JOEYSQUARED :

YOU DID NOT MENTION THE CLIMACTIC ZONE IN WHICH YOU INTEND TO GROW THESE FIG TREES, BUT I BOUGHT SOME "ATREANO" FIG TREES LAST SPRING/SUMMER AND THEY PRODUCED SOME TENNIS-BALL SIZED, GOLDEN-YELLOW FIGS THAT WERE AS SWEET AS SUGAR. THE INDUVIDUAL FIGS WERE A FULL 2-1/2 INCHES IN DIAMETER, AND SOME WERE SLIGHTLY LARGER. DO A SEARCH FOR "ATREANO" FIGS ON THIS FORUM, AND YOU'LL SEE SOME POSTINGS WITH PICTURES RE: THIS VARIETY OF FIGS.

YOU CAN PURCHASE THIS VARIETY FROM: "BURNT RIDGE" NURSERY AND, "ONE GREEN WORLD" NURSERY. GOOGLE THESE NAMES FOR THE ADDRESSES.

GOOD LUCK, AND, HAPPY GROWING!

FRANK, FROM: DA-BRONX

hey frank , buffalo , ny here , thanks for the help.

if any 1 has cuttings of any other giant sized figs let me know

Kevin:
I just ordered a fig from Figtrees.net that is supposed to make fist-sized fruit. Costs almost as much to ship it to me in OK as the fig costs, but you are much closer and they ship good trees.
Look them up.
Ox

i talked to them already, but i think only the brebra crop does. but thanks. joe told me $15 for one, $30 for two, $ 15 to ship 1 or 2 .

joeysquared :

Growing, or, letting breba figs develop in short-summer areas such as ours, is supposed to delay the formation, and ripening of main-crop figs, so much, that main-crop figs may not get a chance to ripen before cold weather puts the kibosh on the growing season. This I learned from more experienced fig-growers who posted their advice on this forum.

After my fig trees start up again for this growing season, if any brebas start to form, they'll be nipped-off quickly. Good-tasting, fully ripened, main-crop figs are what I'm after.

I'll also be nipping new growth back to 6 leaves, and limiting the amount of fruit-set that I'll allow to develop. By the way, I only use organic fertilizers/fungicides/pesticides on my trees.

Good-luck! ....Frank

say oxankle, have you grown many figs in ok? what types? do you cover them in the winter?

i'm 50 miles south of ok, any tips you can give would help me

thanks,

hey frank thanks for the info. i ordered an atreano today from 1 green world. how do you cip back to six leaves , what do you mean. and by the way , i have a black fig and italian man gave me , i think sal's fig. it sets a good tasting brebra in first week of aug. and a huge main crop 1st week of sept. through oct. do you think brebra removal works best for large size figs or is needed for all types ?thanks again ,
kevin

joeysquared : ..... you'll want to go on this forum and search for recent postings re: breba-figs, and nipping-back new growth, etc. This topic is covered quite extensively by a gentleman who posts under the name "herman2" from NJ. and also, many other experienced growers. Most agree that brebas aren't worth the bother, and all your growing efforts should be concentrated toward the main-crop figs. I understand that this crop, i.e. main-crop, will produce the best-tasting figs in our short growing season. I think your best chance for growing extra-large figs is to first, nip-out all brebas, and, follow this by maintaining excellent growing conditions throughout the Summer season. I think I even remember a previous poster stating that after the summer equinox, all new baby figlets should also be nipped-out to allow maximum plant energy to go towards ripening the already formed, main-crop figs.

The nipping, and pruning advise posted by others, is easy to follow. Read these postings that cover nipping back new growth to control size, crop-thinning, etc.

You did not mention how large the " ATREANO " fig tree will be, that you ordered. It may take a few years for the tree to reach maturity, so don't be too disappointed with the performance, and/or fig size. I've read that it take a young fig tree about 4-5 years to reach its full potential. The trees that I purchased last Summer were already 5-6 ft. tall. The figs were very, very large, and quite sweet and jammy. I made sure that I did not OVERWATER as the figs started to ripen. None of my figs split, or soured. I ate about 4-5 dozen figs, and reluctantly, I had to share some with my parents and sister. Read some of the "ATREANO" postings. I'm very satisfied with the performance of this variety.

Keep us posted. Good-luck ..... Frank, from: DA-BRONX

Some other possible LARGE figs:
QP(Brunswick variant, breba?), Magnolia (Brunswick),
Black Jack (Monrovia), Italian Everbearing, Guilbeau,
Madeleine des Deux Saisons, Patrick's Super Giant (?)...

frank and gorgi thanks for the info, i'm taking it all in and gonna try evrything i learn with lotsa practice. just gotta figure out how to tell the differance between the brebra and main crop figs, ( which 1's to pluck lol )

joeyquared,
BREBA: fruit on LAST year's fig wood.
MAIN CROP: fruit on CURRENT (this year, aka 'green' wood).
P.S. Not sure what your zone is (?!), but 'Brunwicks'
tend to spoil in moist regions (e.g., NJ).

Hey Gorgi,
Does your email work I tried emailing you a few times ok thanks.

joeysquared : .... Make sure the varieties that you select are suitable for ripening figs in short-growing season areas. Buffalo gets a hell of a lot colder than the more temperate climate of the Bronx, NYC, so, long season figs may never ripen for you, unless you can stick the trees under glass until fruit ripens. Are you going to grow the trees in the ground or in large containers like I do? It matters.

This forum has postings for most of all your questions regarding fig growing methods. When I first discovered this forum, I read every previous posting, up to, and including current posts. Read everything. Not all figs are the same, and some do better in the colder areas. Pick wisely for the ultimate reward. By the way, "ATREANO" is a short-season type fig, and with good culture, you should ripen figs at the end of August into early September. Forget the brebas.

Remember, "Mother Nature" trumps mans' best efforts, so it's always a crap-shoot!

Good luck and happy holidays! Frank

hey frank i grow in cotainers. concrete 3x3x3 with 1000 lb. wheel castors. i put em in the garage for the winter. thanks for the help. the atreano i got is about 3 ft. tall, i might get a small crop this year if i am lucky. lsat year i bought a chicago hardy and a mission , both were very tiny like 2 inches tall but well rooted and i got both to fruit for me , i ate about 3-4 on each .

P.S.
From my 1st year experience with
Madeleine des Deux Saisons,
it also tends to spoil very bad here in NJ
(worse than Brunswick(s) - ?moisture? )...

Heck, we all wish big/large juicy figs, but thinking hard...
Herman did demonstrate, that SMALLER, non splitting/rotting
fig variants are BEST (prolific) for here in the North East!

lol, the thing is my fatherinlaw. if had a giant fig he would crap his pants lol., he came from siciliy when he was 18, 42 yrs ago. all the old italians only know- white - black- small-or beefera (big).anything else to them is junk.
so i would like to show him up a little. last year an old timer gave me a fuuly grow plant black small fruit 9 just smaller than golfballs ) and i picked aver 100 yum yums. all my fatherinlaws died the year b4. i knew he was jealous
when he said to me " they're ok , but they're not he big figs" . so i told my wife her papa can't have any more of my figs, to bad for him.also another old guy gave me a bush they stays in the ground and the freeze doesn't hurt it the year before, that also gave me over 100 figs black but a bit smaller. so it will be another summer for with no figs and me with a belly full lol.i will still share with him , he is a great man.

kevin

joeysquared : ... the "ATREANO" that you just bought, with proper culture, should produce very large figs, no souring/splitting, and do well in our short summers. Past postings indicate that young trees need some time to settle into better fruit production, so be patient.

The containers in which you grow your trees sound big enough to do the job very well. Check-out the root-pruning, and re-potting postings on this site. You can't grow your trees forever in the same soils because eventually, all soil mixes break-down and need to be changed along with root-pruning to revitalize the tree(s).

Read all the postings re: proper growing methods, etc. on this site.

Happy growing, and HAPPY EASTER! ... Frank

frank i know all the tricks with the roots in the pots but thanx. and all your info has been great. i am an over experianced heirloom gardner. if you want to see some pics email me and ill show you.i am in the city and now how to get a big yeild out of a small area very small.one of my favorite is the long cocuzz. i have straw berrys, 5 diff. blue berry. grow an avg. of 20 diff. tomato. yellow wax bean, purple wax bean. raspberry, blackberry, peppers, zuccini yellow and green, broccoli,Figs yum yum.my yard is very small. but very compact. oh ya swiss chard , cukes. and lots more.

joeysquared : .... you probably forgot more about growing plants than I'll ever know ! You mention that you have small growing areas, and that you cultivate all your plants for maximum yields. I too, face this same problem. I grow my fig trees on a (15 ft. X 9 ft.) back deck, that's has full sun all year.

When it's time to start growing the fig trees, I pull the trees out of my unheated storage shed, schlep the containerized fig trees up a 50 ft. driveway, then up three steps, to a small front porch, lift the container in through my front door, and then wheel the trees through my living room, into my kitchen, then out the through the sliding-doors, onto the back deck. That's where they stay all Summer until fall dormancy. It's a real pain-in-the butt to move the trees, and many people suggested that I should definately go have my head examined! Do I need a hernia because of some fig-trees ???? Anyway that's what I do.

I planted all three of my trees into one large container to maximize fruiting potential into a small space. All three stems are within a few inches of one another, and I tied all three stems together with soft fiber rope, making one thicker, composite trunk supporting a nice rack of fruiting branches on top. So, instead of three large containers with each having its' own tree, I now have only one large container to worry about. More bang for the buck, and, in one third the space !

But, I digress ..... I'm sure you know what you're doing, and how to grow plants.

Happy growing season to you. Frank

frank couldn't help but laugh. WOW, we will never give up will we. good luck buddy.

kevin

you guys are something, now I know i'm not the only fig nut,,,btw,, frank I grew up in the bronx,off burke ave, moms still there and so is the fig tree grandpa planted in the sixties,,I try to get over there and help mom wrap that tree in the winters when I can, at one time that puppy was over two stories tall, it later died off a few years ago,,my uncle told me ,,all the trees in the neighborhood died off, but I think it just was'nt tended to,, any way it rooted again and made it's come back,,,The mighty fig. Hey bronx figs are tough.

good growin fellows

gman

gman61:

I originally started life, in what was called back then, "ITALIAN HARLEM".... on 1 st. Ave. & 113th street. Back in the early 1950's it was all 1st. and 2nd. generation Italians. Then I moved up to "DA-Bronx" in the mid- 50's, and lived in GUN-HILL PROJECTS for a short few years, and very often walked up to BURKE AVE. for some hot dogs and potato knishes, sold in the Jewish Deli's that were all over ALLERTON and BURKE AVES. My Aunt lived right next to Nicosia's bakery, and we would ask the baker's for some hot cookies as they unloaded the ovens. To this day the smell of oven-baked bread sends me right back to those care-free days. Then I moved to the Pelham-Bay Park area, where I still live over 50 years later.

I used to think that growing fig trees was somethin only old Italian guys did, probably, to get away from there wives. Now, I joined the club! Who would've thunk it?

Sister married an Airman named Gerace who was stationed down our way. His father was a NYC cop and when brother in law was discharged he and sister went back and lived in an apartment above his folks on Bronxwood Ave. When I visited them I got my first taste of pizza, a visit to the Automat, my first glimps of the "el", Times Square, etc. The only things that really stick in my mind are the El, the Flatiron building and the fact that I saw a policeman going up to the loft with his horse on an elevator in one of the buildings across from where my brother in law was working at the time. It was in the dead of winter and Johnny said he was simply getting out of the weather for a bit. Sister tells me that had we known I could have seen a dozen fig trees put away for the winter right in her neighborhood. This too was over 50 years ago.
Ox

I love fig,and plant more than 1000 fig trees in china.

Here is a link that might be useful: chinafigweb