sizes of fig varieties

15 years ago

I am looking for the most compact varieties of figs to grow against the back of my house. I live in central NC. I see lots of good information around here and on google about the different varieties but no info seems to describe how tall and wide the fig trees get. What are some of the compact varieties? Is there a size comparison chart on the web someone is aware of?

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Moses, Pitt PA, cold W & hot-humid S, z6

8 years ago

There is one really dwarf fig tree that I would be surprised to see grow, in ground, taller than the 5-6' range, even in an Eden like garden. That's never reduced in height, left to get as tall as it wants to, just judiciously pruned to improve quality and size of the fruit. It is LITTLE RUBY.

I grow it in a 5 gal. black plastic nursery pot (really about 4.5 gal.). This is its third year and has produced 60+ figs this year. They are very small, no bigger than a ping pong ball, but with a mouth watering rich fig taste. The figs are extremely early ripening, started on July 28 this year, and that 's in gloomy, eternally overcast sky Pittsburgh, PA.

I got this fig tree as a tissue cultured 4" tall , coat hanger thick, multi trunked (4), little slip of a thing, late summer 2016. It took off growing, gave 12 figs last year, 2017, that promptly fell off just before ripening. Not this year, indeed!

Give LITTLE RUBY a look at.

Moses

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Comments (15)

User
15 years ago
Healthy figs grow to 30 feet high,while deasesed fig trees(fig Mosaic Virus) remain small.
Size of tree is something you decide by pruning and thinning.
They have very soft wood without thorns,so are very easy to shorten to the size we want.
thisisme
15 years ago
Petite Negra is about as small as they come naturally. From what I hear Petite Negra, Negronne and Violette de Bordeaux are the same or virtually the same tree.

Violette de Bordeaux
A small, super, jet black fig from Spainl,
considered by many to be the very best tasting fig.
It's very hardy, good for cold climates.Two crops.
It's highly productive in pots. Dwarf and prolific.
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dieseler
15 years ago
I have Violet de Bordeaux from Edlible Landscaping nursery and i have read reports from different websites that Violet De Bordeaux is Dwarf and Prolific and no its not Dwarf in fact its a good grower as i can attest to with pictures.

Martin
thisisme
15 years ago
So true Martin. One can never trust tree descriptions.lol Still I don't think it likely that it will grow as big as a Black Mission. But I hear you and agree that dwarf when it comes to figs is a relative thing.

And the thing can get relatively big.
girlbug2
15 years ago
Green Ischia, Petite Negri (different from Petite Negra), and Black Jack are smaller varieties.
modern_miss
12 years ago
I've got the same question. How tall would a Violette de Bordeaux tree get if it were left unpruned?
thanks,
MM
patriota
12 years ago
I have overpruned my trees this year

This post was edited by patriota on Thu, Dec 19, 13 at 21:09
patriota
12 years ago
pvsuccess19@aol.com
patriota
12 years ago
pvsuccess19@aol.com
lindamarie
12 years ago
I have a Italian Honey that is not over 6'. About 10 yrs old
Deborah lippitt
8 years ago
Who knows about root growth? I have Brown Turkey and it is heading toward 15'..But is only about 5.5' from the foundation of our house. I hard prune it in the fall and I know Mission Fig growers REALLY hard prune commercial trees..but still roots? Was considering Violette de Bordeaux but then read that they can grow to 30'?? Spoiled as I grew up on Mission and so want some flavor with some punch..Br. Turkey is good but not a Mission.
Jack wo
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
There are some small fig trees, Like Miss figgy, 4- 6FT tall, little ruby, Those are really small fig tree. and Florea, I think that it is smaller fig tree
Deborah lippitt
8 years ago
Thanks guys!!
Jason (Zone 10b, San Diego)
8 years ago
VdB can get big, but as it has a bushy growth habit (which you can train it away from by pruning), it may work for you. A lot of people prune their trees significantly to control growth and some to encourage main crop growth over breba. About half my VdB breba crop was really good, the others meh. So far the main crop has been awesome. I plan on keeping mine pruned down as it backs against a fence and the neighbor's house isn't too far on the other side.