Ficus benjamina (Weeping Fig) and Ficus lyrata (Fiddle-leaf Fig)

Wow it's over taking those houses I am surprised it has my been chopped down it's a lovely shape though.

Ficus will do that Penny,you are not far off. One day,the owners might just do that. At least Ficus can thrive on that cutting back.

Most likely when it was first planted it was small and cute. It's now a monster. I would guess it will not be cut down in this historical Banker's Hill neighborhood. Most of the time these older historical neighborhoods fight for their old trees not to be cut down. Yay! :>))

Thank you Stan .

Same here Andy people fight to keep their old trees but if the roots distort the foundations of properties the council's will have them gone.

It's too bad they put these trees so close to the homes. I know they do cut the roots back on some of these trees, though.

Yes it makes you wonder unless they are uneducated like most planners. That's good they cut the roots they did that to my sons tree when putting a ramp in for his disabled wife the tree has a number tacked on as its protected.

I meant- a cutting back,then regrow to a manageable size- and let more sun in.
I've seen in soucal they do some kind of thinning of Ficus also,so that they look like poodles. These tree's re grow foliage so fast,I doubt that those who do that,will spend to have it redone the next year and after that....

I really dislike poodling of Ficus trees. It's not natural for them.

It is good for large Ficus trees to be pruned every 3 to 5 years. It stimulates growth and they tend to have a nicer shape.

I was flabbergasted by the size of that Ficus benjamina! If it is the same plant that we grow as a houseplant here in the UK then you will understand why I'm flabbergasted!

I saw this. Its not there in 2008. So it was planted around 2009/2010. By 2016 it was a tree.
I might plant one. Give it a try.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.6721205,-117.9988691,3a,15.9y,237.94h,92.17t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s4lxa_lQeYSgg-34QxqPMkw!2e0!5s20160401T000000!7i13312!8i6656

Ficus lyrata grows very fast. I see many large trees here. The tallest one I've seen in San Diego was over 50' tall. Most are between 25 - 45 ft., though.

Around Montebello stuck in horrible traffic many years ago. I saw many gigantic Ficus lyrata. They were much bigger than telephone poles. I saw so many.

I had one growing in Mission San Jose, Fremont. It grew pretty well. It was in a protected spot. It's not easy to grow it in the SF Bay Area. It's a lot more tender than most Ficus species.

Those in souc...must grow all year? In a normal soucal winter..would they still be flushing?

Yes, they grow all year...just not as fast in winter. There's only one species of Ficus that I have never seen growing in winter here in San Diego, not matter how hot. That's Ficus benghalensis, it will not grow even if we have temps in the mid-to-upper 90's during winter. I think it needs hotter nights along with longer day lengths.