Northern Poms and Figs 2016 - how did yours fare?

[Chills]

I have Kazake in the ground and this will have been its 4th winter (here in Michigan). It was killed to the ground the previous 2 winters, and it took until August last summer to see new growth from the roots. Today I noticed its up and pushing new growth. It’s against the house on the south facing side.

I also have 2 other varieties, both in pots. One was brought in and stored with many of my figs in my basement canning room (AC Sweet), the other spent the winter in my unheated-unattached garage (Parfyanka). I keep my largest figs in there too. Both potted Poms are doing very well, no blooms yet, though.

Florea, in ground, seems to have been damaged primarily by chewing animals. I’m hoping to see growth as I’ve added 4 inches of compost to it. EDIT: 2small shoots have arisen from the compost…

I have 2 other figs which seem to have had dieback, but the roots are still healthy, so I’m hopeful there. Not bad considering I have 33 varieties. Fruit is forming on a few, including desert King and Olympian.

Lastly, my Che has been pushing leaves this week. The warm temperatures have been good for me. I’d just like a little more rain…

Scott

[tjasko]

6b pomegranate report. 3 seedlings from a locally grown plant, first winter in the ground. I gave them some protection, but not a lot.

2 were planted by the shrubs by the house, in what I assumed would be a more protected area. These died back to the ground. The third is out in the open, less protected but with much more sun. That one seems to have only partially died back.

Given that it was such a weird winter, mild at first but then with several false springs, I’m not sure what that tells me about my long-term outlook, but I’m not optimistic.

[Matt_in_Maryland]

I finally did the Fig Shuffle tonight. Here is the year in review:

Here is @Kate’s Alma fig. This thing was just a tiny twig last year. It grew slow but steady, even after a mold scare, a late freeze, and the accidental snapping off of one stem. What a rugged little guy.

The big disappointment: these beautiful Bronze Paradiso figlets never ripened. They’ve been stuck at the same exact size for months, and the plant has gone dormant.

This plant was a cutting from @fruitnut two years ago. I will up-pot it next spring, along with the rest of my potted figs.

Into my sad basement they go!

Maybe next year…

[Matt_in_Maryland]

More on this year’s fig growth:

Here is Desert King from @Greenguy. This thing has grown a ton. It shot a root down through the pot, along the sidewalk, and into a crack under my townhouse stoop!

I clipped the root and prepped the pot for basement storage. I am looking forward to my first brebas next year!

[Matt_in_Maryland]

More photos of my potted figs before they undergo hibernation:

@SteveMD’s Ronde de Bordeaux (right) and @Kate’s Brunswick (left). The latter still holding its leaves!

@Drew51’s Excel cutting has grown well and now features a nice stout trunk.

[Matt_in_Maryland]

Stowing away my potted figs into the basement for winter:

Here is @SteveMD’s Takoma Violet. What a pretty little plant.

And here is his Marseilles Black (left) and Malta Black (right). Malta Black ripened one fruit this year.

@fruitnut’s Battaglia Green (left) and @Greenguy’s Violette de Bordeaux (right).

[Matt_in_Maryland]

A wrap-up of this year’s figs:

@Drew51’s Sal’s Gene EL. This bush gave me one delicious fruit this year!

[speedster1]

Nice pics Matt. I will probably bring my 5 potted figs inside this weekend. I’m wondering is now a good time to cut them back a bit? Maybe harvest some cuttings?

[Matt_in_Maryland]

You can take cuttings now, but probably better to wait until Jan or Feb, or until threat of single digit temps is upon you. I find they take about 3 to 4 weeks to root, on average, and once they leaf out, you want spring to be right around the corner.

[scottfsmith]

Looking good Matt! Hopefully you will be up to your eyeballs in figs in a few years.

I got about half a dozen ripe figs total this year, they were the lower ones that ripened in time. Some of them were exceptionally good, now all I have to do is figure out which varieties they are. I made a 5-in-1 fig bush and put tags on each branch, but then it froze to the ground and the next spring I had only a vague idea of which was which. Three years in a row of this and things really start to get questionable…

Hey maybe one of you fig experts knows which one was really good. It tasted like the strawberry figs (Strawberry Verte etc). It is one of these: Marseilles Black VS - Sal’s #1 / EL - Maryland Brown Turkey - Vista - Brunswick. I got the cuttings from herman/vasily about ten years ago. I heard that MBT and MBVS are thought to be the same by some people.

[Matt_in_Maryland]

I wish I knew! I’m glad I have 3 of those 5 as well as an unknown strain of English Brown Turkey (might not be same as Maryland BT). So essentially I am just missing Vista, which I think is a Mount Etna type, yes? I have some of those too. So, yeah, I hope to be swimming in figs soon. A guy can dream big, right?

[scottfsmith]

I just looked up the figs myself and my top guess is MBVS, my fig was small which is a characteristic of the Mt Etnas which MBVS is. similar, and the dark color is similar. #2 is Vista, flesh looks a little lighter than the one I am looking for a match on though but it has strawberry-flavored flesh supposedly. Maryland BT is a misnomer, it has no relation to BT and according to a post I found a few minutes ago has been confirmed to be identical to MBVS and people are generally using this name for it now.

[Drew51]

@scottfsmith

I just looked up the figs myself and my top guess is MBVS

Yes, probably what it is. A good fig for sure, prolific too. I had about 300 or more figs, an amazing year. I dried about 150 or them for snacking whenever.
I want to thin them down now. So no plans to add anymore anytime soon.