Hi james,
I have many Iranian friends in my area that keep asking for figs or "Anjeer". I'm recommending the Hardy Chicago for preformance in this area. I'm sure they'll love to try Iranian varieties. Are you growing any figs from Iran?

Bass

James, going back to your main subject. None of my sisters and my brother are into gardening. I planted Hardy chicago for them, they haven't wrapped it for past 3 winters and been doing well for them.
It's my job to take care of their trees as well. such as prunning, grafting, and spraying of all their fruit trees.

Bass

Hi Bass,

I don't have any Iranian anjeer, yet. I was talking to one of my dad's cousins in California who had a friend who brought some cuttings when they came from Iran, but the gophers killed off the tree. From what I understand, all of my grandfather's orchards have died off. When the Ayatollah took over the country, many of my grandfather's properties were confiscated. After he died, my grandmother fled the country and their house. That was the last of his orchards. I am told, after 15 years of neglect, none of his trees survived. I think I am told this so I will stop trying to get cuttings. As boys we use to climb into the fig and pomegranate trees. Its hard for me to think that they would have died, even with neglect. I've seen the few figs listed on the Pars Produce link you sent me. I've been considering getting the White Fig of Kan (as well as a persimmon and a pomegranate) from them.

When I was in Austin, I also planted two Celeste cuttings I rooted last year. I'll probably take more of my trees there as I am quickly running out of room in my backyard. I might have to adopt that orchard ;)

~james

James:You can't make somene love what you love.My son doesn't give a crap about my fig ,my loan my yard,my fruits my grapes and everything in between.
All what he is interested,is to get a free ride as for example,free rent,food and eventually free Gas money,wich eventually my wife is very ease to Supply.
I learned to enjoy growing them for myself for as long as i can.The moment i could do this i started being very happy.
Please do the same if you do not want to became frustrated.Children here grow different and have other likes.Best Happiness to you.

James, Herman calls it like it is - let the figs be YOUR hobby, grow them, propagate them, eat them, learn all you can about them, and enjoy them. When my father was alive he had a collection of the most beautiful cabbage-type roses one would ever find, but I had no interest in them, and they have now disappeared. However, they supplied him with years of pleasure, right up until the day he died.
Now, why can't I get my kids interested in my collection of over 50 ukuleles and over 700 pieces of sheet music with ukulele chords?.....Elder

Well call me lucky. I have 2 sons and 2 daughters, all grown with families. A son has 2 fig trees and just me for cuttings this coming spring to root for more of a different kind. A daughter took two of my rooted cuttings from my last years crop to plant at her new home in the country, and has asked to help me with next spring pruning to get cuttings. While here for christmas dinner, my youngest son asked for the last 2 rooted cuttings from last spring, so that makes it 3 out of 4 of my children that are starting to have a good interest in figs. Now that makes an old fig lover real happy in his old age years.

I am happy for you.I also pointed to my son and my doughter in law,how important it is for all my experience growing Fruits and grape ,and selecting cultivars is,and the need to be passed on and continued by them.
But so far they qnly say "yes".and never participate in it or ask me anything about it.
So i do not see how they can get it unless,my brain is transplanted to them after my death.Best wishes.

Hi herman2 Dont give up on the young ones yet, mine range from late 40s to early 60s and are just beginning to think about figs other than to eat a few. Just keep figs where you can talk about them sometimes before the young ones and they may realize how much they mean to you and maybe they will try a tree and then youve got them hooked, dont give up, Ive been at it past 20 years, and am just catching mine.

James,

Your search and everyone else's may lie in a different generation. My gardening knowledge is from my father and my mother. My passion for gardening is from my grandparents. My mother-in-law didn't try to get her kids to eat figs she ate them and her youngest, my wife also eats figs. All of the grandkids spent the summer with her from time to time. All of them were introduced to figs fresh and preserved. All of them (19) will eventually get married and want a fig tree. Four of them already have asked me to propagate the fig tree for them. Only one of my wife's brothers and sisters has asked for a fig tree. Also, it is good to remember that grandchildren and children have a common enemy. The parent in the middle. Elder, keep working on the grandkids. The love of music will fall somewhere near the tree and you will find a place for your collection. Yadda out

Thanks guys,

Thinking back on life, I didn't really care much for growing when I was a kid. I just enjoyed eating the fruits of my grandfather's labor. For the time being, taking care of my trees is a bit of an escape for me. I'll just keep feeding the young-uns and later if they decide to grow, they know where to find a tree or two.

Elder, when my brother moved to Israel a couple of years ago, he took up ukulele. When I was in Istanbul last year, I bought one to take to him. That is his fourth (I think) one. I hope you play better than he does. LOL

~james

Hi, James,

I live in Austin, Texas and have about 50 varieties of figs planted in the ground. I am surprised that your fig has been damaged so heavily by the relatively mild freezes that have occurred this winter in Austin. The temperature in most of Austin has not dropped below the upper 20's. It may be that your tree is young or that it is a variety that is cold-sensitive. None of my in-ground varieties or 2nd or 3rd year potted figs that are outside have suffered any apparent freeze damage to the wood or buds. (Obviously, the freeze caused the leaves to drop.) Most varieties of edible figs should do fine without winter protection in Zone 8 Austin after the first couple of winters. Of course, every few years in Austin, there is a more severe cold snap. The average minimum annual temperature in Austin is 20 degrees F. The record is 1 degree above 0 F, set back in 1949! I am aware of a Celeste tree in Austin that has survived without winter protection since the very early 1900's.

Hi Joe.

I have not a positive ID on the variety. My brother bought it at Home Depot and thought it was labeled Black Jack. I did not get to see it's sole fruit this year. The way my nephew described the fruit, it seems consistent with BJ.

While I was there, I pruned off the death and bundled the trunks so that it can easily be covered the next time it gets cold. I also piled the mulch about 8 inches up the base to stool layer the trunks. Once they root, I'll remove all but four (around the perimeter) of the trunks and plant them elsewhere.

My brother's property is in Weir (NE of Austin between Granger and Georgetown). Last year, this tree froze to the ground. Weather.com has indicated the coldest it has been is 23F. When I questioned my brother about the weather, he had mentioned they had a lot of wind along with the cold temperatures. Do you have any kind of a wind break around your trees?

~james

Hi, James,

On the average, it gets 3 or 4 degrees colder in the Georgetown area than in north Austin where I live. (Georgetown is about 20 mi. away.) Exposure to wind does make a difference in how well figs survive the winter. I think that excessive wind in combination with cold temperatures tends to dry out the exposed fig branches. The majority of my fig varieties are planted in an open field and have no significant shelter from the wind. My big fig tree (an Adriatic or an Adriatic variant that produces about 50 lb. annually - we put up 3 gallons of preserves from the tree this year)is not adjacent to any walls. However, it is located about 25 feet from the canopy of a very large red oak tree and our home and the brushy borders of our fence line stand between the tree and the worst of the north wind. It is hard to say for sure from the picture if your fig is the "Black Jack" that is widely known in fig circles (a somewhat dwarfed variant of California Brown Turkey). In my experience, in the past, Home Depot, like many of the "large box" retailers, has not been a reliable source of accurately named fig cultivars. However, to be fair, in the last couple of years, some of their figs (Kadota and Brown Turkey)were accurately labeled. From the limited information (the picture of the freeze-killed fig and our knowledge that the temperatures in Georgetown have not been below 23 degrees-to my knowledge, 26 F this year, I think that the variety in your picture might be Black Jack. The characteristics of my in-ground Black Jack, bought 3 years or so ago at Lowe's are very similar to yours. It is among the most cold-sensitive of any of my figs and has been killed to the ground each year. In mho, it is probably not a good choice for an in-ground fig in our Zone 8 climate (very hot in the summer with occasional winter temperatures slightly under 20 degrees F.) Black Jack does rebound strongly from the roots each spring (I had about 8 or 9 figs off my little bush this year), but starting from square one each year is not productive. The Black Jack figs, like California Brown Turkey, are good for eating fresh, but not good for drying. When you are in the Austin area, drop by if you would like to get some cuttings of some of my varieties.

Joe

Hi Joe,

Thanks for the offer. I visit my brother quite often, so I will try to pay you a visit soon. While I was at their property a few weeks ago, I planted two Celeste trees I had rooted this year. I plan on planting a few more of my trees on their property as well.

As to the mislabeling of trees at the nursery, you are preaching to the choir on that one. Eight of my trees were mislabeled at the nursery.

~james

I think kids should start gardening on their own free will, like I did, at age four when we moved from our old house that had a huge pineapple guava , I made sure my parents bought a new pineapple guava for the new house. After that my mom volenteered at a local community garden and i helped along with her. Now being 13 years old I garden a lot more. I volenteer frequently at our community, where they have a "fig forest" which is just multiple figs growing together and forming a little cave of figs. I also grow tropical fruit in my yard and in my greenhouse. Now in my town we have many kids that garden, but not as much as I wished. Just let people do what they like, and they will find our fun, exciting, and of course rewarding hobby.

I declare that the Conadria fig is the best fig to get your
offspring interested in them figs. In particular DFIC05 from
UCD. Maybe not the BEST tasting fig on earth, but it is
quite just average, but quite PROLIFIC, consistent,
non-splitting and shows quick good results for your impatient young ones...

George (NJ).
P.S. I have been winterizing mine with the rest in my
garage, without any [+/-]'s). Also, rooting it was normal.

Here is a link that might be useful: Conadria (not ) Late