Ficus, in spite of myself

Shima

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I've never had a thing for ficus. No one in my old club (REBS) had them and they were never in shows up to when I moved in 93. Now there are a few but they still don't do much for me. Now, 4,000 feet down hill from me it's the tropics and they're all over the place. Recently, an old friend with a collection he's cared for much of his adult life, He's 90, asked me to price some of the larger trees for him. One of them left me gobsmacked. The quintessential rising dragon. And no messy aerial roots. He grew it from a cutting! I priced it at a fraction of what it would go for on mainlandia knowing the tight-fisted plantation economy folks here are still stuck in. I arranged for a friend and student to meet me there and whispered to him as we rounded the corner a few feet from the tree, "if you don't buy this we're going to have a serious discussion" half-way in jest, but still.
So here it is. As it was and after the first reduction. FICUS.4.JPGFICUS.1.JPGP1020906.jpeg
 

Shima

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And here's another one he gave me as a thank-you. It has to live at my friends because I don't live in the tropics, yet. Whenever I saw it I always exclaimed about the nebari. As it came and after a repot.P1020909.jpegP1020928.jpegP1020929.jpeg
 

Shima

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Hey Bruce,
Those are mighty fine Ficus.
Nice.
Just put a seedling heat mat under them to keep their feet warm, and you could keep them at your home.
Hi Leo,,,Just the small one is mine and even with a heat mat I don't think it would do well with weeks of no sun and temps hovering in the low 50's with the occasional dip into the 40's. I've lost most of my collection despite heroic efforts. It seems only azalea's do well here.
 
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