Hi Vern,

I (and several others) have bought fig trees from him. Al is a nice guy. I saw he is not selling at farmer markets this year. My Melanzana came from him.

~james

Hello James,
I also purchased a Melanzana from Al. It grew very fast the 1st year. It is in its 2nd year now in a 15 gallon pot and growth has almost come to a stand still, about 3" of new growth. Some of my other 2 year figs have put on 2' or 3' of growth this year.
I was wondering how much growth your Melanzana has put on this year?
Thanks ED

Ed,

Mine has mirrored yours. It is in its third year and in a five gallon container. When I got it, the trunk had branched in two about 12 inches above the soil line. Year one it had tremendous growth in height, but not much additional branching. Year two, it branched out a bit more at the top. Year three seemed to be even slower, but I am not home to really keep tabs on it. The trunk diameter is between 3/4 and 1 inch.

Have you gotten ripe fruit on yours? From the beginning mine has put out a lot of fruit, but it drops before ripe. They turn an odd shade of purple while small, shrivel up and fall off. If I squeeze one, its very spongy feeling. Before I left Houston a couple of weeks ago, it seemed as though it was doing the same thing. Last year I sent Al an email asking him about it. He indicated he didn't have the same problem.

If I remember correctly, I think Herman [NJ] has a Melanzana from Al (also had an issue with fruit drop last year) and Leon [NM] has one from another source. Perhaps they can chime in on this issue.

~james

That is one nasty looking fig. Maybe it has fusarium or somthing. That is the disease that turns figs into mummies. (fusarium monilithiform). I would quaranteen that tree in short order. FF

Figfarmer,

I was unsuccessful in finding a picture of Fig Endosepsis on the web. I sent my pictures and a history of my tree to UCD to see if they can shed some light on the what the problem is.

The UCD literature indicates fusarium is transfered by the fig wasp. However, there is other literature indicating it maybe transmitted by wind as well. I have several other trees in extremely close proximity to this tree and none of the other showed signs of this problem last year or this.

I'll update when I get a response from UCD.

~james

Hi James,
My Melanzana looks and is behaving exactly like yours. Mine 2 years old is in a 15 gallon container and the fruit dropped just like yours. I was thinking that it might be root bound since it grew so quickly the 1st year.

Since you have the photo maybe you can start a new posting for Melanzana. It seems their is a problem with the one's coming from Al or we don't know how to grow it properly.

Could this be a Nemitode problem?
Ed

I bought one (Melanzana from AL) last fall. I see no
problems with it. Was wintered in the GH. Yes, it seems
that it is a slow grower; notice how the figs are close
together (short nodes). Mine is a 3 shoot, tallest being
~13". Put about 3" of new growth and 5 figlets, one of
which is almost ready to harvest (will be my first fig
this year).

I also got (from a local source) an UnKown that produces
very similar shaped, close clustered (dark, I was told)
figs. Will have to ID this one! Was told that it came
from some master-gardener, will enquire some more...

George (NJ).

My Melanzana came from Al as well. In fact, I had two Melanzana fig trees, each growing to about 5 ft in height and then no more. I recall seeing photos of Al's beautiful Melanzana figs on his website several years ago (only one photo on his website these days) and was very impressed by this fig and it's name.
I finally arrived at a tough decision to rid myself of these trees because they drop their figs really, really bad! I have had no brebas and when the abundant main crop falls every season, I ask myself why do I keep fig trees that, most likely, need caprification?
A friend of mine has a Melanzana tree in Jersey and it does the same thing. He called Al to ask him why this happens. Al told him that the tree has a tendency to drop it's fruit but as it ages, it stops doing this. So, for those of you who have this fig and wish to give it a few more years to see what happens, I respect your patience. For me, I've got better figs to tend to.

I have to chime in.
My Melanzana(FromLeon) behave exactly like James,and i discarded it last fall after all the figs droped out one by one looking like James Pix.I also have other young fig in trial and need to give them all the attention i can to see what they are worth.

Here are some photos of my Melanzana when it produced only a few edible fruits. It is a small, compact tree that produces an abundant amount of figs that fall. The ones which were left to ripen (4 or 5 out of 50 or more)tasted sweet but lacked flavor.

The Melanzana fig sure sounds like a major disappointment. I drove 2 hours each way to get mine and Al sincerely bragged how it was one of his best figs. He stated that he had about 60 verities in the past and eliminated all but the best figs to concentrate his efforts on selling the best figs.

I have been thinking about this fig all day. Could we be improperly growing it in a pot? Could this fig require and extensive root system? Would it do great planted in the ground? Did Al grow his in the ground or a huge pot?

I saw a beautiful Melanzana growing at Belliclair before they closed. I wish they were around to talk to about this fig.

I am glad I also picked up a Galban from Al that one did not drop or crack one fig and is growing nicely and had deliciously sweet delicate taste.

I will wait to see if the figs ripen before discarding the Melanzana, if they are real good then maybe I will check the roots for nematodes, and if clean then plant it in the ground or try a 30 gallon pot. Would a major pruning late fall work to get a lot of spring growth?

The leaves look scrawny compared to last year. My gut feeling is we are doing something wrong with this fig or it is diseased.
Ed

Maybe one of the reasons Al likes this fig so much is that roots easily... VERY easily. Of all my winter cuttings this year, Melanzana not only rooted first, but it had very a very substantial amount of roots coming from the pot before most of the rest of the cuttings began showing roots.

I have to say I was intrigued by this tree before I got it. The first year it had the most beautiful leaves. Subsequent years, the tree has lost luster in my eyes, but it is the three I have spent the most $ (at least initially) on. So it will endure for at least another year.

~james

James, your observation of the rooting seems to confirm what I am thinking and that the roots have over grown the pot and are totally root bound and choking off growth. I think thatÂs the problem. I had a decorative shell lying on the top of my pot. I turned the shell over and found roots popping out of the ground and growing inside the shell.
Ed

Melanzana may be similar to Bourjassotte Grise which is incompletely parthenocarpic. Robert Hogg praised BG as a fig for forcing in England, but Condit reported that it was very bad to drop figs in California without caprification.

I always thought this was due to climate, because BG was good in England without caprification, and had read that King in some climates ripens two crops without caprification. Al's suggestion that it may bear more reliably after the tree ages is interesting. I've kept one BG, and now have one M. -- I think I'll keep both just out of curiosity to see if they improve.

It looks like if I visit Al I need to stay way from his Melanzana fig trees. Thanks for the information.

Vern

Vern,

From his chart, you are limited to BT, Celeste, and Verte. The remainder of his varieties are unavailable. If it is a bit of a drive, you may want to call ahead of time to make sure he has what you are looking for.

~james

James, I saw on his website that Al was out of most things. I do not have a Verte fig tree. I thought if I run out of thing to do in NJ this summer, it might be an outing. I was thinking more of next spring when Al might have more varieties of figs. I talked to dad last night and asked him where Hunterdon county is located. He said it was not far, but the traffic is bad. I told him if I can drive in Houston I can drive anywhere.

Vern

Vern,
It is very easy to get lost in that 'nowhere' country
Hunterdon NJ! Specialy what happened to me last fall.
I crossed a river/brook bridge very close to IF. On my
way back home, I saw police cars flashing lights as a
STOP. It turned out that some TALL truck had just damaged
the bridge and made it unsafe! Had to find an inpromtu
alternate route. Eventuallllly, I obviously managed to
made it home...

George is Hunterdon county in North Jersey? I am from Camden County and I do not remember a Hunterdon county near by.

Vern

Hunterdon county is as north as Essex county is (my county -
think Newark Int. Airport), but West on the NJ/PA border.
For me to get there, it was using major route I.78 (West).

George, thanks for the informtion. I looked on a NJ map after I asked you where Hunterdon County was located. I found that it is three counties north of Camden County. Hunterdon is in west central part of NJ. With the kind of traffic in that part of the country it could take an hour or two to get there from Camden County.

Vern

From the IF web site, AL requeasts that 'visitors' call
for driving instructions, AND may I add, check for what
is avaialiabe, beforehand. From my experiece, IF is a
winding down (small) business (maybe looking for ritierment?),
SO GO GET WHAT YOU WANT TILL IT LASTS...
George (NJ).

Thanks for the info George.

Vern

hello
i recently acquired some cuttings for this variety and i can confirm that it root very very easy!
was wondering if any had any updated inf. regarding need for caprification for this variety?

sue

I have a unknown from 10k south of bolonia that just past its third season and just gave me 1 ripe, all the rest fell off in similar way, they turned a dark reddish purple, started to shrivel and when just touched they fell 1 by 1. Late in season one swelled overnight and i said to myself this 1 is going to make it actually swelled unlike all the others i gave a couple more days and observed it as it turned purple and then i cut to see inside and ate it was sweet tasting but still to early to tell only 1 , so i think maybe some tree's might take longer , also the root system needs cutting bad with new soil , will see in its fourth season and post, here is a few pictures of the figs, the one ripe i anxiously ate last season before i could take a picture.
Martin
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I have a melanzana fig about 3 year old and have no problem with it last yea had 25 -30 very large figs

Nice Fig!
Where did you get your variety?I have another Melanzana that I think originated from Bill's Figs. The figs are Medium small but are excellent.

fighomegrower:
Your Melanzana is different than the one discussed ,by this topic.
That is why it does not drop.
Lucky you,your tree is similar to Longue Dout