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thepigstye

fig tree questions. Please help

11 years ago

I lost the tag to this fig tree I planted 4 years ago. I would like to know if anyone can tell me the name of this species. I would also like to know what the specks are on the leaves and finally, why are the figs hard all year. The usually appear in June and will stay on til winter. They never get soft like a friends figs do. The fig pictured has been on teh tree for atleast 2 months or more and is still hard

Thanks

Comments (21)

  • 11 years ago

    The spots on the leaves are rust.

    Your tree looks like Ischia Green, which is late ripening.

    Where did you get it?

  • 11 years ago

    I got it about 30 miles from me in Canton Texas. But I was looking at some pics and remembered what it was called. It's a Kadota. On one forum, it says that the fruits won't ripen if they aren't getting enough water in a dry climate, but I give them 6" of water almost every day ( I dug a ditch about 2 feet from the trunk all the way aaround. I filled it with dry cow manure, too.)

  • 11 years ago

    Do you use "weed n' feed" on your lawn? I don't see any weeds so maybe that is the real problem? The broadleaf herbicides in weed n' feeds will burn tree roots and keep them contained to a small area.

    A tree that age should have roots much further away from the trunk, so if it needs water that often something is probably wrong.

  • 11 years ago

    nope, no chemicals on lawn. the reason it;s so green is I water that tree a lot. I'm not really sure it even needs that much water, but it doesn't seem to hurt it. I'll probably go back to watering once a week til next spring

  • 11 years ago

    Next year, put down 2-3 inches of compost in a 3-4 ft circle around the trunk and a thick layer of mulch when it starts getting hot. Your tree will grow much better and watering once a week should be more than enough.

  • 11 years ago

    That's about what I have now, except no layer of mulch on top of the compost. Is hay ok for the mulch?

  • 11 years ago

    Sure, Just something to keep the water from evaporating.

  • 11 years ago

    Thanks. I'll give that a try

  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    I don't think anyone can really tell what variety if fig it, but you have signs of rust, which is usually brought on by too much water. The leaves will start to look worse and worse and then fall off. Those are the beginning stages of the tree going into dormancy.

  • 11 years ago

    Well ,the tag was saying Kadota but it is Ischia green ,just like the other poster ,above said.

    It is a late ripening tree that will only ripe,if planted in full Sun all day.

    But there is a good thing about not being Kadota:

    It is way better tasting when ripe compared to Kadota so that is a plus.

    Remember:Full sun all day,will make your tree productive and out of this world in flavor and taste.!

    If you have some other tree ,creating shade during day,that is the problem.

    Happy gardening

  • 11 years ago

    Thanks for all the comments

    Here are some more pics. Both of my trees are in full Texas sun all day long.

    I started by planting 5 fig trees about 4 -5 years ago. All at the same time. 2 diied that year. 2 years later 2 more dried up, so I broke them off at the ground level. Then a friend told me to dig a trench around them about a foot or 2 from the trunk and dung it up and water it well . So I did. Watered it daily for months. Almost immediately the one stump that was left, sprang up with 8 new branches !!!! This is the small one (one years growth from the stump) This is a Brown Turkey or Texas Everbearing, the tag fell off it it years ago. I will re-tag them when I figure out which of the 2 it is. not much rust on any of it, so if I start watering them just once a week, every Wednesday that should be enough water?.

  • 11 years ago

    Well ,if it is in full sun,in Texas,then it must be a different reason,it does not ripe fruits .

    Causes could be:Too much fertilizer,too much watering,no pinching,after fruits formation,etc.

    At this point in Summer stop the watering to the point that only when leaves droop down ,give it a little water just a little,not a lot,and no fertilizers of any kind,also no herbicide close to tree.

    This cultivar ripe fruits late but it does if you do the above and yes,one more:

    Pinch tips of all growing points ,now,ASAP,just remove tips.

  • 11 years ago

    pinch, like with my fingers, or in like, prune the tips off with shears. I guess you are talking about the very ends of each branch? I have never done that before.

    They have had dried cow dung around them for over a year now. Os that bad for them? Last year, the bigger of the 2 trees only had 3 figs on it the whole year and it was like October or November when they finanly got ripe. I ate all 3 !!!!

  • 11 years ago

    Yes very end of branch,remove that ,growing tip at the end.

    Too much fertilizer mean no fruits usually,but if you used manure once that is ok, but if soil is fertile and grass grows well ,you do not need any more.

    Mulch apply leaf mulch in the Fall,up to 8 inches and that is all for next year,no manure,no nitrogen Fertilizer.

    Apply Limestone (granular dolomitic best)),around the tree,any time if possible now,because you might have acidic soil.

    Looking at the other big trees in the distance i can tell your soil is fertile but can be acidic and need to be neutralized to PH 7.


  • 11 years ago

    Ok. I will wait til the fall when the leaves fall of the trees and put them down and then some hay to hold the leaves down/ Should I snip the ends now or wait til all the leaves fall off?

  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    If you want ripe fruits this season Pinch and apply limestone now.Apply a full 22 pound bag of limestone around tree and work it into the soil, but not too deep so you do not cut the root.

    When you placed manure around tree you made soil acidic,and so limestone will take care to neutralize the acidity.

    The garden limestone do not burn so,apply liberally.


  • 11 years ago

    where do I find this 22 lb bag of limestone> Is it powder?

  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    Home depot, Lowes,any agricultural business.

    They have powder, pellets,and granular, - choose granular

    If only powder is present apply half bag only because is fast acting.

  • 11 years ago

    Ok. I'll look for granular Thanks for the recommendations

  • 11 years ago

    I discovered by accident what herman2 adviced in his earlier post. My fruits were green with some darkening stripes but still very hard. Forgot to water my potted fig tree for a week, the leaves drooped and the green hard fruits got soft (but a "bad" soft, as if its being dried up inside, not the ripening swolen soft). Then I watered regularly again, and immediately within the next couple days the leaves recovered, the fruits got harden back, and I noticed the fruits started to turn more and more purple and start swelling and softening in a "ripen" way. Got all of them to ripe in about 2 weeks after that incident. If it wasn't for that week that I forgot to water, I would guess the hard green fruits weren't gonna ripe until at least another month or so.

  • 11 years ago

    I'll be going to HomeDepot soon. I'll make a post after I apply it and wait a week or so

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