House Projects

Reply to: Hi All, After much deliberation, I decided to build a large planter with an open-earth bottom for my 17 Ficus Nitida Greem Gems. I chose the Green Gem variety as they are less susceptible to thrips. The planter consumed 7 yds of soil\compost which I still cannot believe. I listened to many folks tell me that FN is invasive and I don't doubt that at all. As a matter of fact I've seen it with my own eyes in Los Angeles where some sections of sidewalk have been lifted up at such an angle you'd think you're mountain climbing. The trees which cause this damage are maybe 100 feet tall and simply massive - and gorgeous. I still couldn't find anything else I liked better so I decided to build the planter to reduce the chances of run away roots damaging nearby structures, pipes, but also to provide instant height to the 5 gallon Nitida. I am confident that if I keep the plants at about 4 ft tall I will be able to maintain or control their root growth. This is a theory I've seen in practice where several gardeners showed me examples of FN privacy hedges planted directly in the ground and kept short with active pruning. and resulting in no damage caused by roots. I am sure many of you might be thinking that I will learn my lesson...perhaps I will. As they say...there is only one way to find out. This post was edited by UncleGarage on Tue, Feb 11, 14 at 16:59

Q

Reply to: Hi all, @veniceBlvd. An update on my project: It's been about 15 months since I planted my FN Green Gem. The plan has worked out quite well and I am very pleased with the results. The pace-of-growth has been very quick and FN has proved to be the perfect plant. I run a drip system which runs daily at 7am for 15 mins @ 1gph. I consider this quite sparse but the plants have responded well. I have a complete screen now and can sit in full privacy behind the hedge. The only thing I would do differently is consider spacing them a bit further apart. I planted them on 18" O.C. I would have done 24". The reason for this is that they grew so fast and some of the more robust growers crowded out the less vigorous ones. As you can see in the second photo. the last FN has grown a bit anemically when compared to the rest. I've trimmed them a few times but am waiting for them to really fill out before I start to shape them. I also just planted Creeping Fig at the base of the planter with the goal of having it cover the entire surface area of the planter. I have many photos. If you are interested in seeing more or have questions please feel free. I'm happy to share.

Q