The last several winters have been very mild, my figs also did not die back in the last ~4 years. They are up to 20’ tall now! But for ~3 winters in a row before that they died back. The problem is when they die back it will take several years before they are fruiting reliably again. So if they are dying back every ~4 years you don’t get all that many figs ever.
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My Chicago Hardy figs are about 10 feet off the front brick wall of my house. Once in the ground a year or two, really established and vigorous. They have died back to a foot or so from the ground a few times, but the other years i cut them down to short stumps about 15-20 inches anyway. They’ll grow at least 8 ft tall each year, anything taller is unworkable for picking. I have not had any issues with the amount of fruits, just keeping up with picking. If I get hornets finding one overripe fig, it really slows down my picking the others.
I am starting several other types, all hardy. I have some that will be further from the wall, so I may need to build a box, that insulation sheet looks so much simpler than wrapping, strapping, leaves, tarps.
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Scott, which varieties do you grow? Also how do you regularly pick figs ripening that high up in the air? I can reliably get a crop even during the worst winters like 13-14 & 14-15. They died to the ground and did not resprout until mid-May. The harvest was delayed until mid-September though, and I only got a few hundred fruit as opposed to a couple thousand on a good year. In contrast, they ripen starting mid-August when I don’t get terrible winter damage. I normally prune mine back to 4 feet for easy wrapping each winter, and let them grow to 7-8 feet to be able to pick everything from the ground. Some varieties tend to stay shorter though. Varieties that have fruited well despite winter damage are Malta Black, Hardy Chicago, Gino’s Black, and Dalmatie. More were put in the ground last year, and there is definitely some noticeable winter damage already. The lowest it has been is 8 degrees, but they all had a late flush of growth that made them more tender. Otherwise, 8 degrees really shouldn’t be damaging to them from past experience. I’ll try to document their recoveries, and how well they yield this year.
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I started bagging my figs when they start to change color. It keeps the wasps out of them and the catbird from snacking.
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I do the same with dozens if not hundreds at a time on my trees. It’s very labor intensive, but I get those perfectly ripe figs. The catbirds are terrible every year in my yard. They peck at every fig even if they don’t finish eating them.
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Are these the fuzzy kiwis you’re growing or arguta types? Also what variety of muscadine is it that’s doing well for you in PA. I always assumed we were in a borderline area for those, but then again it doesn’t stop me from getting fruit off from figs, and Asian persimmons.
I have a bunch of random varieties. To me there are brown ones, green-outside-red-inside ones, and green-outside-honey-inside ones. In other words, not enough difference beyond that for me to care. Generally the brown ones produce the most for me so I like them the best (Celeste, Hardy Chicago, etc). The other ones are less productive generally. Excel is not a good one for me, most of the crop doesn’t ripen in time. Violette de Bordeaux is not quite as hardy as other ones so it is also not the best. The taste of a fig is about 90% when it is picked and 10% the variety itself so it is not worth bothering with varieties for taste beyond the different big categories.
To pick the tall figs I have been bending the limbs down, and doing a bit with ladder. I am going to prune back lower this winter so it is a bit easier to harvest.
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I was asking about the varieties not because of taste, but because some bounce back faster from winter damage, and ripen their crops sooner than others. Some like you’ve noticed do not ripen their crops in time. You are right that much of their taste has to do with when a fig is picked. I’d focus more on those “brown” figs. Anything similar to a Hardy Chicago will fruit much faster after winter damage, and they only take around 75 days to ripen from when they first emerge. You’ll end up with a crop earlier in the season. Figs that ripen earlier on will often taste better, because summer heat helps a lot with their flavor. There are of course other early ripening varieties that with varying performance. The only good figs are ones that you can pick and eat where you live.
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I have way too many to do the bags. I am not worried about losing a few, the birds and the wasps go away or aren’t really a bother. The european hornets are nasty, though. I end up out at 2 am trying to get the damaged fruits off so they will leave, but the dark just slows them down a bit.
Are there other ones you like? I’m not going to add any more but it would be good to know. I have a bunch of other random brown ones from Herman2 who was on GW many years ago, the actual varieties are not clear but they are all good early-ripening brown figs. They came named Sals, Maryland Brown Turkey, Marseilles Black VS, etc. but I recall reading later that these names might not be the right ones. The names are sort of irrelevant to me now in any case as they are all similar to each other and to Celeste and Hardy Chicago.
I’ve gone for anything described as a Mt Etna type or Brown Turkey type, with some of the French RdB or Negronne to see how they do. I think I may have gotten Lattarula. I have random Italian-raised figs that are from the cities where Italians emigrated to. They should also do fine, and you are right that variety is less important than the grouping. When wrapped with ham, they are all similar.
You could try Tacoma Violet (Tacoma Park) or any of the New York or New Jersey found figs.
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Oh yes! Herman2 is great. I got a lot of cuttings, and plants from him over the years. Other early ripening ones I’ve tried are Florea and Ronde de Bordeaux along with about 10 named figs that are similar to Hardy Chicago. Florea and Ronde de Bordeaux have more splitting issues than Hardy Chicago. However, Ronde de Bordeaux has a very pleasant flavor in my opinion. Its productivity cultured in the ground remains to be seen. There are yet other early varieties I’m growing that are too new to me to have an actual opinion.
I do recommend Dalmatie for a later, but much larger fig of good quality. It’s about 3-4 times larger than a Hardy Chicago and grows on a small bush that’s easy to protect.
There’s a fellow up the road from me with hundreds of figs. I always ask him what’s ripening for him to get ideas.
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Bill?
I should probably be more clear in my categories that my “brown” ones are these Mt. Etna ones. RdB and Negronne are different even though they are brown-skinned. I don’t think either is reliable enough for our climate though, I grew both for over ten years and got very few figs.
I should send some cuttings of Bari. Hundreds of figs per year for me. Seems like a Mt Etna but does better than the others. It’s probably 15’ tall.
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Yes, Bill! He’s a great guy.
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Oh, I don’t think that those two will do well without protection. So the excitement about insulation box. I am also not sure about a Hood Canal fig from Boizeau, probably a box too. I think of the Mt Etna as berry, the Brown Turkey as more honey/ sweet. Both types have been grown in the area, I am sure you know. They are all a little different unless they came from the same place.
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Negronne is good, but agree a potted fig it must stay in this climate. I’m still trialing RDB in the ground with my mausoleum protection technique.
The other variable with figs trees I have found is cumulative tissue damage / loss of vigor due to exposure to cold. This is why the mausoleum has the advantage in this climate. Many Mt Etna types can survive in our climate with minimal protection on good years without die back but their production goes way down.
Can you tell us what the height is of inlet/outlet on the pipe?
I traded fig cuttings with Bill a number of year ago, although what I am growing now came from other sources. I have one called Sweet Diana that comes from an heirloom tree in NYC that has been very good, a Chicago Hardy and another (standard but label lost) variety. When they don’t die back, I get very nice yields, and like Scott I have to bend the branches down to pick (but they are now getting large enough so that’s becoming a problem).
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