I think it is a turkey fig and I think from Josephine? Last winter I planted one on the north side of the lot and it died. I was going to put this in the flowerbed on the north side of my house but I have a funny feeling not a good idea. I have options. but I need to know how much sun it wants, wet or dry, and cold wind tolerance, so north side of house, or south edge of a pond in ground that gets wet feet periodically but is sheltered from the wind.
Where do I plant my fig from RU.
Yes, I gave you the Fig cutting.
Mine is on the east side, but they do need to be protected from cold when they are young. They do like sun and plenty of water.
In the 45 years I have had mine it has died to the ground twice, but always comes back from the roots.
I have it pruned to a single trunk now, but it can have many trunks if you let all the shoots grow.
It will do well either way, it depends on how much space you can give it.
For now I have put it in the greenhouse. I lost mine from last winter, and would like this one to live. Thank you Josephine!
Last year, my fig died from neglect. It resurrected itself this past spring! Right now, it's doing great. I need to heap some leaves on it to protect it from any upcoming cold weather.
Do they need to be cut back now or just leave them alone?
I leave mine alone until spring and cut the dead wood then.
Thank you!
I have a Brown Turkey, probably more than 20 yrs. I is a survivor !
It is planted in Texas Black gumbo. in the front yard, Northen exposure, no wind protection or special treatment. It is a great producer. The moccingbirds & jays love the fruit. We give fruit to baway to neighbors, a friend from Iran, & friends &^ have enough for us.
It gets no special treatment including watering. It loses the leaves each winter, but comes back in spring.
It is about 7 feet in width and 6 or 7 feet tall.
AllI would say is -- give it space so it can spread and get plenty of sun. No grrenhouse needed, and dont put near walls or structures, nor sidewalks or cars because any fruit tht fallas will cause stickiness and/or stains and attract ants or wasps. Wasps provide the pollination services.
wow. well it is in the greenhouse right now. Let me see if I can find a sunny spot in the center of the garden but shouldn't i wait until it is larger? I lost one this size last winter., northern winds and I believe crazy ants finished the job
Everyone lost their Figs the last 2 years---and they all came back from roots.
I am just wondering if "coming back from roots" is the same as starting from scratch?
As far as fruiting is concerned. Anyone know???
Mine is a 3 or 4 year old fig I have grown from a cutting from my neighbor's HUGE fig.
It is now in a 14" pot--and I hope it can stay there for a couple years.
Because I have heard that--for the 1st 3 years a Fig should be brought inside--
I have done so--but it is in my cool, semi-dark basement.
Not sure what i should do with it down there. It did lose all its leaves (of course)--
and is now just 4 stems sticking up with live buds on the ends.
They seem to be alive--but not sure how long they will survive in this environment. Mostly--there is no great light. Just 2-4' shop-lights during the day. NOT always on...:o(
I have no where upstairs to keep it where it would get more light. It has to deal with
things as is. I am not watering it a whole lot--just a dribble once in a while.
BUT--it seems to be alive--better than the Figs left outside---right?
This fig is called "Desert King" as it is from Spain. VERY sweet when ripe!
Honey sweet!!! Also golden green when ripe.
I am just "playing" with is. In reality--I would not have a place to plant a Fig in my yard.
Would it live OK in a large pot? I don't care if that means it would be smaller.
Would it still make some fruit?
No biggie--either way--but it would be nice if it did.
Gita
My grandparents in Tishomingo had several canes planted along their yard fencerow. They die back in winter, but returned in Spring. Open area but in the southern and a bit east area of the house. In a pot, the roots get a bit colder, mine did better in ground. Once established they are happy for what attention they get. That one from Spain might prove to be more work if not as hardy as the brown turkey figs.
I need to add, they were in areas that weren't close to the benefits of houses nearby like the cities- and more open to all the weather.
This message was edited Jan 3, 2016 12:03 AM
A small fig cutting in a pot will need protection during the winter, it doesn't need to be in a greenhouse, but should be in a place with above freezing temperature.
Plant it in the ground in the spring, give it compost and water during the summer and by next winter it should be big enough to withstand the cold.
Figs set fruit on new growth, so if it is growing there is a good chance that it will set fruit.
ok. Thank you.
My greenhouse where the fig is just barely stays above freezing when we get real cold near freezing out, drops to about 35 - 39 according to my hygrometer. I will improve the door insulation if it gets truly nasty but we have had a mild winter so far.
I only heat it if I hook the clothes dryer to the vent in the greenhouse wall and do laundry, and I only do that if I have really delicate stuff inside or it is going below 20
Well, it looks like you are doing the right thing, we shall see what happens this summer.
Some one gave me a small fig plant , and it did very well last season. I took it out of the container and scored the roots , put it in a large clear garbage bag and put it in my basement. I went to check on it today to water it and was surprised to see there was a young shoot coming out just below the tip of the plant. I only water it before I put it in the basement .I am so happy and can't wait to bring it outdoors again in spring.
It looks like that will be a good way for you to carry it over the winter.
Italian American New Yorkers have a long history of fig passion. They are not hardy in that zone. Since they insist on growing this old country fruit in too cold weather, they dig a grave, bundle and stack a lot of hay atop, and horizontally bury their figs for the winter. I grow several varieties in 7a zone. Celeste and Brown Turkey have survived best.
Hi Maypoplaurel, you might be amassed that figs grow very well in this zone. Two of my friends have large fig trees in there yard and the trees are huge and every year they give away tons of figs. They are begging us to come and get the fruit. ,and she also brings in washed clean figs in ziplock bags and put them on our desk at the job.I am also so delighted to get them ,because I love figs Yes frostweed,I think I have found the technique for my fig plant.
I think Texas will just kill my fig. Have it in a 3 gallon pot. Maybe I will up-pot it to a 5 so I can move it where I need to to water it. struggling to have a tiny patch of grass where the concrete mud is in my back yard again. Have some buffalo grass seed, going to send the kitchen sink water to that mud and maybe chip away to level and make the ground penetrable so the water will soak in and the seed will germinate. Maybe. Need to use the South African technique of burying little clumps of leaves and organic material in holes, to encourage water to soak in.
Yes, composting in place is a great technique, I have done that at times and the results are amazing.
I think keeping your fig potted for now is a good idea until you can think of a permanent place.
I have a permaculture specialist - not just certified but with experience, coming on Saturday to see what I have done and what I can do to deal with the drought, then maybe I will know where to plant my fig.
I am considering gray watering my bathroom sink, the kitchen is already done. Bathtub is also an option. Leaving just the toilet going to the septic. I can valve them to direct water to either go to land or to septic, because I live in a pier and beam it is not too hard to get to the pipes
That sounds like a good idea, I don't see why we shouldn't use the water that we pay for, then have to pay again to have it taken away.
I wish we could do that here, but it is not allowed.
that is a big part of why I got out of arlington. It was too costly and too code enforced for me. Clotheslines were illegal a couple of years ago, don't know if they have changed that yet.
I would rather have gotten further out, but I had a child in school at the time, and the other place I found had ONE two lane road to and from, would have taken hours to deal with customer emergencies