014
Original Author
9 years ago
Close up of leaves..
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Noss, This is the tree the ripe figs came from: The tree originated from my grandfather's garden in Cleveland, OH. He got the tree from a local friend back in the early 80s. So I have no idea where the tree came from before that. You've probably seen the same pics from me elsewhere, but I would really love to narrow down what type of fig I might have. The first pic of this post (cut open fig) is from my 2yr old tree, and from breba crop, which was propagated from the mother tree (above). The small potted fig tree from the original post is an air layer from the 2 year old tree (not shown). I posted this just to show the leaves. So in short, all the pictures I posted are genetically identical. :) I hope I'm not confusing you. As for flavor, they taste sugary sweet. I can't think of a fruit with similar flavor to compare to. Thank you for any help you can provide!
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stewartsjon
9 years ago
I thought Nitida had pointier leaves than that.
waterbug_guy
9 years ago
And much smaller leaves...at least what they call Ficus nitida here.

But I have no clue what it actually is. Not a Fiddle Leaf fig, Ficus lyrata or some kind of rubber tree? Leaves look too thin for those, but hard to be sure from pictures.
SJB2014
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for all the replies. The closest plant I can find that it resembles is a dwarf citrus. Just posted it in the citrus form, I hope I get it figured out soon so I can give it the proper care it needs. Thanks again:)
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years ago
It's a fig tree - Ficus - not a citrus.

Find much info about its care by following the embedded link.

Al
asleep_in_the_garden
9 years ago
Ficus microcarpa (Indian laurel).
Aka retusa.
Aka nitida.
Aka banyan fig.
Aka Taiwan fig.
Aka ginseng fig.

Noticed that someone in the thread you posted at the citrus forum stated that if you crush a leaf it will smell citrusy...well...seeing as it's a ficus and not citrus(as stated above),if you break a leaf you will notice the sap(which can be an irritant)is white like milk.

Hope this helps. :)
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years ago
BTW - 'Nitida', as a var. of retusa, or whatever/ whenever they finally let us know what the species name should be, is still a retusa. In the same vein, the 'Bloodgood' Japanese maple isn't Acer bloodgood; rather, it's Acer palmatum var. 'Bloodgood'.

Al
asleep_in_the_garden
9 years ago
Ouch.

Had a bloodgood once upon a time.

Miss it a lot but hadn't thought about it in years.

If memory serves,I think I gave it to a friend who planted it in his mom's yard as a gift for her.

Sometime later it started throwing off all kinds of growth from beneath the graft union and everything above it just kinda fizzled.

C'est la vie!
asleep_in_the_garden
9 years ago
Went nosing around on the web and found a variegated one.

Never order anything online so I don't know what to make of the nursery site I found.
If these people are legit,that looks really impressive to me.
Anyone familiar with 'em?

Hey Al,good to see ya around,man...been a bit more active here as of late. Always a good thing. What do you think of the variegate? I'm kinda stunned actually. Didn't know they existed. Now I just want one. lol
Visually,it's kind of like a variegate of benjamina only chunkier,yaknow?
Really pretty plant. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: The site I stumbled on

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