That is very disappointing because I have never gotten any crop in early summer. Maybe one or two fig’s but never a crop. How can I encourage the early crop?

Also, I want to grow another fig. Chicago Hardy is the one with the earliest crop that I can find. Would you recommend it or would something else be better?

Oh I just noticed you are not in zone 7. Sorry. Maybe someone in East TN could recommend an earlier fruiting fig that does well reliably here.

So many factors could be the cause of not getting a decent crop. Is it in a pot or the ground? How much sun does it get while growing? How is it overwintered? How is it fertilized? On and on ...??? Hopefully, some of the more knowledgeable growers will come through with advice, but it would help to have more info.

Sure, I’m in experience gardener with a large vegetable garden and lots of flowers. The fig is in the ground, in full sun, with nothing done to overwinter it. I put compost under the bush. I don’t fertilize it because it puts out hundreds of figs in the fall. And in mild winters when we don’t have protracted cold spell, there still is no early crop . The bush does die back when we have cold winters, but I cannot tell any difference in the Production. Maybe it’s just a fluke of nature.

I've only been growing them for a few years so I'm no expert, but it doesn't seem like anything is wrong. Your zone is fine for this type, but what is your summer humidity like? I've heard it can cause the crop failure. Ten years is a long time to not have had a decent crop. I would try a different type. There are many other hardy varieties to choose from. My friends older trees produce more figs than his family, friends and neighbors care to eat.

In any zone below 7 you need a breba crop fig to get any kind of a uniform fruit production. Even in my very mild winter climate zone, we need to focus on breba crops as our summers are just not hot enough or long enough to allow ripening of the main crop of fruit..

If when planted in the ground and experiencing winter dieback there is no breba crop, then perhaps a better early bearing/breba variety maybe advised. Or grow the tree in a container and bring it into winter protection.

Do you prune your fig tree? If you prune it too much you will lose your breba crop as the brebas grown on last year's growth. This could be why you are getting the later main crop only which is ripening too late. I'd try a Mt Etna type like Chicago Hardy, better chance of getting more figs.

Bibbus,

You need to grow early ripening, winter hardy fig trees. That's number one.

Secondly, you can try pinching new shoots when at the 5-6 leaf stage to force the tree to set figs earlier, consequently ripening earlier. This is done routinely by many pot cultured fig growers like me in colder zones to get figs ripening up to a month earlier. I believe this pinching will work for you, too. All new growth made all season long should be pinched at the 5-6 leaf stage, starting with the first emerged shoots in spring. It not only makes figs ripen earlier, but keeps down wild, long growth, and puts the tree 's energy into making figs, not a lot of leaves. This gets the fig tree's mind, "off of shoots, and onto fruits!"

The Mount Etna group of figs are among the earliest ripening figs. Chicago Hardy is a Mt. Etna type fig tree. There are dozens more Mt. Etna figs.

Ronde de Bordeaux is possibly the earliest ripening fig, and is legendary for its flavor. I believe it is also hardy.

Look into: Little Miss Figgy, Violette de Bordeaux, Petite Nigra (Negra), and Beer's Black. They ripen the earliest for me. I hope one of them proves to be winter hardy for you. I cannot verify that they will be. All of the above are delicious.

My earliest ripening fig this past season was Little Ruby. July 28th. was the date of the first ripe fig. It's a small tree with abundant ping pong size figs that taste exactly like a Fig Newton. I would be surprised if it ever got to 5' in ground. Little Ruby is a true miniature/dwarf fig tree. Its figs are small but abundant. Its winter hardiness cannot be verified by me, though.

I wish a solution comes your way! Your patience needs a reward!

Moses

Thank you so much! Mother nature pruned my fig plant to the ground, but I did prune and pinch back the new stems last spring. Thank you for that list of early ripening figs. I will try a couple of them. The good news is that today I picked seven mostly ripe figs. Maybe a freeze will hold off for a few weeks.

I had a Chicago Hardy that I kept in a pot; once I started keeping it on the blacktop in front of the south facing garage it started producing and ripening. Maybe you could try rigging up a reflective background (like a 3 sided posterboard covered in foil) to trap more heat around your in ground plant. And wrap your branches for the winter to prevent die back.

Best thing for in ground in cooler area's is a micro climate to warm the roots soil sooner , if one has option to plant next to garage brick wall facing south will warm the soil faster in spring and therefore set main crop somewhat earlier than if planted elsewhere in ground. Setting main crop little earlier will make a difference later in season before it starts getting colder which increases ripening time.

Sounds like your fig is setting main crop late as once the size of a small young pea they should take another 70-80 days or so to ripen.

So if your getting main crop set say June 30th by end of Sept they will be ripe.

One get an idea of how long and can watch calendar date if so choose as each season can be a little different when they come on then have an estimated time when they will ripen. Then grower should remove any others knowing they may not ripen in time so as not to waste plants energy trying to ripen figs that have no chance.

Do have 1 in ground a Hardy Chicago here in Zone 5 but rest are in large containers.

Hope this helps somewhat.

Martin

Very interesting info. My lot is small with huge old trees on the south and I’m very limited in full sun locations that are large enough to plant a fig. The fig is on the north side of the house and there is a raised bed next to it that would shades the roots in the morning. But again, in years before I installed the raised bed, I have never gotten an early crop. There was one year that I got lots of figs but I believe it was only because it didn’t get cold until late November. So it’s likely just the variety don’t you think? Does your Hardy Chicago die back to the ground every year?

Sometimes rejuvenation of the plant works, if your plant hasn't died back. In order to have two crops, The plants would have to take off in late Feb/early March. I have a crop of figs about to ripen in the next couple weeks. They got some water yesterday, now fattening up.

I can imagine anything zone 8 and under you would have die back..depending on the winter.

Absolutely no die back in my PNW zone 8......and I've seen very ittle evidence of this happening in surrounding zone 7's. Figs are honest to goodness trees here and you see them in many gardens locally.

The only issue is that our summers are too cool to encourage ripening of the main crop/late season fruit and we have to depend on the breba crop for reliable fruit production.

bibbus 7b

Very interesting info. My lot is small with huge old trees on the south and I’m very limited in full sun locations that are large enough to plant a fig. The fig is on the north side of the house and there is a raised bed next to it that would shades the roots in the morning. But again, in years before I installed the raised bed, I have never gotten an early crop. There was one year that I got lots of figs but I believe it was only because it didn’t get cold until late November. So it’s likely just the variety don’t you think? Does your Hardy Chicago die back to the ground every year?

Response -

Ours dies back near the ground yes and grows back each season but captures enough of the sun .

Growing on North side of house will give it the least amount of sun which will make it wake up more slowly in spring and the problem. Your fig embryo's are setting to late to ripen unless season is extended.

Several options would be dig up as much of plant as you can and move it doing so just before ground freezes and plant is mostly dormant then protect it for winter or set an air layer on it early next season and make another plant to go elsewhere.

If you have garage you can even buy a Hardy Chicago and grow in container , because being so widely available it is in my opinion an underrated fig yet on personal palate a very good tasting fig one of my favorites still after years of tasting many different cultivars but we all have different palates.

Growing in a container does give option of being easily moved around.

Ours sit on cement patio facing south with some containers sitting on landscape rocks also facing south.

Martin

Bibbus, yes, my Chicago Hardy would die back every winter if I didn't protect it by putting it into the garage, wrapped in insulating wrap. I have a neighbor who has a large one in ground which he also wraps up very thoroughly and it does not die back -- it is on the south side of his house in full sun. However, he has never gotten any figs from it even though it is over 6 feet tall. I don't believe that he has ever tried pinching the growing tips, though, he just lets it keep getting bigger.

Mine did seem to need that full and hot (from the blacktop and garage door) sun to start producing.

How do you protect them? Any pictures? My Brown Turkey is so spread out that I don’t know how I could protect it.

Here’s a picture I took yesterday. There are about 5 upright stems and maybe twice as many flopping over. I had planned to keep it pruned to 7 vertical stems but was unable to do so this year. my worker had a serious reaction to the sap. Can I cut off the branches I don’t want and just protect the vertical few? Or would that damage the bush? I’m convinced I can’t kill it, LOL!

first off, you will get more figs it you limit stems to mo more than 3..

to protect mine, i prune to remove this year's fruiting branches.

then i force the tree into a collumn n tie it.

this is getting hard on my biggest tree. it's 7' high by 7' wide.

i chop it down to 5', so next year it won't get taller than 8'.

i have to you a truck tie down ratchet thing because i'm not that stromg.

once it, in a column, i wrap with fiberglass insulation n then a tarp over that to keep the insulation dry.

you can wrap it with mover's blankets or old carpets.

my way, i get no dieback at 5 degrees n 10% die back at -1.

you can prune off 1/3 of a fig without reducing the crop.

by the way, inground growing takes time. i have mostly mount etnas n in their forth year inground, they ripen a full month earlier.

bibbus, as long as the wounds heal before the cold you should be ok.

Do these figs look like they need water? Also from the time figs show up to the time they ripen how long is that usually?

Matt, they look fine. Depending on your current temps, you may want to slowly restrict watering to encourage the tree to go dormant. Besides, too much water will ruin the fruit.

For me, it was 80+ yesterday so I'm watering as normal, but almost all my figs are gone.

Thanks for your response Jason. I have cut back on water as the temps are in the upper 60's now during the day. Yesterday was 70 but ahh 80 that's the life! I'll keep an eye on them over the next couple weeks.

Following...

Live in zone 7a (Southeastern TN). Have a spot for a small to medium tree on the south side and am wondering, which fig tree would be best - Mount Etna or Brown Turkey? Thanks for any advice (and sorry to hijack bibbus).

I didn't even know I might be able to grow figs!

You can definitely grow figs, with minimal winter protection, shouldn't be too hard for you. I'd go with a Mount Etna.

i'd go with an etna, but you still need to protect it,

pink fiberglass covered with a tarp is best.

When you cover yours this year, susieqz, will you take pictures and post them? It’s supposed to hit 25 this weekend here in 7b. I’m nervous about getting fiberglass on my arms LOL. Scratchy!

yeah, fiberglass is a pain, i'm expirementing with movers blankets i got from amazon. they worked last year but it only went down to 10.

my trees will be hurt this year, next wedensday night is supposed to drop th 12.

i won;t get all my trees covered in time

i don't know about potted trees but my unwrapped trees won't be hurt at 17 degrees. below that is a problem,

When I lived in z7a, I had a huge brown turkey fig, and it never got a spring crop, but always got a voluminous fall crop. One year, we had a mild winter and it got a summer crop, which wasn't very tasty, and no fall crop. The next year, it reverted back. I later found that breba crops are often not as tasty as the fall crops.

Thanks to all who commented on my question!

Breba crops are usually thought to not be as good as the main crop. The few breba my VdB produced were good, but the main crop were better. The value in breba crops are for those who have a short growing season where the main crop will (almost) never ripen in time before first frost. This year I plan on pruning most of my VdB pretty heavily, so I'll lose most of my breba crop.

Do the figs ever go dormant in areas where the temps are still in the 80s in the day, like Jason's zone and my island? Or can I keep watering my fig tree as normally and it will grow throughout the "winter"? I have a potted one that was labeled Nero when it was purchased.

I am surprised that Celeste has not been mentioned in this thread as it is often cited as a common "southern" fig (sometimes called "Alma" too I think).

I had gotten my sis a Celeste and planted it in her yard (this is suburban Philadelphia - 7A) right on the SW corner of her house back in 2004 and wrapped it the first 4 winters (couldn't get out there to do it for the winter of 2008 but then it apparently didn't need it). What eventually took it out was a back-to-back harsh winter (2013/2014 & 2014/2015), where it was killed to the ground and the new shoots didn't emerge until late summer/early fall, and then those eventually got killed to the ground that next winter. Those years were when many folks completely lost figs around here or had them severely killed to the ground.

Although most sources claim it only does a main crop, this one actually did brebas, that literally popped out about a month or so after being unwrapped (~April/May) which was perfect for ripening late July/August/September. The main crop started forming in July and some were able to ripen by October but usually slowed to a crawl due to the lower sun angles and cooler temps.

Here is a series showing that Celeste and its brebas in April 2010 -

By July that year, you had this, with some main crop figs that had started up -

This is what it looked like its last summer in 2013 before being killed that winter of 2013/2014 (pic taken that September - had been in ground for 9 years) -

I would describe the fruit as a banana/strawberry/kiwi taste/texture. They weren't big honkin' figs but they were a good size and importantly, had a closed eye. I had grown a potted one myself on my balcony about 15 years ago (2003) and was surprised at how precocious a fruiter it was, and that was also a reason why I got my sis the Celeste. Here's a pic of mine from back in 2003 to show fruit size -

I don't remember exactly what happened with it except that I may have accidentally left it out too long before bringing in and it didn't recover.

We really missed my sister's tree though so she bought another Celeste last year and I wrapped it for her then and again this year (it's 2nd year now in the ground), so hoping to get it through to the "3rd year leap" stage.

Jenny, how incredibly thorough, and I'm so glad you saved and found all those pics! I didn't have any idea of the size of figs (not as big as I thought), or that they needed wrapping (until reading other posts) and I appreciate all the good info! Oh, and thank you for describing the fruit itself... Thanks so much, I'd pretty much changed my mind, but your post has me convinced to plant a fig next spring.

" Do the figs ever go dormant in areas where the temps are still in the 80s in the day, like Jason's zone and my island? Or can I keep watering my fig tree as normally and it will grow throughout the "winter"? I have a potted one that was labeled Nero when it was purchased. "

Supposedly they do. 'Winter' has finally moved in and it was in the low 40's overnight (yay, some chilling hours!), but up to mid-60s in the afternoon. I can't really tell if mine go dormant, if they do it is for a very short period. I'm getting a lot of overnight fogs which have caused an explosion of rust, so the trees defoliate due to the rust. So at some point soon all my fig leaves will be off the tree. Is it because they went dormant or due to the rust? Not sure. But I do see some green buds still trying to poke through.

To 2ManyDiversions and bibbus - as a FYI for wrapping.... everyone has their own method and combo. Some even tightly tie their tree branches together, will dig up the roots on one side, and then will bend the whole thing down into a trench they dug, and bury it (covering with leaves/soil or some will actually cover the trench with a plank of wood and then cover that with mulching material). Then in spring, they will unearth it and reposition it upright!

This is what I did with my sister's new young "replacement" Celeste fig a couple weeks ago (I sprayed it with some Wilt Stop anti-desiccant) -

Branches squeezed together, tied (with green stretchy tape) and I stuck some pieces of foam pipe insulation over the tips -

Then wrapped it in some frost cloth -

Then I got some thin pink insulation and wrapped it around the frost cloth, top to the bottom and covered that with a shrub frost bag to keep it all together -

Then I wrapped a doubled-over hot water heater insulation "jacket" around the mass, bungeed that, and topped it off with a large plastic plant saucer (some folks often use an overturned bucket on top -

Finally, I put a big thick heavy tarp over it, bungeed that, and secured it to a 5ft stake so it won't fall over if we end up with heavy snow or ice -

The purpose of all that being to try to preserve as much top growth as possible in order to increase the chance for a breba crop. A few days after wrapping, we ended up with a freak low of 15F (way to soon in the season for teens). All the materials shown above had been used last year and when I unwrapped it this spring, I stored it all away for re-use.

I had done similar for the first 4 years of the earlier fig's life in that location and it allowed the tree to gain some size so that if there was any tip or branch die-back from cold, it could still sprout from some part lower down on branches that were from previous-years' growth (and thus upping the odds for earlier fruiting).

Wow. I merely tied mine up then wrapped it in an old quilt and some bubble wrap, then plopped a trash can over it all. Piled straw around the bottom. I hope that is sufficient -- seems to be about half of the insulation Jenny used.

Insulation rolls are on sale this week -- maybe I will go get some and re-do the wrapping.

That hot water heater insulation is clever! I've read online since understanding the figs need protection that people use all sorts of things for insulation - as you said, Jenny, even bubble wrap. I appreciate the photos of how you've wrapped, always helpful to newbies like myself. Wish I hadn't given away all my bungee cords last summer... I can get more.

raee - When I did my sister's previous fig the final year that I got chance to wrap it (2007), I actually ended up using an old full-sized comforter to form a tube (needed a step ladder because by then, it was about 6ft tall) and covered that with a heavy tarp... and that time, I remembered to use a stake and bungee it to that in order to hold it up because the previous winter, the wrapped "tube" ended up being bent over with snow and from the prevailing winds that winter. The one thing to note with figs though is that because their trunk/branches contain latex, they are very bendy and can take quite a bit of movement before a branch might break.

I was going through some older photos and found one for my sister's original fig the spring after its first year in the ground, not long after unwrapping -

(sprouts from the bottom of trunk - top part had died back - 5/29/05)

(a couple weeks after the above - can see the original size/shape when first planted and the expanded shoots coming from the trunk bottom vs from the roots - the original was about 3ft tall)

2ManyDiversions - I wish I had thought about using that hot water heater jacket 14 years ago as it is nice and stiff when rolled around a tied-up fig and makes it easier to form a tube without trying to do it with a wire cage (another method people use). The cage method is when people will create the tube around the tied fig and then fill it with leaves and then put something around the outside (tar paper or carpet and/or a tarp, etc). The thing with the leaf fill however, is that over the winter, they will eventually settle and then compact down, often leaving an exposed gap at the top of the tree/bush, so that method seemed to be a bit of a no-go for me in that spot - mainly because of the wind exposure where the tree was situated, with not that much blocking of the westerly and northwesterly winter winds (based on how the neighboring houses were staggered). Often the thing that kills a tree to the ground outside of severe cold, is branch desiccation from dry cold winds (which is why I also used anti-desiccants). Folks just have to try a method and see how it works and then tweak it (although realizing that winters can vary from year to year).

And regarding the bungees - I must have bought containers and containers of them. lol I use them all over, including in my car's cargo area, but mostly for some of my container shrubs and perennials as well as container tropicals so they don't tip or blow over. Home Depot has all kinds pretty cheap, including containers of assorted sizes of them (different lengths and thicknesses)! Love my bungees!! :-D

jenny_in_se_pa, just wanted to thank you for mentioning the Celeste. Planted my first baby Celeste fig this year. As you said, regarding a breba crop, I've seen information mentioning they didn't, and that which said they did produce them. Guess I'll see next year (my baby is small and arrived very trimmed). I'm so glad bibbus started this thread, and thanks to all who chimed in - not sure if this tiny tree will do much this year, but sure looking forward to the years to come! Many thanks!

I uncovered and unwrapped my partially in ground (rooted through the bottom of the pot) Chicago Hardy a few days ago only to find a slimy moldy mess. I guess the bubble wrap held too much moisture -- the quilt was damp and there was condensation on the bubble wrap.

Hopefully the roots survived and will put up new growth, as it has in past years when I just piled leaves around the pot. This was the first time I had tried to save the top growth. My other fig in a pot had been successfully stored in the garage for several years, but bit the dust last spring when we had an unexpected freeze after it was out.

i unwrapped my trees last .

.weekend.

all are fine n showing some leaf formation.

on the trees i left unwrapped to test wilt proof, looks like everything over 3/4'' thick is fine.

this doesn't say much tho. it never got below 10 degrees

warm for 7a

2ManyDiversions, this thread has been very helpful. I found a Celeste fig at Walmart for $22 and it might be big enough to fruit this year. I hope to plant it soon. We had a mild winter in East Tennessee so I’m hoping my brown turkey will fruit earlier and maybe I will get some fruit! This thread has been very good. I’m thankful for everyone who has contributed. Happy fig growing this year!

um, most people remove fruit from a first year plant,

the idea is to push all energy into making roots.

raee, gosh, that's gotta hurt - sorry you had such bad luck. Hopefully your roots did survive.

bibbus, I'd read the celeste figs were a bit sweeter : ) Glad you found one! (yes, we did have a crazy-mild winter!)

suzieqz, thanks for the heads up - I didn't know this. Never planted a fig before. I did pull all the buds off my 3 new blueberry bushes to encourage better root growth (at 300+ already I almost cried thinking of pie, jam, sauces, etc.!). Not sure my fig will even show anything resembling fruit - it's only a foot tall. Healthy looking leaves though : )

I had the same issue with BTF. Maybe not enough water...I dunno it got plenty of sun.

I left one of the figs on from last season- Here it is early Feb

Ahh spring, here it is now. I noticed some buds in late March. Here's hoping this year is better.

Woo-hoo, the Chicago Hardy did survive and it is showing some growth down at the soil level. Phew!

Plus they had Celeste figs at the grocery for $12.99 so I picked up one of those.

Happy to hear that raee! Looks like there are quite a few of us that will have a fig crop this year, and some of us, next year.