Short-leaf fig, Wild banyan tree – Ficus citrifolia

$150.00 – $1,750.00

Pot Size	Average Planted Height (From soil to the top of the plant)
15 gallon/17″	6 – 8 ft.
25 gallon/21″	8 – 10 ft.
45 gallon/28″	10 – 12 ft.
100 gallon/36″	12 – 14 ft.

SKU: N/A Categories: Fall, Fast, Full Sun, High, Inconspicuous, Low, Low, Moderate, Moderate, Native, Rock, Seed, Specimen Plant, Spring, Summer, Tree, Well-Drained, Winter Brand: FANN, FNPS

General Landscape Uses: Specimen tree in residential and commercial landscapes.

Ecological Restoration Notes: An important large canopy tree in hammocks in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. Rarer elsewhere.

Description: Medium to large tree with an erect trunk and a spreading, rounded crown. Trunks single or, rarely, multiple to more than 2 feet in diameter. Branches drooping. Bark light gray. Leaves tropical semi-deciduous, light green, about 2-5 inches long.

Dimensions: Typically 30-40 feet in height; to 71 feet in South Florida. Usually taller than broad.

Growth Rate: Moderate to fast.

Native Range: Monroe County Keys north to Brevard and Collier counties; disjunct in Hillsborough County; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America. Rare and sporadic north of Miami-Dade and Collier counties.

Native Habitats: Hammocks.

Soils: Moist, well-drained limestone (rarely sandy) soils, with humusy top layer.

Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.

Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.

Salt Wind Tolerance: Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.

Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.

Light Requirements: Full sun.

Flower Color: N/A; flowers are borne inside of figs.

Flower Characteristics: Inconspicuous.

Flowering Season: All year; peak spring-summer.

Fruit: Figs turning pinkish-red to purple when ripe.

Wildlife and Ecology: Provides food and cover for wildlife. Larval host plant for ruddy daggerwing (Marpesia petreus) butterflies, Edwards’ wasp (Lymire edwardsii) and fig sphinx (Pachylia ficus) moths. It is pollinated by a host-specific wasp (Pegoscapus tonduzi). Cedar waxwings and many other birds eat the fruits. It supports a large community of insects, which provide food for insectivorous birds.

Horticultural Notes: Easily grown from seed. Smash figs on paper, let dry and then brush the small seeds onto the soil in a container. Do not cover seeds with soil. Start in light shade or full sun.

Comments: Sometimes produces aerial roots, but much less frequently than strangler fig (Ficus aurea).