Ah, another Danny's Delite fan! First, let me ask - are your few figs yellow or brown? And, have you had any breba fruit?
All the literature says DD is a brown fig, everyone who has reported fruit has reported yellow fruit, including me. I had several breba this Spring, they were fair. But the main crop this late summer are like arrrggghhh, what went wrong(?).
And boy are you right about it being a grower - mine got broken off at the base last Fall by a heavy wind, so all nine feet of it are this year's growth, and there are four of these.
Like you stated, I plan to give it one more year, then if things don't improve it's off to fig heaven (or hell).....Elder (Lou)

One of my three grew 11 feet tall in its first year (2004), from a foot tall plant. It (and the other 2) put some figs on late, that didn't mature for lack of time. I pruned them to 6 feet and protected them outdoors (inground) through the Winter, and last year (their second year), one had two yellow breba figs, that ripened and were so-so. Again the figs the trees produced did not mature by cold weather. I pruned them all back to 6 feet before Winter, and they Wintered over fairly well because we had a mild Winter (and I have them protected from the North wind by a fence and wall). This year (their 3rd), a whole lot of rampant growth, and a couple of figs between the 3 trees, that obviously will not mature by cold weather. Tallest Danny is probably 12 feet, and very wide-spreading, with nary a fig. This Winter, I'll leave them completely alone--even the 12 foot one--and see what happens in the coming season (2007). They've been pruned twice and did nothing, so I'll just let them be. Maybe they're late bloomers. I'm giving mine one last chance, too (not because they deserve it, but because I'm too lazy to dig the three up this year). I'll let you know what happens next year. I do know one thing--before a fig seller sells a tree, it should be a known producer. Of course with the rush to make a buck these days, you won't see much of that--most sellers know little if anything about their trees, they're just distributors. I've sold a few fig trees in my life, but only ones that were cloned from prolific trees. Selling junk just gives you a bad name.

Last year, moderate growth. This year cut back to 16" and now is about 6' tall. Have had several fruit (no breba), though not a heavy crop. Fruit are excellent.

Actually I was less than truthful about my DD breba crop, they were quite good, not simply fair. But the main crop has been dismal. I plan to keep the darned thing because it starts my bearing season early. Perhaps I will learn how to help it produce a better main crop in the future. Any advice, Jon?....Elder.

Jon: How old is your tree, and how many fruit have you gotten from it?
Elder: I grow fig trees because I like figs, primarily. They require no input of chemicals (thank the Lord), and they're generally trouble free. I prune them to my space limitations, and, so I don't have to use an extension ladder to pick fruit. I've grown a few precocious trees that in their first year, from a cutting, provided a few figs. I've grown others that provided a fair crop in their second year; and I've grown plenty that gave a very nice crop in their third year. DD has done none of the above, but I intend to give it one more chance. Although I have an Italian friend from the old country, nearby, who says he has figs that didn't bear 'til their 7th year, I tell him, Goodonya--but I can't wait that long. Why should I go figless for 7 years, when I have trees that will produce in 2 years? It would have to be the most wonderful fig in the world. Although Jon got a few figs in zone 10, that doesn't do much for me, here, in my zone 7 area, at the completion of DDs third year, pretty much figless. (My two brebas were fair.) Is it like waiting for a Century Plant to bloom? I hope not; I'm getting a little long in the tooth. There's a lot to be said for a fig tree that's a prolific producer.

I think it is the third year. I got it in whatever year Michelle bought the 100 plants, and we all picked up a few from her. Anyway, I had about 15 fruit this year. Not a lot, but I have several trees (other varieties) that are just as old, in the same general location, and they have had no fruit yet, so I am not concerned about the small crop this year. The tree is about 5' tall now, with several good branches, so will definitely be propagating them next season.

Thanks, Jon: I bought mine a few months before Michelle got the 100 plants. I got them because I read that DD was discovered in Michigan, I believe, in a much colder zone than mine; I figured it might possibly be winter hardy here in zone 6b-7a. As I stated, it IS the most rampant grower of any fig I've ever seen. Any fig that grows from a foot tall plant in the Spring, to 11 feet the same year (with NO fertilizer) is unusual in my area. Maybe I should have reined it in that first year, but I wanted to see just how tall it would get. Wish it would direct some of that rampant growth toward making figs; time will tell. I actually intend to write the seller--since I've done a lot of business with them in the past--and ask exactly what experience they have with fig production off DD. I'll post their response. I'm surprised with all the DDs that Michelle obtained, that no one else has offered any information.

There have been some posts, more so last year, if I recall, that many of the plants had died. I had four, and can't recall what happened to the other three, except that I know one died - it was weak from the start. Maybe I gave the others away, but don't recall. Exploration is part of the fun. It occurred to me this week that two figs I have from one fellow might in fact be the same. They are starting to look similar, even though they have had very different growth habits and started ripening at different times.

I read some where on this forum that if you pinch the tips off the limbs of a fig tree that it would promote the growth of figs. I wonder if that would work for DD.

Vern

Some fig trees grow like that and refuse to fruit doesn't matter what you do to it.I had a Celeste and an Alma that did that and now they are HISTORY!!!!!.Regards

You would think that all trees that derived from the same mother tree would have the same traits. I wonder if there was some mixup at the originating nursery?

I originally recieved 2 Danny Delights. One promptly bit the dust while the other hung in there, grew it on the porch for a season. 2005 it went into the ground. 2006 it was around 8 feet tall, well branched, putting on suckers from the base as well. I think it had at least a dozen smallish, green, very sweet fruits this year. The wife is fauning all over it because it seems sweeter to her than any of the rest of our figs. We'll keep it!

Vern, all I know is that with breba crops, last summers growth is next years fruiting wood. I don't see how pinching tips will increase a crop. Am I missing something?

Plumfan, I do not know if pinching off the tops works or not. I just read it on this forum that it is suppose to promote fig production. I thought I might try it sometime.
Maybe some one else on this forum can give us more information.

Vern

Pinching one tip in July make the tree grow three tips,wich will give you three times more breba!!!!.This is true only if your tree keep the breba and do not drop it before ripe.If it drops it forget about it,just prune hard to have a good main crop.Most cultivars drop most breba.I herd Desert King will keep it.Hope this will help