Brown Turkey help-zone 7

16 years ago

Hi fellow Fig-lovers, I have a Brown Turkey Fig which i would love to put in the ground in a sheltered area near my house on the South East wall...would it get enough sun to grow well? And do I need to burlap it in winter in zone 7? What's the best kind of soil for a fruitful fig?

My Celeste in the pot completely died...boohoooo.

Thanks

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Comments (4)

fignut
16 years ago
janiebird, Unless that Celeste completely rotted out - don't discard it! Figs have a way of coming back. I had one that I swore was dead send up a shoot in July!
chinafig_gardener
16 years ago
Hello,janiebird .Figs do have their way of coming back,if the roots are not completely rotton.I am a fig grower from china,I planted ten thousand plants. I really like brown turkey,how about changing the cuttings each other?I have a special variety,green fruit,named 'qingpi'(because of its green peel).my web is www.chinafig.org,you can find this variety to this link
http://www.chinafig.org/view.asp?id=375.
my email,confucius999@msn.com
Keep in touch,please.Welcome to China and my orchard.

Here is a link that might be useful: chinafigweb
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avidchamp
16 years ago
I have a Brown Turkey(?) in the yard that is away from the house. It always comes back each spring from the roots and I am sure it is because it is not protected from the wind and colder weather. It is also in a slightly low place and I think it would have faired better on a slightly raised knoll and definitely closer to a South facing wall. The soil is heavy clay. It would prefer some more sand and humus to break the heavy clay.

I always include the (?) at the end of the name. I bought it from a nursery as a Brown Turkey, but I have learned that you don't always get what you think you bought. It produces a very large deep purple fig and I only get figs late in September from it. I do not burlap cover it for winter, but just cover it with bales of hay.

I live in central Oklahoma and just this week, I have noticed a small shoot coming from the roots. I also have a Celeste that is closer to a South facing wall and on the raised bed. I covered it with Burlap and quilts for the winter and took them off about 2 weeks ago. It is also starting to budd from the roots. The shoots from last year are about arm size diameter but no growth showing on them as yet. I pruned all but about 4 off the plant last fall.

I have a Chicago Hardy in a 30 gallon pot that spent the winter indoors but not wrapped. The lowest temp that it saw was probably in the mid 30's. I did not water it and the soil in the pot got really dry and has shrunk back away from the edges. I moved it outside about a week ago and have gradually been re-hydrating it. No growth shown on it yet. I will be patient and give it lots of time to recover before declaring it a loss. It is a pretty young plant and we got about 8 figs from it last September.

I think the best location for a fig plant in Zone 7 would be within about 8 feet from a South facing masonry wall, with mixture of sandy loam and clay soil on a slightly raised knoll. It would even help to have something to block the South wind from it also especially if you are in a really windy part of Zone 7 as we are here in Oklahoma.

I have learned that the South wind can be as brutal as the North cold winds are and that definitely describes Oklahoma.

Bob
janiebird
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you all for your comments and advice. Fignut, I dare to hope now. Chinafig Gardener, I am very impressed with the enormous quantity of figs you planted and you site looks very good! Check back in one year with me about Brown turkey cuttings. I am willing to trade cuttings after mine gets established. Bob, thank you for addressing all my questions so thoroughly. I live in Maryland and it gets very windy in the valley where I live so I especially appreciate the warnings about the winds. Thanks to all for the encouragement about my Celeste which I now refuse to discard until I see it floating belly up! By the end of summer I believe I will be enjoying homegrown fresh figs! Yum! I can hardly wait to smoosh a fig on a good piece of bread ...or one other favourite way I love to serve them; I grill them stuffed with a bit of Blue cheese then wrapped in thin proscuito ham...drizzle of aged Balsamic vinegar.