So apparently the Desert King fig will only produce a Breba crop in the North East, which does not require the fig wasp.

But, it will not produce a regular crop after that in the north east.

Is there anyone who believes a case could be made for growing Desert King in the North East?

Is the Breba crop worth it?

Is there any way to artificially pollinate the Desert King to get a the 2nd crop?

Where does the Desert King fig come from?  (country or origin?)

Thanks for the info!

Desert King is from Madera, Ca. in the 1920's. I live in Northern Ca. and it is a very good fig. A friend has a 50 year old DK, and the breba crop is huge. It produces 3 crops some years, but the breba seems to be the best. I would think in the East, or anywhere with a short season, it might be worth growing for the early crop. Not sure about hardiness, but other members with experience will chime in.

I am guessing it came from somewhere before Madera, California - that is what I am wondering about.

I saw a video of large "King" fig tree in Canada, it was about trimming for a breba crop.  Not sure if "King" is DK?

There are a couple of reasons I can think of for having one in the North East.  It would extend your season as the breba will likely be earlier than any of your other figs.  DK is known for a having good tasting and large breba crop.

Not sure, but I think DK is popular in the NW for similar reasons.

Go to http://planetfig.com/cultivars/fcveng8588.html

Here's a 2 photos I took of my friends DK figs a couple of weeks ago. They weren't quite ripe, but tasted ok.     I'm going tomorrow for some ripe ones.

Shailesh, if you'd like, remind me in the fall, and I'll send you cuttings from my friends tree. He said it's too big, and he's going to prune it hard. It's 50 years old, healthy, and really produces.

Shailesh, that was a great tutorial video, thanks for sharing.

Cool, that's the one! 

I just returned from my friend Joe's house, where I harvested some Desert King figs. Joe is in his 80's, and he moved this fig to his place from his dad's house 50 years ago. The figs were not quite ripe on my last visit 3 weeks ago, but with the warm weather and the birds, I almost missed the breba crop. The ripe figs were soft and dripping so much honey, my hand and arm were getting wet picking them. Honeybees were also happily filling themselves on the nectar. The fragrance of so many ripe and over-ripe figs was hanging in the warm morning air, and it took me back to my grandfathers farm and his huge Mission fig tree. Even though the large breba crop is finishing, the tree is loaded with it's main crop, which are several weeks away from ripening. Joe said that some years this tree ripens 3 crops. The taste is excellent, not too sweet, with light honey and juicy fig flavor. So here are some photos and I hope you all enjoy.

Gary               

Wow, Gary this tree is just fantastic! 

To my luck i received 4 cuttings from DK today from the US. They already grow roots...

Very nice figs

Unfortunately I cannot succeed in ripening this San Pedro variety (DK)  in my climate.
Same with Dauphine. Excessively dry Summers I believe are the main problem.
Moving the pots against a wall facing West, shaded for the entire morning, helps  and in this way, may taste a few brebas.

Francisco

Francisco, 

How about an inground Desert King in your climate? 

California has very hot and dry summers too...

Could it be a potted fig is to sensitive to heat in your awesome summers?

Thanks, Shailesh, and thanks for the video. I'll remember it when I help Joe prune the tree this winter.

Hi Christian, I'm happy for you that you got cuttings. I think it will do very well for you.

Francisco, it surprises me that this variety does not do well for you. I do live in an area that normally gets 40" of rain per year, but only 20" this year. Our dry season is quite long, May to October, more or less. Desert King came from Madera, which is very warm and dry, though it seems very cold hardy and produces in short season areas. It just may not like too much heat?

For in ground trees, I would worry the cold winter would kill off the Breba buds. Should work well in a pot wintered in a protected place. Anyone in the Northeast have much experience with DK?

Christian,

I will try. So far had DK and Dauphine in pots with poor results.. Last year moved one Dauphine to ground and will see how it performs. Will try and find some DK scions  to try a pair or two of grafts

Gary,

I was initially influenced by the DK's desert word and thought it could be OK for my zone which in fact is semi-desertic, with very hot/dry and long summers..later on also saw that it does well in the NE and NW of the US!! which are not desert nor dry/hot places ..I know Dauphine seems to perform acceptably in the North Portugal, far cooler and more humid than my south but have no knowledge of DK there.
My idea was to bring these 2 San Pedro varieties side by side with Lampeira Preta (SP as well) which is a very good performer all over Portugal (brebas only).. second crop only in the south. Best Lampeira brebas I have ever tasted come fom very old trees (over 70yr) never been irrigated artificially.

Francisco

Regarding DK in the northeast I have read in multiple instances in the forum about how the variety is very cold tolerant.  However, as pawpawbill points out, the key is how senstive the undeveloped brebas are to the cold.  Certainly if you keep it as a container tree you should be fine but would it be successful as in in-ground tree without protection? Someone on the forum in the northeast must have trialed it in-ground.  Anyway, I'm growing the San Pedro fig Filacciano Bianco in ground because it has a track record in Maryland of having breba figs that can withstand the winter unprotected.

Figgary - 

What you are posting is the Breba crop?  So no fig wasp was needed to produce that?

Yes mj, this is the breba crop. No fig wasp needed. Desert King is known for the very productive breba crop. The main crop is usually less. I live in a fairly mild area of California, with summer highs usually in the 80's and nights lower 50's.

I thought I'd bring back this topic, started by mj, rather than begin a new one. I went to Joe's house today to get some Desert Kings, from his 50 year old tree. They've been ripening for 10 days or so, but I was away, and hoping that I wasn't too late. I know that Paully says that Grantham's Royal is a better tasting fig than DK, but my GR has not produced yet. If it is better than DK, it must be phenominal, because these are really good.  
 

Thanks for sharing Gary.

I live in the mid Atlantic area and I added desert king to my collection just to increase my odds of getting early figs. Since its known for having reliable tasty brebas it's worth a shot.