I live in Homestead, Fl. My husband and I would like to grow Ficus Benjamina plants in 1 acre of land, to sell it as a hedge plant. We are both biologists but know very little about horticulture. We are looking for information on how to grow this plant . If anyone can provide us with sources of reference such as books and or websites or any reccomendation about where to educate ourselves about growing ficus/nursery on a large scale will be greatly appreciated.
Hello, Here is a link to a production guide for that plant: http://mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/Foliage/folnotes/ficus.htm Like in all industries, you might consider arranging to take a trip to another producer’s facilities for a tour and advice. I’d bet that there are professional associations for ficus growers that would be worth talking to. While looking into that, just plant a dozen or so just to see how they do. Michael
I think you might also want to investigate growing F. benj. as an 'outdoor' plant in Florida, because the link in the previous post is about growing indoors (or at least in a greenhouse), and the plant likes relatively dry conditions, which may be difficult to manage in Florida (outdoors). Don't put a lot of money into growing anything if you haven't done so before on a small scale, and acquired a lot of knowledge (not tips on the internet) from local resources, whether gov't, or university, etc. about doing it at all.
