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ubermitch

Unknown fig tree

18 years ago

There is a tree in the courtyard of my apartment, and I was going crazy trying to figure out what kind of tree it was when a neighbor told me its a fig tree. Now I am going crazy trying to figure out what kind of fig tree it is.

I am getting contradictory results looking here.

I took some pictures of it, and got a real good shot of a leaf.

Can anybody help? For whatever it matters, I live in Southern California.

Comments (14)

  • 18 years ago

    It has the leaf of a Mission fig.
    Show me a ripe fruit and will tell you if it is Mission or not!

  • 18 years ago

    They don't appear to ripen further than as shown here. The figs are green and leathery outside, and white and fleshy inside, with a central cavity.

  • 18 years ago

    Then is not a Mission,and because you say it is white inside when ripe,it is most likely a Hybrid.
    All i can tell you is that there are hundreds of edible hybrids.
    Hope this will help

  • 18 years ago

    Mitch,

    I assume these are current pictures, correct? So, the figs will stay on the tree for a while longer but by the time June comes they will drop off without ripening?

    Does this tree set a later crop of figs, or are these the only figs it will produce?

    Have you grown this tree since it was planted? If so, has its pattern always been the same (regarding fig production)?

  • 18 years ago

    Thanks for all the help!

    These the pictures were taken yesterday. These are the only figs produced. They have been on the tree for maybe three weeks now. Some are already starting to shrivel up, turning darker green. I have lived at this apartment building for three years now, and I noticed the figs for the first time last spring. I did not notice one way or the other the first year, but at that time, the courtyard was dominated by palm trees that were subsequently cut down.

    Venturing a guess without knowing a thing, perhaps the particular insect species that germinates this particular variety of fig tree is not indigenous to my area (which is Los Angeles County, one mile from the ocean)? If that were true, than perhaps the figs cannot be germinated, and never fully ripen.

    In any event, when I get home today, I will get close ups of the figs, including the ones that are shriveling.

  • 18 years ago

    Mitch,
    I don't think it's a pollination issue. That would be really surprising.

    The reason I asked the questions I did is that there is a tree I planted at my former home that does the same thing. It sets a large crop of breba figs on the previous year's wood, they grow to almost full size, then about the time they should begin to ripen they drop off.

    This particular tree had several things going against it from the time I planted it in the yard. 1. It had FMV (Fig Mosaic Virus) pretty bad when it was young but eventually "outgrew" it for the most part after a few years.2. I planted it far enough from the water hydrant that my hose didn't reach it, and it probably wasn't watered enough the first couple of years. 3. It didn't/doesn't really get a lot of sun where it grows. It doesn't sound/look like your tree shares anything "bad" with my tree, but the symptoms are virtually identical.

    In case you didn't know, some fig varieties produce two crops of figs each year. The earlier crop (called breba figs) is set on the previous year's growth. The later crop (called main crop figs) is set on the current year's growth. These figs on your tree are obviously brebas. That's why I asked if it also sets a crop of figs on the new growth. The tree I have with similar symptoms does NOT set a main crop of figs. It produces a bumper crop of these promising-looking breba figs, produces no main crop figs, then drops the brebas before they ripen.

    I also forgot what fig variety my tree is. When it showed the really bad signs of FMV I sort of wrote it off.

    Henry

  • 18 years ago

    Henry:

    Fascinating stuff. I have never seen anything grow on my tree other than these green things in the spring.

    Also, did I really use the word "germinate" to mean "pollinate"? Ugh. Disgraceful.

  • 18 years ago

    I wish someone with more experience would weigh in on this. I moved away from that home where I had planted this tree in 2001. The tree's growth at that point had been extremely stunted for the 5 yrs. or so it had been in the ground. It had never produced the first fig. I had almost dug it up several times before I sold the house. Anyway, I drove by there a couple of years later and was shocked to see that the tree had taken off with growth and showed little or no outward signs of FMV. Each year since it has grown very normally, and each year it has done the same thing with figs (as described above). I'm very curious about it and find it interesting that this tree and yours do the same thing with regard to figs.

  • 18 years ago

    I did have one (unkown, #3) very prolific fig from EU that
    never ripened before frost here. Shipped a mature specimen
    to TX ~2-3 years ago for trial (you know who you are). So
    far I have not received a concrete answer, other than
    (unlike mine), it dropped fruit. There was some discussion
    as it possibly being a caprifig itself or else needed
    caprification from them (via the fig wasp - aka pollination).

  • 18 years ago

    Hey Ubermitch,
    To me that looks like a Conadria

  • 18 years ago

    Rob, I think you might have hit it on the nose. See here and here.

  • 18 years ago

    George,

    In thinking about the tree at my former home it has entered my mind several times how this tree acts sort of like (what I've read about) an early caprifig. But...what a mislabeling that would have been. As I have mentioned, I forgot which online nursery I bought it from (12 yrs. ago) as well as what variety I (thought I had) bought. However, I do know that I DID NOT order a caprifig :)

    For my tree I guess being a Smyrna type fig is a more likely scenario than being a caprifig (even though this wold also almost have to be a mislabeling too), but is this how a Smyrna fig would act without Blastophagus (only setting a breba crop)?

    Henry

  • 18 years ago

    To the degree that it is helpful, I have taken more pictures (with a tape measure in the shot for scale!). Available here.
    Included is a shot of one the tree's figs cut open.

  • 18 years ago

    Well Mitch:All I can say you do not got a Conadria.
    Conadria is dark pink inside.

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