I love reading the stories behind so many of the fig finds on this forum. :-)  Cuttings with a story are always appreciated!

Pix for DJ.


   

thanks Jon!

this fig is going to be a good one....trust me!

Nice find

I'm respectfully confused by why you would water an air layer.  Is this a better way to produce roots?  

Padfan, the airlayer kit that I use has a water basin at the bottom. It's like a mini self-watering pot. The soil wicks up water as it needs it. Just something new I'm trying out.

Dennis,

The mother tree appears to be very well developed. 

One call, and you do it all.   Fig rescue.  Great job. 

Good work Dennis.
If it turns into a cutting bonanza before her closing...me too please!!

Dennis sounds awesome, count me in too if theres room for all of us!

Gorgeous tree, great find! Thanks for posting.

Dennis,
I would love to have some cutting as well.
BTW, some branches are so close to the ground. You can simply cover those branch with dirt, it will produce nice root.

Good day, the weather was nice.  I was weeding around my orchard trees and needed a break.  So I call my friend Irene and ask  if could swing by and check on the air layers, she said yes.  When I got there I checked a few figs and they were getting soft but needed more heat and a few more days.  A couple of them were turning greyish and I noticed the bright red half eaten fig.  I asked her if the figs were ripe.  She said no, not yet, they ripen in September.  I showed her the half eaten fig and she siad, "NO WAY!"  She said they haven't even turn blue yet.  Then as we were standing there, a brown thrasher came right up to my foot and was trying to get at one of the figs.  I chased the bird it it did not go far.  I told Irene we needed to check a couple of figs, we did.  Well, guess what?  Some were ripe and blood red inside just like she said!  I opened one and took a bite and I almost passed out!  As I laid back on the ground lookingn up at the sky, started laughing out loud!  Irene said, what?  I gave her a fig to taste.   She tasted it and said , "SEE I TOLD YOU THESE FIGS ARE AMAZING!"

I got up, dusted myself off, took a few pictures, grabbed a few more figs and check my air layers.  They look fine, lots of condensation inside so I'm happy.   Here's a few pictures of a few figs we ate.....well I ate!  I gave Irene 4 jars of my favorite fig jam and off I went.

To enlarge these pics, RIGHT Click your mouse on the photo and choose Open in new window or tab.

     
enjoy!

Dennis,

Sounds like the air layers will be ready soon! 

Hi Dennis:

Interesting story about a "Black Greek" fig?  The figs look, well...not black.  I would suspect with some extra heat and sun, they will color much darker.  Please post photos of some ripe figs in the final stages, before they reach Dennis' mouth.

Thanks.


Frank

Nice find and a great story Dennis , can't wait to see some more pictures when they are fully ripped

Yea, I'd stock up on this one!  Looks/sounds like a unique fig.

Looks like a winner and looks like you will be busy sending out cuttings. So far all of my neighborhood fig finds have wound up being very common stuff, Brown Turkey, Celeste or Brunswick, so I love these stories of amazing fig finds.

Dennis, looks and sounds great. But I'm wondering...does the skin turn dark in September typically? If not, maybe a different name than Black Greek IG?

Frank, there is one thing I learned about figs is their color can change.  At UCD, Jon and I took the exact same picture of one Gold Celeste.  It was not gold or yellow at all.  It was brownish purple.  This year, we have not had a lot of heat as in past summers.  According to Irene, the figs are usually purplish black in color.  I'll go back this weekend and take more pictures of the figs ripening.  The figs have the size and shape of a Black Madeira or I-258 and taste amazing.

Nobody has every called me Frank before, Alvin! ;)

Dennis, the new discovery looks like it will be worth growing.  Thanks for the opinions about the color changes.  Yes, the weather has been lousy for a lot of growers, including myself.

Looking forward to your updates.


Frank

Ha!  Sorry Frank....I mean Harvey.  Ha.  Just couldn't resist!

Say, I'm getting emails from folks wanting this tree.  Heck I haven't even got roots yet and the emails are coming in...geeze!

I don't have air layers in my hands yet.  So please just settle down everyone.....breathe.

thanks,

Nice work DJ!

I must admit that I was not expecting to see that much green. Nonetheless, the way that tree sprawls, I would not be surprised if there are several suckers growing as well. You may be able to jump start her tree transport that way also. Finally, if it knocked you down like that, then maybe you should consider digging it out and moving it to your NC Fig Haven. Otherwise, another mother of a known to knock-you-off-of-your-feet fig tree could be loss if a new owner considers it a nuisance or is not into figs or not into fig eating birds.

Or who knows new construction may bulldoze the tree. 

I have seen this done to a lot of older homes in the last two years to build new shopping centers or road improvements.