Anyone growing this tropical wild beast? I see it is a dioecious species. Dependent on a wasp not in North America.
Also that it can survive zone 8. And folks have successfully manually pollinated it via hypodermic injection.
For that effort you can be rewarded an apple sized soft fruit with very strong berry flavors. More apple then fig textured. Probably something you only do occasionally because of the labor. It fruits profusely so injecting most would be a pain.
However it probably makes an outstanding nematode resistant candidate. And with a bit of freeze protecting wrapping at the base could work well.
I’ve seen them in botantical gardens, but none in any colder climates. Big fruit, the one I saw made a mess with its fruit all over the ground. I haven’t heard of anyone using them for nemotode resistance before. I know Sycamore Fig is used as such, but it is not that cold hardy.
Some die back is expected. But this tree has a very vigorous growth rate. Read seed sale reveiws on growing from seed and folks are surprised how fast it overgrows pots.
Perhaps. But after many years in Augusta; the parent tree is fairly large. I would wager like many plants; winter die back can decrease over time. Especially say if you wrap the trunk before winter. Apparently in California; it easily attains it’s natural size if soil is good.