Does Peter’s honey fruit twice like Latturla in PNW?
interesting, I had read it need some kind of wasp to pollinate second crop.
Yes! But you need a nice hot micro climate.
It is apparently named after a Portland gentleman so it is a good performing local variety.
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I picked some more Opal plums today. One was more ripe than the others, so I tested it. It is at the tender-but-not mushy stage. Very much like a fully ripe peach. It tested at 25.6 Brix. Most of them are large for European plums and very juicy.
I had some trouble aligning the camera lens.
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What you’re referring to is the “San Pedro” type of fig, with a common (no wasp needed) breba but a smyrna (wasp required) main crop. You’re right that Desert King is listed as San Pedro type. However, many San Pedro figs will produce a common main crop to varying degrees, seemingly dependent on climate or environmental factors.
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I’ve put mine in the open on a North facing slope. That’s what was available. We’ll see what happens 
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Hi Justin, my Opal is fruiting for the first time and it seems a little different from yours. I picked a couple because they were starting to get soft.
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Those look like mine, but less colored. Mine are on the S side of the house, with a privacy fence holding in some heat. I have run a slight water deficiency for most of the fruiting period. I just ate a nice firm one harvested yesterday. I am hoping the rest are not too soft after the heat. My Desert King Figs have been incredibly sweet and flavorful. No watermelon. Just a rich/dark fig flavor with dense/sweet flesh and very dark color for a DK fig.
My first Opal fruits were far more bland. This is the 3rd year bearing fruit, if memory serves.
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A question for this group. Is it possible to grow figs in the inland PNW? I’m in Zone 6a and we got down to -30 C / -22 F last winter.
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Was that an unusually low temperature?The normal range for 6a is -5 to -10F.
They will most likely need some winter protection anyway.
Yeah, it doesn’t usually get that cold but it’s also not unheard of. A minimum of -5 to -10 F would be a more typical winter.
So, winter protection needed either way - I guess that’s something like a tarp, greenhouse, or grow in pots and move to the garage type deal?
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Thanks, good to know. Raintree says Opal ripens in July. Has it ever produced that early for you? This was another reason why I was doubting that I have an Opal.
Figs need protection below about 15F, maybe even 20F. So substantial winter protection/heat will be needed at -30C.
But it is best not to baby them during winter. It is helpful to let them go dormant, that is go below about 25F. - a garage might be helpful with heat applied during extremely cold spells.
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I think it depends on location. This is the latest the fruit has finished so far.
A plum that received less sunlight.
The rest of my Opal harvest
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Love it. That’s a good looking harvest.
left Hardired - brix 14…right Harko- brix 16
After 2 successive years of success, I’m enamored with nectarines. Their blemish-free finish is nearly perfect, with little of the spotting and bruising that I see on my less sweet Avalon Pride peaches. I wrapped most of the nectarines with footies to foil the thrips, but even the unwrapped ones showed no scarring. I did hang sachets of Amblyseius cucumeris to feed on immature stages of thrips - so maybe in the future that will be enough protection.
Trees are planted in open bottom planters within a 10’ high EMT structure with a poly tarp cover. The downside is that the confines of the structure limits production and frequent summer pruning is needed to keep trees within bounds.
It could be that the drought conditions of the past 2 years favored their growth. But if that’s the new normal, I’m into nectarines!
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Good year for splash. It usually over sets, this year moderate when others have almost none.
I set up irrigation before traveling and didn’t notice that it wasn’t set up with the timer for over a month of drought. This one is 28 brix, more than my partially ripe green gage.
The next one i tried with similar color was 21 brix.
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I would want to plant this pluot.
Good news, the patent just expired this spring. we could graft it to one of your peach trees.
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