Still pretty new at growing figs
i know some species need a particular wasp for pollination
but, does that mean it will not produce fruit,
or, it will just not produce fertile seeds ??


There is a website i was getting ready to buy seeds from
and since i usually buy several species at a time
i saw this fig, and would love to grow it
will it produce fruit, or, do i need a certain wasp ?

Ficus auriculata / Elephant Ear Fig Tree
http://www.rarexoticseeds.com/en/tree-seeds/fruit-tree-seeds/ficus-auriculata-seeds-elephant-ear-fig-tree-roxburgh-fig-coconut-strawberry-fig.html

Interesting.  I did a little Googling.  It says it can be grown as a house plant too.  Here's a link from the forum: http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/another-figs-world-ficus-auriculata-ficus-roxburghii-elephant-ear-fig-tree-5737757

Hope that helps

Hi Brad. I'm sure that someone can explain the how and why as I am unable to, but the short of it is yes, most fig trees will produce fruit without the wasp (common). Seeds are still fertile in common figs but will most likely not grow true to type. So, in my opinion, purchasing fig seeds would be a waste of time and money. Hope this helps a little.

Viable seed will produce trees. After that it gets dicey. Supposedly half will be male caprifigs, and half will be female. The female half could be Common or Smyrna types depending on the parents. If they are Smyrna, you'll need a wasp to pollinate them. If Common, they may or may not fruit, and the fruit may or may taste good. My initial, and limited, experience has been that about 10% gave you something useful. The last group of seedling, about 50 in number have yielded zero fruit and do not look promising. The 10 before that have very distinctive leave, but no fruit after several year. If you want to play, go for it. If you want fruit, buy a tree or root known cuttings.

If you are sincere in seeking knowledge and use what you learn, no question is stupid.

thanks for the replies

ive been growing mango, guava, and several other tropical (and not) fruit trees

some are much more variable than others
i just had my first mango from a seed i had grown from a fruit in Fla
it was actually very good.
in the forum i am in, most people told me it was a waste of time, im glad i kept it.

That said, i dont really have the room to grow 10+ plants
on top of what i have (LOL)
especially if the odds are bad that it will even produce fruit.
i will save the space for mango, and ... just one more fig...
from a reliable cutting etc...
(ive said that before) LOL

Definitely get a known tree or cutting. There is no way to tell what seeds will grow into and it could be years before you realize your tree is a dud. Many of the known varieties are inexpensive and easy to obtain. I've even bought a few at the local home improvement store's garden center that did very well. Growing from seed is a gamble and the odds are not in your favor. Unless you have lots of growing room, no need to actually get fruit and a couple of years to find out if you were successful go with a cutting or tree.