I had so much fun posting about my lemon tree problems that I thought I would give this a try.

Last winter, I planted 18 small ficus benjamina plants in a row to form a hedge. Over the summer, I watered them infrequently but for long periods at a go. I was told that this would promote deep root growth. Then, my gardener informed me that I should water them for short periods everyday, not long periods three times a week. So, now, with not much growing season left, I am watering them 15 mins. every day.

Any thoughts? I'd like a full hedge as soon as possible.


P.S. Please don't tell me that the ficus will produce roots that will destroy everything for miles around. I have already been treated for that neurosis.

 

How deep is deep? Most tree species keep their roots to the upper 3' of soil--this is because there is more air space/nutrients available at this depth. Also, root depth is species dependent. I'm not sure if Ficus benjamina is considered a deep rooting species or not. Believe it or not, as soon as fall hits, you will get your best rooting--study after study has shown that most species put out tremendous amounts of root growth during the fall as opposed to other seasons. So, I think that by next spring you should start to get some pretty solid growth no matter what your watering regimen is. I'm not sure what LA's soils are like, but I'm guessing they are sandy/more mineral based? If thats the case, you are going to have quicker water penetration down into the soil. If thats the case, then you will have to irrigate more frequently. If you have more clay in your soils, you don't want to over water, because it takes much longer for water to penetrate the soil depths.

Your best bet would have been to use a slow release or controlled release fertilizer high in phosphorus when you planted--P tends to be associated with root growth, but doesn't directly result in/produce better roots. This is a common misconception with P fertilizers and root growth, but there is still some sort of association even though scientific studies haven't proven this.

But since they are already planted, I guess this is a moot point, especially since P is fairly immobile in the soil. I would also tend to lay off of heavy Nitrogen fertilizer applications. Excessive N tends to promote top growth in plants while robbing the roots of growth in many species--this is a general rule of thumb, not sure about a tropical species like F. benjamina.

I think that you are lucky that you can grow tropical species outside without having to worry about losing them. I'm a NC native (living in SC now) and I'm used to having to grow these plants indoors, so I'm probably not a whole lot of help to you.

 

Thanks, Rick.

As a non-expert observer, all I can say is that ficus flourishes around here. There was some concern that a frost might kill off my plants when they were first put in the ground, but no frost occurred.

I'd like the plants to be healthy and grow into a hedge as fast a possible. I was told they could do a foot a year, but that hasn't happened this year, perhaps because I didn't hit them with enough water.

There was some concern, when choosing the ficus, that the roots would be a problem, but these trees will not be allowed to grow over six feet, so I will deal with what comes.

Again, thanks.

 

Well the important thing with any plant is establishment. Once roots get established, then you will see the kind of growth that you were expecting given that you they have proper light and water. It sounds like your watering regime is not prohibiting the plants from having enough water. I think that it may take until next summer when you really start to see these things put some top growth on.