Figs

[The witch]

I have had one in a pot for a couple of years now, but only had 3 fruits from my plant last year

It was a good healthy plant bought from Crocus.

www.crocus.co.uk/search/pl/?ContentType=Plant_Card&ClassID=1000000029&CategoryID=

[sweetleaf]

Did you overpot it?

[4pygmies]

I have a Brown Turkey fig in a 15" pot by my front door. I just top dress it every year with JI 3 amd it looks really well. Last summer it baked in the heat and had at least 15 figs ripening. Just as they were ready they all vanished overnight! Soooo annoying. I might transfer it to a wooden barrel I have further along the front of the barn and see if I can get it to grow up the trellis. I love the leaf shape of Fig. They're beautiful plants. I can't do that until Ive managed to exterminate the horrendous Golden Hop which romps its way all over the barn every year. It's impossible to get rid of !

[The witch]

sweetleaf said:

Did you overpot it?

Probably - it's been in a 15" - 18" pot since I had it, I guess it will fruit better once it becomes pot bound then? ;D

How long has yours been in it's pot 4P?

[4pygmies]

I think Figs are one of those plants which perform better with a bit of neglect - my speciality! My Fig has been in its pot for about 6/7 years I think, can't quite remember but I went to the South of France when smallest was a few months old and spent most of the holiday sitting under a glorious fig tree holding her so that's probably why I went and got one. She's now 7. That was my last holiday too...

[bogmyrtle]

May 30, 2008 8:23:34 GMT 1 @The witch said:

I thought I was going to have a bumper crop of figs this year as I had counted well over 20 little figlets - but no! All gone killed by the very hot weather we had a couple of weeks ago I reckon.

The witch, I know nothing about figs, but don't they like the heat then - I assumed that because they were 'Mediterranean' type plants they would like it hot. Or was it the sudden changes of temperature we seem to have here?

[debbiem]

May 30, 2008 8:23:34 GMT 1 @The witch said:

I thought I was going to have a bumper crop of figs this year as I had counted well over 20 little figlets - but no! All gone killed by the very hot weather we had a couple of weeks ago I reckon.

Oh what a shame! I still haven't got a fig, you've just reminded me......
Hopefully some more will grow?

[4pygmies]

Figs are quite complicated I think as they form two crops each year, I found this snippet The witch:

"The Fig produces naturally two sets of shoots and two crops of fruit in the season. The first shoots generally show young Figs in July and August but those in England rarely ripen and should therefore be rubbed off. The late midsummer shoots also put forth fruit buds which, however, do not develop till the following spring, ripening in late September and October, and these form the only crop of Figs on which the English gardener can depend.

There is sometimes a failure in the Fig crop, many immature receptacles dropping off in consequence of the pistils of the florets not having been duly fertilized by the pollen of the stamens. It is supposed that fertilization is caused naturally by the entry of insects through the very small orifice which remains open in the flowering Fig. Fig growers therefore adopt an artificial means of ensuring fertilization: a small feather is inserted and turned round in the internal cavity, the pollen thus being brushed against the pistils. This process is called 'Caprification,' from the Latin caprificus (a wild Fig), as the same result was originally obtained in the countries where the Fig grows wild, by placing branches of the Wild Fig in flower over the cultivated bushes, so that the pollen might be shaken out over the orifices of their receptacles, thus ensuring the development of the young fruit. "

Don't know if that is helpful or not! It may be that they have got too wet also - Figs are better kept on the dry side I believe. I don't think the heat will affect them unduly but poor drainage might well cause the immature figs to fall off. I haven't looked at mine actually - the leaves are just unfolding. I'll keep an eye on it - we haven't had any figs much at all for 2 years....

[4pygmies]

I think I'm right in saying that the flowers of the fig tree are actually inside the fruit..I'm sure I've read that they are tiny little parts of the inside of the fig fruit which are pollinated by a specific insect......hang on I'll google...(I said they were complicated plants).....here it is, from Wikipedia:

The fig is commonly thought of as fruit, but it is properly the flower of the fig tree. It is in fact a false fruit or multiple fruit, in which the flowers and seeds grow together to form a single mass. The genus Dorstenia, also in the figs family (Moraceae), exhibits similar tiny flowers arranged on a receptacle but in this case the receptacle is a more or less flat, open surface.

A fig "fruit" is derived from a specially adapted type of inflorescence (an arrangement of multiple flowers). What is commonly called the "fruit" of a fig is actually a specialized structure- or accessory-fruit called a syconium. In this case, it is an involuted, nearly closed receptacle with many small flowers arranged on the inner surface. Thus the actual flowers of the fig are unseen unless the fig is cut open. In Chinese the fig is called "w¨² hu¨¡ gu¨¯" or "fruit without flower".[3] In Bengali, where the Common Fig is called dumur, it is referenced in a proverb: tumi jeno dumurer phool hoe gele ("You have become [invisible like] the dumur flower").

[floweringcherry]

Thanks 4P that is really interesting. I bought a Fig a few weeks ago, have sunk the pot into the ground to restrict root growth. Nice to know how the flower/fruits work .

[Sleepy]

Sept 9, 2008 10:03:58 GMT 1 @The witch said:

Got loads of small fruits on my Brown Turkey atm, which I know should be removed... but, if I cover the plant with fleece for the winter will this crop ripen next year?

I wish I could help The witch, but I have never grown a fig. All I know is that they like restricted roots.

[maggyd]

I think if you protect them they could grow next year!! I had thirteen last year but this year only two I was blameing the rain, never mind I only grow it for its looks anyway.

[4pygmies]

Leave the fruits well alone The witch, these are the fruits which will ripen next Spring. And they don't need too much protection either in my experience. They are very tough plants. The cold won't hurt them but prolonged wet will, so somewhere outside but sheltered from too much rain will be fine. My plant is tucked under the eaves of my barn in sun but protected somewhat by the heat of the wall.

[maggyd]

Sept 9, 2008 23:05:31 GMT 1 @The witch said:

Sept 9, 2008 22:45:01 GMT 1 @maggyd said:

I think if you protect them they could grow next year!! I had thirteen last year but this year only two I was blameing the rain, never mind I only grow it for its looks anyway.

My OH loves them Maggy - you should try eating some. My plant has just lost all of it's leaves over the last day or two.
I think I'll cover my plant with fleece for the winter - nothing ventured nothing gained as the saying goes.

I love figs The witch but the one I tasted off my tree tastes nothing like the figs you buy. They are a laxative you know I used to love syrup of figs when I was a kid (sweets and such were scarce)!!!that probably accounts for the trouble with IBS I have now. ;D

[Biggles]

--I know the Feeling--and Figs do make it worse--Bigs

[maggyd]

Never mind The witch Im not suprised if you have had the gales we have!! although John said this afternoon that there is one that should have been picked as it has started to burst open, I havent had time to go and have a look. Have they all dropped? as the ones left on are the ones that will grow bigger next season I think.

[maggyd]

Ive just been out and looked at mine! there is only one and thatis open like an upside down tulip! there isnt any small ones so that probably means non next year, I think its been too wet this year.

[floweringcherry]

This is mine, I did initially sink the pot in the ground, then decided to lift it. It's on the patio. I bought the plant early this year.

[floweringcherry]

Oct 26, 2008 18:25:39 GMT 1 @The witch said:

Has it just got one main stem atm FC?

Yes The witch, only about 3' tall and a single stem. There are very small fruits higher up as well.

[maggyd]

My understanding is It is the small ones that will give you the crop for next year the big ones will probably drop off I dont know where I read that but its in there somewhere.