TobiasB
Sapling
Hi again nuts!
I find this website very good to ask questions that I have had on my head! Ficus is absolutely the tree that I have encountered the most confusions with and very little information on actually choosing my first ficus. Many people seem to just take the first one they encountered not thinking more about it. I rather think long term and I am worried that if I purchase a medium-size-leaf variation of Ficus Benjamina, in a few years I will regret not taking another tree.
After a few weeks looking around in a tropical climate in Central America I have found plenty of different variations of Ficus Benjamina and some other wild species of ficuses that have larger leaves, such as the Ficus Aurea. I had in my head that the trees that I should search for was the Ficus Microcarpa, because google said so, and their leaves seemed pretty good.
But what I found instead was a very small leaved ficus, which I think is the Ficus Benjamina var. 'Too Little'. I took a cutting which is at my temporary home and placed in water. My question about this ficus is, do you think it is possible to transport this cutting without killing it for a 20 hour flight? And if it is possible, would it be a good season to "start" a cutting in the end of the Swedish summer?
Next thing that has confused me is how do I obtain different types of ficuses? When I am home again in Sweden I can not go around searching for ornamental ficuses, since they do not enjoy snow very much. Cuttings without seeing a tree is very hard. But what we do have is IKEA, Sweden is known to most people as IKEA-land. I have checked my local IKEA and they do have what they call the "Ficus Ginseng Microcarpa". My limited knowledge of ficuses tells me that Ginseng is a common name for more than one species of ficuses and is not the Latin name of any particular ficus, please correct me if I'm wrong. I do not really want to spend 90 dollars on a mallsai and I was wondering, if I obtained a cutting from someone with a ficus from IKEA, what tree would I end up with? Would I end up with a Ficus Microcarpa or some other variety that the Microcarpa is grafted with? Also other options for me to obtain a that would be very suited for bonsai in a temperate climate is much appreciated.
My last confusion is about the so called "Tiger Bark Ficus". I have not really understood what is going on with this tree, except that I really like the bark. Most sources claim it is the Ficus Retusa, as the retusa normally has the white spots on their bark, but none of the Ficus Retusas that I have come across when looking has had anything impressive, not even full sized trees. So it has to be some type of variety. Some sources say Ficus Retusa 'Microcarpa', 'Nitida' or just 'Tiger Bark'. Which is correct, or is all correct?
I guess I do not care much about its name, I just want the tree. So if anyone is still reading, my final question is just, how to I obtain it? Can I purchase cuttings from a "real Ficus Retusa Tiger Bark Nitida Microcarpa" anywhere?
If anyone read all and even considered answering I am really grateful, thank you!
I find this website very good to ask questions that I have had on my head! Ficus is absolutely the tree that I have encountered the most confusions with and very little information on actually choosing my first ficus. Many people seem to just take the first one they encountered not thinking more about it. I rather think long term and I am worried that if I purchase a medium-size-leaf variation of Ficus Benjamina, in a few years I will regret not taking another tree.
After a few weeks looking around in a tropical climate in Central America I have found plenty of different variations of Ficus Benjamina and some other wild species of ficuses that have larger leaves, such as the Ficus Aurea. I had in my head that the trees that I should search for was the Ficus Microcarpa, because google said so, and their leaves seemed pretty good.
But what I found instead was a very small leaved ficus, which I think is the Ficus Benjamina var. 'Too Little'. I took a cutting which is at my temporary home and placed in water. My question about this ficus is, do you think it is possible to transport this cutting without killing it for a 20 hour flight? And if it is possible, would it be a good season to "start" a cutting in the end of the Swedish summer?
Next thing that has confused me is how do I obtain different types of ficuses? When I am home again in Sweden I can not go around searching for ornamental ficuses, since they do not enjoy snow very much. Cuttings without seeing a tree is very hard. But what we do have is IKEA, Sweden is known to most people as IKEA-land. I have checked my local IKEA and they do have what they call the "Ficus Ginseng Microcarpa". My limited knowledge of ficuses tells me that Ginseng is a common name for more than one species of ficuses and is not the Latin name of any particular ficus, please correct me if I'm wrong. I do not really want to spend 90 dollars on a mallsai and I was wondering, if I obtained a cutting from someone with a ficus from IKEA, what tree would I end up with? Would I end up with a Ficus Microcarpa or some other variety that the Microcarpa is grafted with? Also other options for me to obtain a that would be very suited for bonsai in a temperate climate is much appreciated.
My last confusion is about the so called "Tiger Bark Ficus". I have not really understood what is going on with this tree, except that I really like the bark. Most sources claim it is the Ficus Retusa, as the retusa normally has the white spots on their bark, but none of the Ficus Retusas that I have come across when looking has had anything impressive, not even full sized trees. So it has to be some type of variety. Some sources say Ficus Retusa 'Microcarpa', 'Nitida' or just 'Tiger Bark'. Which is correct, or is all correct?
I guess I do not care much about its name, I just want the tree. So if anyone is still reading, my final question is just, how to I obtain it? Can I purchase cuttings from a "real Ficus Retusa Tiger Bark Nitida Microcarpa" anywhere?
If anyone read all and even considered answering I am really grateful, thank you!