Dwarf Ficus natalensis

[The Ficus Guy]

Hey everyone,



I picked up a dwarf leaf variety of Ficus natalensis from a nursery far down south of me and thought I'd share it with you all and gather comments on these. Are you all familiar with the dwarf form? I have the regular form, which gets pretty big leaves, but I haven't worked with this form. It's got tons of aerial roots. Check out these pictures below, I have no idea where to take it. Comments are more than welcome.

[Hackimoto]

It is not any form of Natalensis. It looks more like one of our Australian species, maybe Rubiginosa. Could you post a pic of your "big" natalensis so we can have a look at it, leaf shape etc.?

[Bougy Fan]

Yep definitely not a Natal fig. Does look like a PF fig

[The Ficus Guy]

It is not any form of Natalensis. It looks more like one of our Australian species, maybe Rubiginosa. Could you post a pic of your "big" natalensis so we can have a look at it, leaf shape etc.?

You know, I was thinking that. The difference in leaf appearance between my "big" natalensis and this one are completely different. This ones leaves are also fuzzy on the underside. I don't think it's rubiginosa though...

Here's the regular leaf size natalensis:

005.JPG

And here's this "dwarf" variety:

022.JPG

Something smells fishy

[The Ficus Guy]

Here's the place I bought it from:


http://wigertsbonsai.com/store/index.ph ... cts_id=260


I also bought the regular leaf natalensis from them. The Wigerts are good bonsai people (not sure if you all are familiar with Eriks work over there), but the leaves just look completely different.

[Ash]

Hi,

Your 'dwarf' appears to be a Ficus rubiginosa rather than a Ficus natalensis. I wouldn't mind betting it is a smallish leaf collection from central coast of NSW that has been been circulating widely in Australia for decades. Makes excellent bonsai. Ficus rubiginosa is a remarkably variable species and some of its cultivars are quite distinct. All in all it gives rise to much confusion. Have a look at the hairs - they are the giveaway.

cheers

Ash

[Andrew Legg]

Hey Guys,

I live in South Africa and I've never heard anyone making mention of a dwarf variety. The smaller leafed fig variety we get here is the Ficus burtt Davyi, commonly know as the Veld Fig.

Cheers,

Andrew

[Tony Bebb]

So hard to tell with some of our Figs which is which due to seed variations, but it definitely looks like one of ours. Could be Eugenoides/Platypoda.
I use a simple rule. If it comes from New South Wales it is Port Jackson. If it comes from Queensland it is Qld Small Leaf Fig.

Good to see they're on your shores FG. Nice little specimen to work with too.

[The Ficus Guy]

Thanks everyone!

I think Hackimoto and Andrew may be right, it does look like a burtt-dayi. Ash, when you say look at the leaf hairs, what should I be looking for? Or is it just the fact that the underside of the leaves have hairs that counts?

[The Ficus Guy]

Actually, I think the leaves may be too glossy for it to be a burtt-dayii, so back to looking at the PJ Fig.

[Andrew Legg]

Ok guys,

Here's some of my tree's leaves. First up, a small burtt davyi cutting:

IMG-20120714-00178.jpg

Next, a non-trained burtt davyi - different variety with a red stem. I believe this reduces to the same size leaf as the first one, but I've not tried reduction yet as for now, I'm growing this on for trunk size.

IMG-20120714-00180.jpg

Top of the leaves: (left to right - natal, natal, burtt, burtt)

IMG-20120714-00181.jpg

Don't know if that will help or not!

Cheers,

Andrew

[The Ficus Guy]

Thanks Andrew, great help! I still don't have a 100% ID on what this could be, but it helps that you all have narrowed it down a good bit. Hmmm