Well, I left these guys on until it froze, by which time the vines were long gone, then I picked them. I ended up cutting them up into chunks (they were flavorful and bright orange, but not that sweet), and I just made them into smoothies. Blend them up with ice cream, milk, and honey or sugar. Cantaloupy and really nice.

Hi Claire, I don't know that leaving it on the branches would stunt the growth (assuming you have an established plant), but the old fruit from the previous autumn that didn't ripen should be pulled off. It won't ripen the following spring, and so no reason to keep it.

Hello fig friends, I have one Dalmatie (San Piero) trees, which was very promising this year (after 3 years) as it had a lot of breba figs in April. Then suddenly, temperatures started to go down (not below freezing though) and up for a while. Then all figs from different sizes all turned yellow and started to become all spongeous. This fig tree is infected by Mosaic Virus and has small growing irregularly sized leaves. This virus is said to be inoffensive as when the temperature rises, the effects (mottled leaves, small development) become almost invisible. This is true when you live in the hottest places (Italy or Mediterranean area, some of California/Florida,etc). However, for cold region, with low temperature in Spring and Autumn, the virus is more visible and probably affects most sensitive and infected trees. My father also has the same cultivar, in a better situation and has experienced the same problem. Unfortunately, the nursery selling fig trees are often located in hot areas where it is not possible to evaluate the effects of the virus. By the way, at my father's garden, there is a northern fig tree which produces a large amount of brebas. None EVER fell, regardless of temperatures variations, but the tree is not infested with this virus. I also have introduced a cultivar from Lecce (South of Italy), called Cascitello and it is bearing a magnificient breba fig. The plant is very small and is NOT infected by Mosaic (fruit not falling, enormous leaves and HEALTHY). I might be wrong but I honestly don't think so. Bye, Etneo

Yor fig Need Thinning,and trimming in the Spring only. This year is unusual bad for figs here in New Jersey. So you can't get a conclusion about your fig looking of this year. One Other thing you can do,if you want ripe main crop: Brake off the breba,crop as soon as they appear. No fig will produce 2 full crops in New Jersey. The hot season is not enough long. Happy Gardening Happy Gardening