I noticed that some varieties don't like my SoCal sun at all. It seems it is too hot and dry for them. The leaves all twisted and remind Mexican tacos if I keep them in the full sun :(

What are the varieties that grow best near the Los Angeles mountains and like the local sun? I believe the Sunset zones that cover the area are 20, 21; USDA zones 10a-10b.
The climate here is hotter and dryer than in San Diego for Jon.
Some (probably most) would be growing in containers.

I found from an older thread his recommended varieties:

I am California 92114

Black Mission NL
Celeste
LSU Purple
Paradiso
Vista/Violette be Bordeaux/Negronne

Any other figs that like it hot and dry that you would recommend?  

As a side note, we have not had any frost in winter for 5 years at least. 

Hi there.  I'm also in a hot dry southwestern climate.  I've observed the "taco leaf" phenomenon as well when it gets sunny and hot and dry.  If you can grow the trees in the ground as opposed to in containers it helps.  The roots stay cooler and the trees are happier in the ground.  I'm trialing some new varieties this year that may prove to be a good fit for this climate.  But from what I have grown so far Hardy Chicago type trees handle this climate best.   I have a Hardy Chicago (originally from Raintree Nursery) that handles the heat really well, but it has not been very productive so far.  I have an unknown from NJ that is very close to Hardy Chicago that also handles the heat very well and is more productive.  There are many of these Hardy Chicago type trees around.  Some people refer to them as the Mount Etna type figs.  The forum member Centurion also has an unknown that has been very successful for him in a hot Arizona climate.  Have you been looking at what other people around where you live grow?  If you find a local healthy happy tree try to get cuttings of it.  That way you'll know that it is adapted to your area.  Also keep in mind that the older and more established a tree gets the better it can handle the heat.  When it comes down to it most fig varieties can handle a hot dry climate.  Some will just be a lot happier than others.  The trick is to find fig varieties that will ripen really soft juicy fruit in a hot dry climate.

FrozenJoe, I should have included Arizona too, it is a similar climate. 
I looked at the fig trees around my neighborhood but all I could see are the inground trees, they were all quite happy.
In my case, I wanted to grow them first in the large pots since my lot is not spacious enough for too many varieties. I might plant them in the ground later, when I know which variety is good for me.
The problem is most visible on young 1-year old plants. For the old trees the story could be different but I am not there yet.

I don't have a Hardy Chicago heat tolerant cuttings but it is good to know that they exist!

Maybe we can compile a list of desert loving container friendly varieties? Let me start with the one you mentioned:

1. Hardy Chicago (Mount Etna type fig)

We live in the perfect climate for figs!  Not sure what the issue is, but they love the Mediterranean climate, which is what we have.

suzi

Suzi, I beg to disagree with you on this.
The climate is almost Mediterranean and this "almost" makes a sizable difference for semi-desert to desert climate (Arizona, SoCal Valley etc). 
You can see that container figs are struggling, they are not comfortable, basically. In the ground or shaded containers are better though.

It is also possible that I am doing something wrong, I hope to figure out what's happening over time.

Issues with stress from heat and low humidity are common when I talk to other fig growers around here.

Many/most figs originated in hot dry climates in the Mideast or central Asia, so the leaves may not be an indicator of a problem, per se, but just a natural response to the conditions. If the trees are otherwise healthy and productive, I wouldn't fuss over the leaf behavior.

If the fruit is not taking the weather well, that is a different issue. I know at USDA/UC Davis if the temps spike during the ripening time, the fruit will be sunburned where it is not well enough protected from the sun by the leaf canopy. The fruit is often quite fine, but the skin is a little more leathery. Last summer some of the fruit, if picked in the afternoon was quite hot and seemed almost cooked inside. Some of this can be moderated by a healthy and lush canopy which protects the fruit. I don't know that any of the varieties was more immune to this kind of weather, more so than others.

Obviously any tree in a hot, and especially low-humidity climate will struggle to stay hydrated when transpiration from the leaves exceeds the ability of the roots to take up replacement moisture. Tree health is probably the best defense.

Mild sunburn.



Heavier sunburn

Jon is correct.  But I still stand by my comment that the Mount Etna types do best in my yard.  They seem to have more of a dense, bushy growth habit.  Perhaps that explains why they withstand the heat better where I live.  I have observed that the less heat stressed a fig tree appears to be, the softer and juicier the fruit tends to be.  So far the Mount Etna figs have consistently been the softest, moistest figs here for me.  But I don't have nearly as many trees as some other forum members, so my sample size is small.

Greenfig, I have had very good luck with an unknown I got from a tree at Lake Havasu.  The one Joe referenced earlier.  The owner said it comes from Cuba.  It is a large puple fig with a red interior that is not overly sweet and very good.  It handled day after day after day of temps in the 100-110 range and humidity under 20% and put out great figs the first year on many of the trees.  At Lake Havasu I got three distinct seperate crops on some of these trees the year we had no frost.

I can send you some cuttings this fall.  I have a couple green cuttings I am trying to root at the moment.  Do you ever get out here to Arizona?  If so...I'd give you one if it survives.   I don't want to ship a live tree in the summer. 

Thing is...they don't handle freezing temps very well.  At my new digs here in Cottonwood both my outdoor Havasu trees died to the ground this winter.   The good news is...I have one indoors in a pot, and both outdoor trees are coming back.   I sent cuttings out to members last fall, but a lot of them didn't take.

Let me know if you want to try it, and we'll see what we can do at the end of the season.  It's kind of a favorite with me.  I'd like to spread it around.

A couple of things that seem to help with growing figs in the desert are...growing them rather close together so that they shade each other, or at least a larger ground area (where the roots are).   First year trees get protected with shade cloth on the hottest days.

The other thing is I mulch heavily with straw.  6 inches deep.  This cuts down on water usage and...on the hottesd dryest days, I wet down the straw.   The wet straw and  shade and leaves from neighboring trees creates a cooler, slightly more humid micro climate. 

Thanks for the great info. I just started here with figs. My starter plants are under shade but will go out into the sun a year or two from now. Yes if it doesn't grow in the sun I do not it.

Zone 8
South West TX

Start plants
Excel
Black Mission
LSU Purple
LSU Gold
Vista
Green Ischia
Magnolia
MBVS
Sal's Corleone
Atreano

Rooting
TX Blue Giant
Several Unknowns
One form a local tree

Dave,
Thanks for getting back on this!
Yes, I would like to try your Havasu tree at my location. It would be interesting to compare our fruit quality (in 2-3 years?), I don't get any frost in winter.
I don't travel often that far east to Arizona, I am mostly in the San Francisco - Death Valley/Vegas - San Diego patch, but will let you know if I am heading your way.
What other figs do well at your place?

I try to keep my figs shaded under a large pittosporum tree after I discovered that they are abused by the sun.
It takes a while for them to recover but they will be fine. I have a nice area under a Myrtle tree which is somewhat still bare though, in a few weeks the figs will move there, when the shade will become denser. It is a bit sunnier there, so maybe little by little the figs will get adjusted to the sun.

I gave my neighbor two perfectly good trees when I lived at Havasu.   Told him to shade them during the hottest parts of the day their first year in the ground and to mulch around the root zone.  Offered him some of my shade cloth.   Told him he could come over and get some straw.  He said, "No...if they can't make it on their own...they're not gonna make it."

Well...they didn't make it.

Here's the deal.   Would you let your three year old child go outside on a hot day...or a cold day...or a rainy day...all by himself for a couple of hours to play by himself?   No, you wouldn't.    But when the kid is 18, it's no big deal, right?

So why would you plant a new baby fig tree in ground in 100+ degree heat with no protection, when all you have to do is protect it for it's first season till it can establish a decent root system and protective canopy?    It's not a big deal.  Doing so will greatly increase the variety of figs you can successfully grow in a desert climate.   Not doing so means you're stuck with a much smaller selection of varieties.   Or a lot of dead trees.

Dave,
Good point! Although I think some figs, like the people, remain babies for almost all their life :)

Like my neighbor who is retired is ... oh no, I don't want to go this route, will never finish writing :(

Hi greenfig.  

On edit.  

I had posted what does good at my new place here in Cottonwood.  You are more interested, I think, in what was working at my old place in Lake Havasu, which had a climate more similar to your own.  

I didn't have much luck with black mission.  The tree looked great, but never produced figs in the two years I was there.   Kadota also looked great, but the figs were  thick skinned and not all that good.  VDB did pretty well.   Those were the only other varieties I had back then.

White Kadota is pretty much indestructible. It was in direct sun during our 107 degree summer.

I'm very interested in desert adaptable fig types as well. Tucson, AZ gets a bit more rain than Havasu and is cooler in the summer but it's still plenty hot, bright and dry. It's good to know that some figs can thrive in Havasu. My two little in-ground trees -VDB & Panache- made it through their first winter unprotected with no damage and this winter had an unusually brutal cold snap (21F one night). They should be good for what winters we can expect here. Now I'm just wondering how they will deal with their first Tucson summer. They are planted in an area that gets direct sun from 6am-2pm and bright shade in the late afternoons. Shade cloth would be a hassle. They are well mulched and on drippers with citrus trees. Hopefully figs and citrus will like the same dripper schedule. I am going to white wash their trunks -like is done on citrus- next weekend. It will be a learning experience this summer for sure.

Bright shade from 2 pm on in our climate oughta work out real well for them, bada_bing.  That's about perfect for fig trees in Arizona.  The late afternoon sun here is brutal.

bada_bing if they have been in the ground all winter and are out of direct afternoon sun they should be very happy.

Hi Thisisme.  Welcome to the other forum.

Thanks for the welcome Joe. Always nice to see a friendly face.

I thought of a question/test.
The heat/dry air problem, is it because of the leaves cannot handle the conditions or the roots or both?

I see a lot of wild figs around, they don't grow under the direct sun alone but they are local and they look great. Of coarse, they also grow in the ground.
Would be interesting to graft several fig varieties to the wilds and see how they survive the summer in the containers.

Anybody has tried this? Should I expect any issues besides the wild suckers? 

Ok Centurion I didn't play my words correctly. What I mean is that in the long run the tree needs to stand in the sun on it own.  Maybe after a few year with my support.Thanks for the answers you have given all here that asked them. I do take this info to heart. I hope we can still trade in the future.

Zone 8
South West TX

if the trees are in containers, the roots are getting over heated. seat them on water so it will be bottom fed as needed and you might have to water 2-3 times a day. cover the container wth mulch or something to prevent getting over heated. or plant them ingroud or cut the hole on the said of the container and plant the container few inches deep and remove them at the end of the season.