That’s one fig that I would like eventually. I just saw this, but when do you think you want to dig it up? I am going to be there, but in April.
Hopefully sooner than later. I’m sure there will be plenty of suckers I can pot up.
Let me see what is scheduled, there is a wedding. I’ve been trying to ignore prep and only show up when they tell me. 
I am near @figjamjar so could drop off there.
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@ampersand let us know your schedule and happy to be flexible (would the tree fit into a small Prius though?); @franc1969 also happy to hold on to some things for you!
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Probably would not fit in a Prius unless it’s really hacked back.
Must be quite the beast. I don’t envy you having to dig it out!
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This is exactly why my 2 giant Hardy Chicagos stayed where they are despite me acquiring slightly better varieties that do as well. I’d probably just end up giving up halfway through.
Lol, I’ve been planning on digging up two big elderberries and moving them to where I have some forsythia now, so that means digging up the forsythia first. A lot of work and somehow I always find something more important to do before I get to it.
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Exactly! I’ve given away a large in-ground fig tree, and the hardest part wasn’t digging it up but trying to drag and lift it into a pickup! Not inclined to do that again.
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I bought a bunch of strawberry plants (bare root) that will be coming soon and will have more than I need. I’ll have Earliglow, Archer and Albion. If anyone is nearby or just wants to make a trip to Arlington, I can offer them at my cost (probably around $.25-$.30 a piece I think, but I’ll have to check). If interested, please message me directly so we don’t clutter up the thread. Sorry, I’m going to be too busy with work and other projects to pack and reship, so local pickup only.
I would be happy with the smaller sucker size, or even cuttings. I have so many holes to dig already, don’t want huge.
I ended up mowing over forsythia for over a year- it was too hard to dig.
For grafting, is it too early to graft pear trees? I intend to do some top working and the existing tree has flower buds swelling and splitting so probably a week or so away from flowering.
Also, what about pawpaws? Last year I grafted mine fairly late and they grew then seemed to burn up in the heat. How early can you reasonably graft them in our area? Do I need to wait until they leaf out, or as long as I start to see them breaking dormancy is it okay to graft if we have a week of warm weather ahead?
I am in Howard County Ellicott City Maryland.
I was outside doing some figs shuffling and notice more than fifty percent of my fruit trees Apples, Pears , Peaches and plum wood is severely damaged by Cicadas. I was hoping that these cuts will heal but did not look good today. It look like fruiting wood is very weak and will break easily with fruit weight. My plan is to prune heavily .
I would do pears, we are supposed to have decent weather for it. You are a degree or two warmer, too. I just did goumi on autumn olive, in three days the leaves popped amazingly.
Pawpaw I do not know.
For pawpaws, there’s a much shorter window for when it’s ideal to graft compared to pears or apples. Otherwise they are just as easy and any method seems to work well. Neal Peterson gives his insights on pawpaw grafting here: https://www.petersonpawpaws.com/grafting/
Basically, you wait until the leaf buds are growing and are 1-3 inches long and graft on a pleasant, warm day (75-80 degrees being ideal). Having the weather be warm and temperate for the next several days after grafting helps as well. A cold snap or heat wave in the forecast isn’t good.
Neal also mentioned (via a facebook group) that hot weather is also bad for grafting pawpaws and that temps of 90 is stressful on the scion and may kill it before it can unite its vascular system with the root stock.
I’ve experienced this myself as well. If I graft at the right time of year, then I have a good success rate. Too late or too early and my success rate really plummets. Droughts are also really bad for pawpaw grafts (and growing pawpaws in general).
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For all cicada damage, you’ll need to cut those off completely. Any mechanical wounds will be weak points of entry of various problems.
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Thanks for the details on pawpaws.
Last year when I grafted they were only starting to push a little bit of leaf, not with leaves even an inch at the tips. At first, the grafts mostly leafed out and looked good, but then we had a heatwave and the heat killed them. @PharmerDrewee suggested shading them, which I’ll do this year. But I feel like I’ll want to graft on the early side, so I’ll wait until the leaves are almost an inch maybe, since the heat can come on quick here.
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You could wrap the pawpaw grafts in some foil, might help.
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Sounds like you have a good plan. I agree that grafting on the early side might be better if your area is prone to heat waves when they are starting to push growth. If you end up having a good week of temperate, warm weather and you know they are close to or just starting to push growth, I would go for it and hopefully the bark will be slipping.
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