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Ficus microcarpa 'Green Mound' (Green Mound Fig) - A dense low mounding shrub that can reach 6 feet tall by as wide but easily kept much lower. It has thick smooth dark green elliptical leaves that are 3 to 4 inches long by half as wide with a blunt pointed tip.
Plant in full sun to light shade and irrigated occasionally - relatively dry growing once established and hardy to around 30° F with some leaf damage much below this so best in mild coastal southern California gardens. It makes a nice small, mounded shrub or a low hedge with very little need to be pruned and works well as a bonsai specimen.
Ficus microcarpa is native to mountains and plains below 6.200 feet throughout China, Bhutan, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Sikkim, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Northern Australia. The genus name Ficus comes from the ancient Latin name for figs and their edible fruit and the specific epithet means "small fruit". This plant is sometimes sold as Ficus 'Green Island' a plant that stays a bit lower and has more rounded leaves. The Florida Nurserymen and Growers Association named Ficus 'Green Island' as a Plant of the Year for the year 2000 but it was not clear which form was being honored as both plants were being sold under this name at the time. It is also sometimes listed as a cultivar of Ficus microcarpa var. crassifolia or Ficus retusa var. crassifolia but these names have been synomized with Ficus microcarpa. The variety 'Nitida' is a common tree in Southern California but this 'Green Mound' form is rarely seen here though is used extensively in Florida. We first saw this attractive plant when touring gardens Florida in 2015 with our friend John Greenlee (AKA the Grassman) and he successfully arranged to get plants sent to us that we eventually sold in 2022.
This information about Ficus microcarpa 'Green Mound' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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