Ficus Aurea Questions

I don't have one yet.
But I saw something somewhere (don't you hate it when you can't remember where) that inspired me to try it as a bonsai. So I tried to do some research and came up with a blank.
Has anyone here tried it before and had any luck?
What is the best time to collect seeds?
Does anyone grow it under florescent lights?
I know that it doesn't grow in my zone, zone 7, but my grandparents have a house in florida and a field guide my Biology teacher has says that it grows there, so the next time I go down I want to collect some. Would it be possible for me to create a suitable environment for it?

Thanks for putting up with my naiveté.

~NS

NS,
If you google "Ficus Aurea as bonsai" you can find some info although not specific to the variety. I don't know about collecting seeds from ficus but the do root quite easily as cuttings. I think that taking some cutting when you are Florida would be your best bet and it would save you a few years of growing. Read up on rooting ficus cuttings and give it a try. Some varieties can root well even from large hardwood cuttings. Good Luck.

Todd

Mind you now, that Florida is a big state and there are a lot of different trees growing there. I'd bet it's extremely unlikely that you could wander down a street and find one of these. You may be able to find one in a nursery, though. I'm not clear why you would want this kind of fig rather than one of the others that you KNOW will make good bonsai.

I am not sure of the exact species but I know there are wild strangler figs growing in the southern part of Brevard County, Florida. There are some on South Tropical Trail on Merritt Island, they are strangling Palmettos, and there was (I haven't been there in years) a cupola at the Eau Gallie Art Center covered with strangler figs. I have not really looked at these, as Bonsai candidates because I think the leaves are rather large. (I live in northern Brevard about 30 miles from the locations I am talking about.)

There are many strangler fig species. F. aurea is the best known American strangler species. However, it is not generally used for bonsai. I doubt whether it would do very well under lights, but you never know. There are many other more suitable species. If you would like to grow a bonsai that is known for the strangler habit, try Veldt fig, F. burtt-davyi.
Iris