Hi Jon :Can You tell us what the flavor is like?.
I have a small one too.It does look good
I also think that Megaceleste from me is a very good fig in your climate.It hated rain here in NJ.

Herman, it was sweet, but the flavor was a little odd, like a Brown Turkey. This is the very first fig from this tree, so not putting much stock in only one sample.

I have just recently bought three, 5-6 Ft. "ATREANO" trees growing in 5 gallon containers. The first of the three was purchased about 1 1/2 months ago, and it was loaded with figs. The two other more recent purchases were also loaded with figs. The trees are healthy and quite vigorous. The leaves are a very dark, shiny green, and they have no wind or insect damage at all. The trees are still pushing out little figs even though I nipped-out all terminal buds. I can't stop these trees from producing fruit! All the figs are still green and hard, and are probably 1 1/2 inches across the bottom.

Has anyone out there grown this variety? I'd like to know if it has performed well in zone 6, or, does it need any special growing routine for it to be at its best? I live in the Throgg's Neck area of The Bronx, NYC., and, I'm not too far from Long Island Sound. Winters can get very cold, and I plan on wintering-over the trees in an unheated storage-shed.

Can anyone estimate how old these 5-6 foot trees might be? Do nurseries take very large and long branches and root them in order to produce larger "trees" more quickly, or, do they start with smaller cuttings and grow them on for a number of years until they're ready for selling as "trees"?

I understand from catalog descriptions, that "ATREANO" can produce two crops of figs, even in short-summer areas. Please tell me how to identify brebas from main-crop figs. Herman2 from NJ. and, other fig-growers, advocate nipping-out all brebas so that main-crop figs are produced and ripened earlier in short-summer areas. Aren't brebas produced on old wood, and main-crop figs produced on new wood? I'd really like to know how to tell the difference between the two types of figs, because I want to nip-off all brebas if they are produced in Spring '08. From what I read in past postings, brebas aren't really worth growing, they are inferior in taste, and, they slow down main-crop figs from fruit-set to ripening time. What's the real deal?

WEll Guy you got it.
Your thinking is corect.
To recognize breba is easy,it appear before leafes in spring.First you see green breba figs,on bare old branches,later you see green leaves,by first of june main crop figs will appear,at the base of almost every leaf,except,the first and second on every branch.From then on watever fig appear are all main crop.I am sure this will clear it up for you.Happy fig growing.

Herman2:
Thanks so much for the quick answer re: breba crop identification, ... and especially, for all the advice that you have posted on the fig-forum over the last years. I've read every posting starting with page No.1, including, current postings. I can't wait for your next addition to these pages. Your fig-growing experiences; your practical suggestions; and especially your generosity in sharing advise with all of us regarding the growing of fig trees is laudable. Again, thanks for all you've given us over the years. You have added to our gardening pleasure, and I for one, have learned much as a result of reading your postings. Peace, and figs to you, always...

FDV: Da-Bronx

HELP!!!!!!! I need some answers quick!

Overnight, and I really mean overnight, my figs have started to ripen. Yesterday,(Saturday), ... the two- dozen figs were hard and green. I was beginning to wonder if the figs would ripen before the onset of the cool September weather. This morning,(Sunday), ... I took a look at the figs and 5 of the figs have increased in diameter, and are turning a greenish-yellow, have become soft to the touch, and are starting to droop down at the neck/stem juncture.

Question: How do you tell when a fig is at the peak of ripeness? Does the skin start to split, ... do the eyes ooze honey? I cannot believe how much bigger the figs got in so short a time. I took a dial caliper and measured the ripe figs. They have gone from 1-1/2 " to a full 2" in diameter across the bottom, in less than twenty-four hours. The figs are now the size of a Seckel pear. What are the signs of a fully ripe fig, and, how long does it take for a fig to get fully ripe, ... is it a matter of hours, days ?

I'm growing "ATREANO" for the first time this year. It is described as a greenish-yellow, short-season fig. I bought the trees in 5 gallon containers, and the mainstem/trunk is about 5-1/2 feet tall, and about 1-1/4" thick at rootline. Can anyone guess the age of this tree? Do you think it may be 2 or 3 years old? Is this size tree considered a "mature" tree, or, is this tree only a very large, rooted cutting/branch?

Comments....please!

Just thank the Lord...

Effdee: I had the same experience with a tree full of Figs hard as rocks for months. Then, Bingo!, overnight I had ripe figs. I don't live far from you, on the CT/Westchester boarder. Our climate conditions are about the same except I'm on high ground open to cold NW winds in winter. It is always 5 to 10 degrees colder here than 2 miles away in town where there are buildings and sidewalks to hold heat.
Keep us posted on which figs work well for you. It is a help to all of us here in the NE.

Peg

Peg 919:

Thanks so much for the information. This is the very first season that I've attempted to grow figs. As you can read in some earlier postings, I bought three fig trees which were already loaded with green, unripe figs. I have in total, close to four-dozen figs between the trees. One of the trees that I bought, has now, ... and only just over the last three or four days, ... started to ripen figs, and I was amazed at just how dramatically some of the green figs have changed in size and color, in such a short time. Like I said ...the figs changed overnight!

The only figs that I have ever tasted over the years were either store-bought figs, both green, and black, or, figs that my generous neighbors shared with us. The store bought figs were always very sweet and tender, however, the backyard figs were a different story. I'm not a great fan of these lousy, hard, dry, and corky-textured figs ... which always taste like sappy latex.

Not so with the "ATREANO" figs! Today, I picked and tasted some tree-ripened figs. They were full of thick, sugary juice, and nutty seeds. Sort of jammy-textured too, with a very soft, golden, tender skin. There was not an ant, on or in the fruit, and when picked, the figs almost fell into my hand they were so heavy. If this "ATREANO" variety survives the NYC area winters, I think I will be very happy growing this particular fig tree. It's NOTHING like the "backyard" figs I've tasted! Just another bonus ... not one bird has pecked any of the ripe-though-greenish figs yet. I read that the greenish-colored figs don't attract birds because they "think" that the fruit is still hard, and not yet sweet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed with this explanation ... birds ain't stupid ... but, I digress. I have tasted BRN. T ... and, it was OK, ditto, "LATTARULA", ... but, the taste of an "ATREANO" fig is, I think, far superior ... much sweeter, and jammier in texture, and no understated notes of "latex glove" either.

I'm very happy with the way this variety has performed so far. It's a good grower, and a heavy croper too. Of course, the next few seasons will tell a more complete story, performance-wise that is, ... asuming the trees winter-over in my unheated shed without damage or excessive die-back. Spring of '08 will tell the story. I'll light a few candles, and pray for the best. St. Jude, are you listening?

I just remembered ... This might be a ridiculous question to ask, but here it goes:

Can the flavor characteristics of a given variety of fig change, and/or evolve, morph, etc, over a number of growing seasons? I'm asking about the flavor of the figs that the tree produces from one year to the next. You know, comparing the flavor of each years' crop. Does a specific tree produce figs that get better in taste as the tree gets older? I guess what I'm really asking/thinking is this ... do young trees produce figs with a "young" flavor, and does this flavor become more "developed, and "complex" as the tree ages? Do fig trees have to reach a certain age for the flavor of the figs it produces to become consistant from year to year? For example: fruit from years: 1 thru 4 ... "young" flavors ... years: 4 thru 10 ... much sweeter, and, generally richer... year: 10 plus ... great, fully-developed, rich, mature, complex flavor, etc; etc. Of course, culture, weather, temp's. etc, are major factors in creating a flavor, but I'm just asking in general. I suspect this query cannot be answered except in the most abstract terms, if, even that.

Anybody want to give this a whirl???

Effdee,
Until this year I only had one tree (unknown variety), potted. that I raised from a tiny cutting. It is now 4 yrs. old, The rest are 1 yr. and this year's cuttings. This tree has produced 2 crops of fruit since its first year starting with just a few to as many as 30. The fruit has always been tasty but this year's crop of 50 have been superb, sweet, jucy, tender, etc. So many factors enter into the picture that it is hard to say what produces the best fruit.

To begin with, I didn't know how to care for it properly. I
planted the cutting in the ground in mid summer. In the fall I potted it and brought it into my living room where it stayed until it was warm enough to put outside. I followed this procedure until this past fall when I let it chill in the garage. The warm Fall/Winter woke it up and I had to being it inside again. It was soon lush with leaves and produced 2 crops of fruit which promptly fell. This never happened before. When warm enough it went out on the deck and gave me the 50 delicious figs that I've just about completed harvesting.

What made this years crop so good? It didn't get its required rest period. It dropped 2 crops and produced a third. It has very few leaves. More fruit than leaves. It has been very hot this summer....did that do it? Age?

Sometimes I think we try too hard to produce good trees and fruit. Maybe we should let nature take its course and respond accordingly instead of trying so hard to make the trees produce good fruit. I'm sure that like every other plant there will always be some who's fruit we like and some we don't. I have one 1st year who's fruit is horrible. I'll wait and see what happens to it next year. It can't possibly be worse!

Good luck with yours and enjoy the figs.

Peg

Peg:
Thanks for some of your fig-growing history. I'll guess I'll just let nature take its course ... all I can provide are decent growing conditions, feeding, watering, etc. I hate to admit this, but, I've grown many plants that I've killed with kindness, and besides all of my best intentions, "Mother Nature" has always managed to trump my efforts.

Thanks, again.....FDV, from: DA-BRONX

Peg.

Yes and No. Often for the first 2-3 years they are teenagers, and may not taste or look like they will with some maturity, and are often a little smaller as well. That being said, they do respond to soil, climate, fertilizer, and esp. variations in temp and hmidity, so they will vary somewhat from season, to season, but not a lot.