Fig Ficus rubiginosa

Port Jackson fig branches low and builds a broad, dense dome, buttressing at the base with age and dropping aerial roots from the limbs. Turn a leaf over and the rusty brown felt underneath explains the other common name, rusty fig. It is a Sydney sandstone native that takes salt wind, exposure and thin rocky soil, and on a park, a wide verge or a big lawn it is one of the more useful shade trees on the east coast. Small orange red figs follow through the warm months.

Coastal exposure it handles, suburban blocks it does not

Full sun to part shade, moderate water, and a tolerance of headland wind, salt spray and shallow sandstone soil that few large trees match. It also copes with dry spells once established, which is why it holds up on exposed headlands where irrigation is never going to happen. It grows through coastal Queensland, New South Wales and mild parts of Victoria, and growth is fast in warm districts. The failure mode is siting. The roots are aggressive and opportunistic around pipes, footings and paving, and the fruit falls in quantity, staining pavers and drawing flying foxes and currawongs onto whatever sits underneath. On a residential block both problems arrive at once and neither has a cure once the tree is established. Give it a park, a reserve, a broad verge or acreage, and keep it well away from services and hard surfaces. Watch for psyllid blistering and lerps on the leaves, which is cosmetic on a large tree in parkland and disfiguring on a plant you look at closely in a pot.

Rusty fig against the other native figs

Set beside Ficus macrophylla, rubiginosa carries a smaller leaf, branches lower and holds a denser, more rounded head instead of the vast spreading crown of a Moreton Bay fig, and it is the tougher of the two in salt wind on an exposed headland. Set beside Ficus obliqua, the rusty felt on the leaf underside is the giveaway, because obliqua is smooth and glossy underneath and makes a finer, lighter canopy. Choose rubiginosa when the site is coastal, windy and open and you want dense shade held at a lower branching height. In a container all three behave while young, but rubiginosa is the one most likely to show psyllid damage where you look at it closely. It is stocked in larger sizes alongside our other advanced trees.

Pruning and feeding a Port Jackson fig

Prune in the warm months when the tree seals wounds quickly, and do the shaping while it is young. Set your clear trunk height, remove crossing limbs and take out tight forks before they become large timber. Mature specimens are a job for a qualified arborist rather than a homeowner with a pole saw. Feed young trees in early spring with a complete slow release fertiliser and keep the water up through the first two or three summers while the root system establishes. After that, a tree in open ground is self sufficient. Rake fallen fruit off paving through the fruiting season to avoid staining.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 9 sizes, from 300mm up to 1000L, priced from $149.00 to $12369.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Every size here is established stock rather than a starter plant, so this line is intended for immediate effect rather than for growing on. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to fast growing screening plants.