Do you find religiousas grow faster than other ficuses? I’ve been hard pruning mine all summer from a seed planted a year ago. I just brought it inside for the winter, and even with much lower light, it’s still taking off.
James, I can't say for sure of all Ficus species but what I can say for certain is that Ficus religiosa grows significantly faster than all 40+ other Ficus species I have. I think the large leaves just create fantastic solar panels for the tree. The trunk also thickens up faster in comparison to other Ficus large-leaf ficus species. They are my favorite species. I hope you are enjoying yours.
Bodhi tree is Ficus religiosa. Not Ficus rumphii. That is a common mistake. The word "Bodhi" came from Buddhism in which the Buddha attained enlightenment under a Ficus religiosa tree hence hence the Maha Bodhi tree at Bodhgaya is a Ficus religiosa. Because people cant tell the difference between rumphii and religiosa, rumphii were then also called Bodhi by those who mistake Rumphii for religiosa. Ficus religiosa is also known in common name as pipal tree, sacred fig, in addition to Bodhi.