Maybe figs do taste good

[hoosierbanana]

Weird, has there been any cold since you unwrapped? I uncovered one tree way too early and the wood was not hardy enough for mid twenties, lost the top half of growth.

[Drew51]

No not really, I don’t think we had much if any freezing temps. I’ll leave it wrapped longer next year if I continue the experiment. I may pull them.

[hambone]

Hi Drew- I live a mile outside Easton, Md- would love to learn more about the Teramo fig from Easton. I’d like to go visit it if possible. There are a lot of big old fig trees around here on the old estates and I hear Smith Island in the Chesapeake is loaded with old figs and pomegranates.

I just got interested in figs this last week when a friend gave me three Brunswicks. But now I’m going to pay more attention to the local figs I see. Thanks for your help.

[alanmercieca]

@Drew51

After I wrote that I thought that may be possible, so what culture is that name from? Suppose it could be a few.

@Stan

Most probably Russian. All Russian names have affectionate diminutive forms (often multiple) that are commonly used, except in formal situations.

Olga is Russian!

[Drew51]

I post some info when I get back into town later today.

[hambone]

@Drew51 Drew- I just figured out where this Easton fig is, so am all set. Will try to get some cuttings- when is right time to take cuttings? Have you ever got an ID on the fig?

[ross]

Wait until dormancy!

[hoosierbanana]

You can take them a little later in the summer after growth has hardened, look for branches that have stopped growing, remove all but a couple leaves up top and pot them in the shade. Or use it as budwood. Last year’s wood can be treated as dormant cuttings.

p.s. You can also take a branch with soft green growth and treat it like a cut flower in a vase with shallow water that you change regularly, put an airlayer above the water level to get roots.

[Drew51]

@hambone

Have you ever got an ID on the fig?

No, it’s a small fig, round, amber to red interior, depending on how long you let it hang. I think it’s excellent, one of my favorites. Prolific, rust resistant. Seems like a winner to me.

[hambone]

Great tips, thanks hoosier.

[BobVance]

@Matt_in_Maryland

I would hate for it to die from cold exposure just because you felt any pressure from us to enlarge its vegetative growth.

Well, after 2 years, I can say that this fig doesn’t do well in-ground (in my area). Last year, I planted it outside in the spring and it fell just short of ripening. This year, growing back from the ground, I see tiny fig-lets just starting to form (far too late).

So, this weekend, I dumped a bunch of potting soil around the base of it. Around the end of the season, I’ll brush some away and hopefully be able to get 4-5 plants out of it, by separating the (hopefully rooted) low growth.

I was able to root at least one last year with a lesser version of this method (dirt on just that branch). Since this one seems to need such a long season- maybe I’ll bring it into the living room in Feb or March from the garage.

@Matt_in_Maryland

If it ever produces excess wood, then send some to Drew… and maybe me, if there’s plenty.

I’ll let you know how it goes. Even if there is no rooting, I should be able to take some wood from it.

[Richard]

@BobVance

Maybe figs do taste good

Evidence.

[BobVance]

@Richard

Evidence.

A dog eating something isn’t really evidence that it tastes good. After all, they also eat dog-food…

[galinas]

They eat much more than that

[jujubemulberry]

@BobVance

A dog eating something isn’t really evidence that it tastes good. After all, they also eat dog-food…

LOL !

but partly seriously and part-jokingly— some figs taste so much better than dogfood
and just like dogfood, some are good dry, while others are good moist…

getting to like figs is kind of like getting to like jujubes. It is something you learn by trial and error(there will be episodes of superb fruiting, and episodes of poor quality fruits on the same tree, simply due to growing conditions).

like jujubes, figs are a must-try since there are so many varieties, and trees may be grown pesticide-free apart from being long-lived. There should be at least one or two cultivars that would be worthy of being grown in one’s locale.

but yes, i totally understand those growing figs outside figs’ usual habitats, i mean – new england figs are likely to be too watery/bland.

[Richard]

@jujubemulberry

new england figs

In my experience, Chicago Cold Hardy fig grown in Gaithersburg MD tasted very good.

[jujubemulberry]

exactly, and there are multitudes of fig cultivars!

just like jujubes, it is something i insist people would grow , even if they didn;t like them on their first few(or many) attempts.

[alanmercieca]

@jujubemulberry

getting to like figs is kind of like getting to like jujubes. It is something you learn by trial and error(there will be episodes of superb fruiting, and episodes of poor quality fruits on the same tree, simply due to growing conditions).

like jujubes, figs are a must-try since there are so many varieties, and trees may be grown pesticide-free apart from being long-lived. There should be at least one or two cultivars that would be worthy of being grown in one’s locale.

but yes, i totally understand those growing figs outside figs’ usual habitats, i mean – new england figs are likely to be too watery/bland.

That is so true, like here in the south, a lot of fig trees can not produce decent figs, during a lot of the growing season, too much rain, too much wetness, and too much going back and forth between totally dry and totally wet. The same happens with pomegranate bushes, which I am still very in experienced with growing here, and since not many people grow them here, I do not have much info to help me choose which varieties to grow.