You do realize the eventual size of this tree? I know you must, I just can't imagine planting one of these intentionally on a residential property! And isn't your winter weather a tad too dicey? Don't mean to be a downer but I have seen these trees eat yards, streets, houses, and everything else during my years in SoFla. That said, there's one for sale on eBay :)

If you want to go look at some benghalensis, you should go to the zoo. They have several trees and several variations. There are also other types of ficus all over the place. The biggest one that I have seen in the valley is in the lakes neighborhood south of baseline between Rural and McKlintock. It hangs over an ally that runs along houses that are on the south side of the southern most lakes on the west side of the development. It is REALLY big. I asked a guy that lives by it about it. He thought it was a magnolia and said that rumor has it that one of the original tenants of an apartment complex on the other side of the fence planted it when the area was developed. There are quite a few unusual ficus in that neighborhood. There are also some benghalensis that Scottsdale planted near the Osborn hospital. I'm not sure, but I think that the beautiful ficus planted in front of the Vine restaurant in Tempe on Apache may be a rubiginosa (if not, perhaps a macrophylla?) I always though it was just another elastica until a got a closer look. GREAT TRUNK! Looks twisted and knarly. If anyone knows for sure what type of ficus that tree is, please divulge the information. PenBuilder

I found this written by a researcher at Central Florida Research and Education Center "Ficus elastica, the India rubber tree, wasgrown extensively as an indoor tree during the early 1950's and earlier. Today it is difficult to find commercial sources of the plant because it has been replaced with several cultivars listed below: `Decora' was a significant new cultivar at the time of its introduction, about 1950. With its broad elliptical leaves and more attractive growth habit, it soon replaced the species. `Doescheri' has the narrow leaf shape of the species and a striking variegated pattern of green, grayish green, yellow, white and a pink midrib and petiole. `Robusta' is a compact form which resembles `Decora', but is more compact and free branching. `Rubra' has dark, wine red leaves when grown in full sun. Much of the red color is lost as the plant grows under reduced light intensity. `Rubra' is also listed under the names `Burgundy' and `Abidjan'. `Sophia' is a new green cultivar with leaves which are smaller and more rounded than `Robusta'."

Hi, looking for a ficus benghalensis for indoor decor. I'm having trouble locating any in Southern California. Willing to trade if anyone has one and is interested. Have pothos, baby rubber, and monstera plants as well as some orange and lemon plants. :)