I figured I would start a new thread to get ready for 2015. The figs in the greenhouse are going dormant, although the Barnisotte, Flanders, and Black Ischia in the corner where the sun hits first thing in the morning are still hanging on. I have started a few cuttings I received from trades and off ebay:

Col de Dame Grise
Col de Dame Noir
Ventura (rotted)
Violette Soleis
Izbat an Naj
Black Madeira (from my mother tree)
Bourjasette Grise (3 molded/rotted)
Paradiso Bronze (molded/rotted)
Ronde de Bordeaux (from my mother tree)
Malta Black
Maltese Falcon
Maltese Beauty (dried out)
Sodus Sicilian (my mother tree)
Marseilles Black VS
Longue D aout
Noir de Barbentane
Nero 600M (my mother tree)

There are a few more varieties I have my eye on as well, but have been well out of my price range so far on ebay.

I am trying a few different methods of rooting this year:

Cuttings straight into perlite
Cuttings straight into 75% perlite 25% peat
Rooted in sphagnum then placed in 75/25

So far, I feel the 100% perlite is too unforgiving and dries out too easily if I am not paying attention. So far the only cuttings I have lost were in 100% perlite. They were all Bourjasette Grise, so it could have just been the variety or their health. They dried up and then molded.



The earliest to root and sprout leaves was also in 100% perlite, Violette Soleis.



The most vigorous and healthiest looking cutting was in a 75/25 mix, Col de Dame Grise.



A few others have started to sprout:

Izbat an Naj



Another Violette Soleis:



I have a few other figs outside the humidity bins as well.

Can you believe this Black Madeira is nearly a year old?



It was from last year's UCD order. It took a long time to root and then put out a few sickly leaves and stopped growing indoors. I kinda gave up on it and then when the greenhouse was put up, I moved it out there. It has grown a bit, but extremely slowly.

I also have two figs traded to me by a F4F member:

Lake Spur


Vasilika Sika


I watered the three figs with water and bacillus thuringiensis mixed in to take care of a small gnat problem. The young Vasilika Sika did NOT enjoy that bath and began to wither. I flushed it with RO/DI water and it is bouncing back now. I placed sand on the top of the pots as a last step to take care of the gnats and along with the BT seems to be doing the trick.

Looks, great, Nick. Also, congratulations on the Sodus cuttings. It was such a tasty variety for me this summer as well. I am glad some others will have a chance to enjoy it, too. ( Probably sooner than later as vigorous and productive as it is).

Woo-hoo, looking forward to another year of great pics and tales of tasty fruit :)

Hope all your cuttings root, best of luck in 2015!

I hope so Bill! I can't wait to get to taste a properly ripened SS in the summer heat! While I feel blessed to eat the greenhouse figs, they just don't have the same flavor of those hot August figs.

I'm hoping to try one in ground next year as well, although I still have a lot of room in my garage for more pots :)

Off to a good start, congrats on the Sodus sale!

I'm doing a little experiment with a layer of limestone screenings on the soil for gnat suppression. Seems to be working.

I have to water a little slower since it did cake a little, but it's ok.

Very cool Kelby! Where did you buy the screenings?

We had a pile at work. We get it at Fleetwood block. If you have a truck it's $25 per ton.

My black Madeira also started last spring from ucdavis looks exactly like yours .. I can't believe how slow they grow ..Even though I pumped it full of fertilizer.....hopefully this year it will take off.

Lake Spur looks very happy. :)  Thanks for sharing and I wish you the best in the coming year! 

There is something so magical about walking outside on a cold winter day and stepping into the greenhouse to see a few precious figs just waiting for you... hung down as if whispering in your ear "I'm ready for you and I am delicious!"

Black Ischia


Flanders


Col de Dame Blanco

Hey! I think I hear it, too. The col de dame blanc wants me to pick it. I''ll be right over, Nick.

I'm closer, Bill, I call dibs! Hahah.

Enjoy your Christmas figs, Nick!

Picked some of my last figs tonight. I think I have one CdDB and one Ischia Black left...















The Excel figs never ripened in the cold ...





The cuttings are doing well. I forgot to take a picture, but so far the CdDG and Violette Soleis are the fastest growing.

I do have to say, the 100% perlite method is TERRIBLE. It is too unforgiving and I am constantly struggling with the fine line between over and under watering. I seived the small pieces out using a pasta strainer, but still it compacts and holds in too much water. Unless you can find really chunky perlite, I recomend using a 50/50 perlite/peat mix. I also have been putting 1/2" of my normal potting mix at the bottom to help with nutrients once the cutting gets a bit more vigorous. This has worked much better for me. I have had one or two cuttings do ok in the 100% perlite, but most I repotted this week to find the perlite clumped around the cutting and no root growth.

The Black Ischia look outstanding Nick.

Well I think this might be it, one last fig remains but is still pretty juvenile and the recent cold snap has hit even the Black Ischia that is in the warm sunny corner of the greenhouse.

That being said, what a way to end the year!











The CdDB was thick like jelly inside and had a strong berry flavor.  For a cold greenhouse ripened fig, it was outstanding and the perfect cap to my 2014 fig season!

Now it is time to concentrate on the fig babies. 

Congrats Nick, this is a great way to end the year. CdD Blanc is a wonderful fig, good luck and good growing on the fig babies.

Thanks Wayne!

I love threads like this, as if it is telling an entire story...

Thanks for sharing with us Nick :)

I tried many methods of rooting myself.

-In Ground Direct...well, that's like hit and miss.
-SM was out of the window the first week!
-Miracle Grow mix was good but was getting messy with some green growth , fungus and some flied...
-In Water was just so unreal, the cut end just started to melt...
-100% Perlite has worked the best for me, clean, nothing in it bothers the cutting (btw, cuttings start in zip-locks).
 The only thing with Perlite is that you have to manage the moisture.

Overall I still Like 100% Perlite the best so far.

Well not too much of an update as the winter is still in full swing. The greenhouse got down to 19F the other night when it was -5F outside, which knocked the remaining leaves off of the Flanders and Sodus Sicilian. Then today it got over 100F in there as temps rose into the forties outside. It will be back down into the -5F range tomorrow and cold the rest of the week. I added a second heater to try and maintain 50F and get the figs started in a few weeks.

Inside, rooting is going well. I had a lot of my young ones dry out on my extended vacation, but they are bouncing back and putting out new leaves.

I have had slower growth this year, which I contribute to my continued struggles with perlite rooting. My initial issue was not sifting the Home Depot perlite, then continued by not rinsing the fines off the sifted perlite. I am going to try to get to a hydroponics store this weekend while I am back home in Poughkeepsie.











I believe I have finally figured out Black Madeira rooting as well. First it goes into barely damp sphagnum moss for nearly 2 months in a ~75F degree area to get small roots, then into a 75/25 peat/perlite mix that is almost completely dry. I mean really dry, other cuttings can't handle that dry, but BM seems to be loving it.



I have had one more loss and that was my only Maltese Beauty.



It was in perlite only and never did much, it tried putting out a fig, but never leaves or roots. Bummed on that one, but grateful for all my other successes so far.

This year's easiest fig to root goes to RdB, which has been very quick and easy. MBvS and CdD Gris have gone great with 50% and slowly with the other 50%. Maltese Falcon started slow, but are now hitting their stride.

My hardest fig to root continues to be my Sodus Sicilian.



This little guy has small roots, but just sits there, waiting, as if it knows spring has not yet arrived. I am beginning to wonder if it is so used to cooler temps, that it roots better in colder than 75F temps? I might have to experiment a bit next year.

Well, hopefully the UC Davis orders show soon. I have been checking ebay for cuttings, but between the fraud and high prices I haven't gotten much to play with.