http://www.rareseeds.com/store...

I pre-ordered these - there will be three little fig plants - shipping sometime between April 1 and June from Missouri. Am looking forward to getting them. Seeds I've ordered from this company have done very well too.

I hope they do well for you Carol. They should, you're a zone warmer than me. I've had 2 Turkey fig bushes producing for the last 30 years. I do love fig preserves on a hot buttered biscuit. A little advice. Don't overfertilize them. I put a little fertilizer around mine when I set them out 35 years ago and haven't fertilized them since. Remember you're trying to produce figs not grow fig bushes. Mine have roots 40 feet from their base so when it's dry they can still find enough water and nutrients to do their thing. The other thing is sunshine. They love it. Partial shade from a building or another tree will reduce your fig crop enormously. Too much shade on a mature fig bush will kill it. Keep this in mind when planting trees around your fig bushes. Try to think about what that little sapling is going to look like 20 years down the road.

I sent a few tomato seeds to a fellow member over on Tomatoville and this showed up on my doorstep Friday. 4 Celeste cuttings, 5 Dark Portuguese cuttings, 4 Hardy Chicago cuttings, and 3 Italian Honey fig cuttings. He even shipped them in the zip bags needed to start the rooting process. Mighty nice of him wasn't it. If all goes well and I'm still alive I may have figs coming out my ears 5 years from now. Someone will enjoy them at any rate.

I'm following the rooting procedures recommended here: http://figs4fun.com/basics.htm...

The only thing I did different was to soak the cuttings in a Horsetail tea solution of 2 1/4 cups of Horsetail tea to 1 gallon of water for 5 minutes and used the same solution to wet the paper towels used to wrap the cuttings. This prevents mold and mildew in the plastic bag as well as stimulating root formation and leaf growth.

Here they are just out of the bubble envelope and then wrapped and ready to go on top of my refrigerator (75 - 80 degrees and only indirect sunlight) until they start whispering in my ear they are ready to move on to the next step. Claud

@saltmarsh thank you so much for the info. I guess I hadn't been thinking about how big these figs might get either ! I figured I'd grow them in the greenhouse. Guess I'd better ask Baker Creek how big they will get. I have a nice sunny place to plant them when the time comes. Thanks for the info on not overfertilizing too -- I would have thought they'd love it. I'm saving your info so I know how to handle them.

Carol this is from the link I posted above (scroll down to section 8 Growth habits and Pruning).

Figs can be grown in pots quite successfully. In fact, many figs in the east are grown in pots, so that they can be stored in sheds and garages for the winter, so that they are not damaged by freezing weather. These pots live in the Mediteranean climate of Spain, courtesy of another "figgie". http://figs4fun.com/More_Info_...

You can grow any of the varieties of figs in your greenhouse, you just prune the bush to your desired height and form. If grown in a container, the fig is repotted in a larger container until the largest desired container size is reached, after that the fig is root pruned and repotted in the same container as needed. You can read more at the link in my first post. Claud

@saltmarsh that's wonderful news! I was hoping I could prune them and keep them on the patio in the summer and then put them in the patio GH in the winter and hopefully they might continue to produce. Thanks very much for the link.

Aha! Some do grow figs. I helped my son prune a fig tree today, and his SO was telling me what great fruit they used to get, but not any more. After looking on the 'net I found one problem could be age of the tree, but was also wondering if fruit needs to be thinned. Didn't see any references about thinning fruit. Does any one do that?

I have two turkey fig trees that I purchased locally as small saplings in gallon containers about 9 years ago. Don't know what it means to "Thin fruit" but this is how I harvest. My trees get two crops, one in July another in September and that last crop seems to keep going until frost. Even the first crop in July does not mature at once so it's like picking blueberries, you just go look every day for fruit that is ready.

My trees are growing in the ground and every winter we prune them back to 6-7 feet, or they'd be mammoth by now. They always bounce back as if they don't notice the 2-3 feet we chop off. This keeps the fruit within easy reach. And the straight branch cuttings make great supports to prop other garden plants. As for fertilizing I just drop a few handfuls of worm castings around the base, in my mind this is just insurance to keep away disease, not sure if it's necessary but I like to be nice to these trees, they now produce over a hundred figs per year. Still have some fig freezer jam, and also fresh fig halves with a chunk of sharp cheese (cheddar, blue or feta) is amazing summer lunch/breakfast/snack in my world. Some people drizzle with honey but I like it plain. Husband and children aren't fond of that but I've served it as appetizer to guests and not everyone hates it. Acquired taste. Mmm I'm hungry.

Carol fig trees don't need to be thinned and chances are it's not age if your son planted it because most fig trees live for well over 50 years some over 100. There could be a few things going on. first off I notice you are in zone 10b in cali so the fig wasp is present in your area meaning many folks in your area grow the Smyrna fig wich is a type of fig that requires pollination in order to produce fruit. Without proper pollination, the fruits of Smyrna fig trees will drop from the trees before they are fully developed. Some commercial growers place baskets of caprifigs, along with the fig wasps that the small caprifigs are hosting, near their Smyrna fig trees to ensure that pollination will take place but they will travel to find and pollinate figs. If someone was growing a caprifig near you and it was removed you could be lacking pollination. Another thing could be you have a San Pedro type that also depend on pollination from other trees, but not to the degree that Smyrna figs do. San Pedro figs produce two crops of fruit each season. The first crop (known as the breba crop) grows on old branches, and it develops properly without cross-pollination. Later in the season, the trees produce a second crop of fruit on new growth, but this crop will usually drop from the tree before it matures if pollination hasn't occurred. If your son prunes yearly he could be removing his wood needed to produce the breba figs. Another issue could be too much nitrogen fertilizer producing more growth and foliage than figs. Hope this helps.

My son didn't plant it...his landlord did, and it's a pretty old tree. I will pass on this info though.

Ecscuba said:http://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/figs/

I pre-ordered these - there will be three little fig plants - shipping sometime between April 1 and June from Missouri. Am looking forward to getting them. Seeds I've ordered from this company have done very well too.

Hi! What type of fig trees did you buy and how are they doing?
I've bought from rareseeds too and their seeds have done very well even if I use the seeds a couple of years later.

Anita

I have about 5 fig trees, all done very well, how do you kill these trees, never, it's a pest. I got mine from Raintree Nursery in Oregon and also Peaceful Valley farm from California. I just ordered one more fit tree this year, to be delivered soon. The snow in Oregon delays the shipment.

Whoe! You must not live in town. These trees are real estate hogs!

SoCalGardenNut said:I have about 5 fig trees, all done very well, how do you kill these trees, never, it's a pest. I got mine from Raintree Nursery in Oregon and also Peaceful Valley farm from California. I just ordered one more fit tree this year, to be delivered soon. The snow in Oregon delays the shipment.

The only fig tree I saw die of "natural" causes was killed by a lightning strike. So you may want to put some rebar in there and pray for a big enough thunderstorm.

ctcarol said:Whoe! You must not live in town. These trees are real estate hogs!

I espalier them, they are around my wall border competes with the neighbor's hedge. Plus I have 2 in pots. All my agressive trees or plants are in pots. I've learned that hard lesson from my raspberries.

But nothing beats plucking one nice juicy fruit and plop it in my mouth. Delicious. This is why I have more than one.

I've never tasted a fig. Just Fig Newtons. I keep meaning to buy just one fig to try.
I either forget or I only see packages rather than single ones.