Ciao everyone, I am new here, I enjoy Jon's website immensely.  I grow figs, but last year I ordered two varieties from Michigan bulb I believe.  They were simply labeled as  " Dwarf fig "  They don't give any info and when I questioned them about the variety,  they knew nothing, of course.  I no longer do business with them for quite a few reasons not just their lack of Knowledge about their plants.  They weren't even the same variety.  One I knew immediately was a negronne.  But the other, No idea.  Has anyone received figs from them before and do you know what I may have in a dwarf form.  

   My second question has to do with a beautiful large fig my cousin's father brought to the U.S. with him many years ago from Italy.  I  know it came from our village in the Abruzzo region.  My cousin lives in Daytona Beach, Florida.  I would like to add this fig to my collection.  I tasted the figs in July and they were lovely, but also love the sentimental aspect of keeping this tree from the old country in the family.  Could she take a branch off and mail it to me?  If so, please help me with the procedure in which she could do this and what do I do to root this magnificent tree here in Pennsylvania.  All my figs come indoors for the winter,  I don't trust this mountain weather.  My grandfather brought a fig from Italy, it survived many winters here, but died the first year after he died.  Wonder what he did?  Please help with these questions,  looking forward to chatting.  Thanks Jon for this site.  

Best to wait till they are dormant. Then have her send you some cuttings about 7-8" long. Have her put them in a Ziploc bag with some lightly damp paper or paper towel when she ships them. I still like the rooting-in-a-bag method, which is at the end of the seminar notes at http://figs4fun.com/FESTIVAL%20OF%20FRUIT%202007%20Fig%20Handout%20.pdf The seminar notes also detail what to do after they have rooted in the bag. I will add the pix which went with the seminar, but it will have to wait till after fig season (to busy eating and taking pix right now).

Hi Maggie,

My wife is from Raiano.  Are your family still in the Abruzzo area today?  Anyway we both love figs and are in USDA zone 7a (a little chilly but not overly freezing).  We "tie-up" our figs to make sure they bear each year just in case a frost hits again.  Below are the steps we take:

1. Stake the fig with an 8ft tomato pole.
2. Tie the limbs together with twine into a single column.
3. Tie 'bundles' of hay to the column top to bottom with twine.
4. Wrap the whole column with 'tar' paper from top to bottom in a cone shape leaving a hole at the top about 3-4" in diameter (to breath), and tie off well with heavier twine.  P.S. Make sure and have the bottom of the tar paper wide and below ground a few inches to keep cold gusts out and ice off of most of the root system..
5. Secure a cheap 1 gal plastic bucket over the top sort of like a rain hat.

Alot of work?  You bet!  But we love our figs and this is the only method that has ever worked for us. 

Ciao-ciao,

-Mike

My apologies and thanx to whoever sent these pictures to me, but I don't have time to look it up right now. I only have the picture numbers handy because I am repeating the seminar tonight, for which I solicited these pix. Obviously this person is a true fig lover, and these are the steps he/she went through to protect this tree.

When I lived in Missouri and grew figs in the garden, I would tie my fig tree branches up in a similar manner and wrap the limbs and trunk with burlap. I would then dig a trench next to the tree, cut the roots on the far side and near side and lay the tree down in the trench. Then I would cover the tree with 6 inches of soil and a layer of leaves. In the spring, I would stand it up and unwrap and untie it. The tree never seemed to mind.

hi maggie,
  i think that a fig from abruzzo might do well in
a  cooler climate. the appenines of abruzzo get pretty cold.
i'm from south of abruzzo from pietrelcina in the province of benevento,
and i can say us inlanders have our share of cold.
any way i wrap my tree with movers blankets, though i give extra care
to the tender tips of the branches buy wrapping them first with a couple
layers of burlap then comes the movers blanket tied above the tips,
i then put a layer of tar paper around the entire tree i've found
bungie cords from the dollar store most useful. then i wrap with a plastic
tarp , i top it with a black leaf bag which i tie down and slit 3 small slits on the very top.
then top with plastic bucket and all around the bottom i place
layers of mulch and straw.
if your in a rural area and you can find corn stalks you can tie them all
around the bark first for extra protection.

hope this is helpful

marcantonio
p.s thanks to jon great site!!

Hi everyone...  My cousin sent me two cuttings from her fig tree that she brought with her from our village in Italy. It was funny when I opened the package, she sent them in an oven mit with damp paper towels, Oh how I love my eccentric family!!!!  anyhow, I put them in one gallon containers with dirt, I dabbed a little root hormone on them and then covered them in the containter with a ziploc bag to keep in moisture.  They are in a warm place, bright but not direct sun.  Have i done this right?  I was told to let the pot dry out completely then give another good water.  How long for them to root?  I have a good feeling.  Sorry not to answer the questions I received i don't quite get the hang of this site yet to answer.  To MpxWilliams,  Yes, I still have a large family back in Abruzzo.  We come from the small town of Castel Frentano near Lanciano.  You said your wife is from Raiano.  Marcantonio, I know Pietrelcina very well, My Padre Pio is from there.  Thanks everyone for the information.  Please I hope I did this correctly Let me know if I can improve, I don't want to loose these figs particularly. they are sentimental.    Ciao Ciao,  Maggie

Hi Maggie,
I'm an Italian girl, too (though you really have to stretch the age limit on "girl", LOL).
There are probably as many ways to root figs as there are people doing it.  What works for one might, or might not work for another - different conditions, different time of year, different figs.
I've tried a number of methods starting with the one you are using - sticking cuttings in a pot of sterile potting mix (no soil).  They rotted - it just retained too much moisture.  I'm not saying that this will never work, but conditions would have to be just right.
The next method I tried was one given to my by a gentleman who had been growing figs for over 50 years.  He disinfected the cuttings with 10% chlorine bleach solution, then wrapped them in barely wet newspaper which he put in a plastic bag and hung (so the cuttings were upside down) in a warm spot until they rooted.  The rate of success was quite high.
I've tried several other methods as well, but the one that seemed the best to me was Jon's version of plastic bag rooting.  It incorporates the features of the above version with the improvement of being able to see what is happening in the bag. 
There are a number of posts on the Garden Web Fig Forum here is one of them:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/fig/msg0119554423270.html
It will give you a visual reference.  There are a number of other posts there on the same subject - a search will bring them up.
One important point - can't stress it enough - only give the newly rooted figs a small pot with well draining medium.  It is very important to not have them too wet.
Best of luck with your cuttings - it's really nice to have figs with that kind of family connection. 

Italiangirl,

Did the Michigan Bulb fig turn out to be Negronne?  Did you ever figure out what the other variety was?   Did either survive and become productive?

Even though I know that Michigan Bulb is not the best source for plants (they could give me no variety information), I couldn't resist picking up a $5 fig when my friend placed an order with them.   (The fig was half price.)

Just wondered what your experience had been.   I'd like to figure out what I'm getting so I don't order a duplicate from somewhere else. 

Thanks so much!

MK

I remember that tree that was a while ago, I believe it was a negronne or a Violette de Bordeaux as it has been very long. It died, I no longer have it, then there was another that came form michigan bulb also labeled as dwarf but it was completely different than the Negron/Violette de bordeaux tree, they didn't know what varieties are so I didn't keep the other one. Actually took it to florida to cousin who is mentioned a long time ago. Don't like to keep unnamed trees. Ciao

Thanks for your answer, Maggie - I appreciate it. 

Doesn't sound too good for my $5 investment!  Maybe I'll get lucky and get a very healthy VdB/Negronne. 

MK

Ciao Mike, you will know if it is negronne or a VdB by the fruiting and the leaf shape once it grows further for you. Violette de Bordeaux has a very dwarfy bushy growth habit that is common to its variety, so maybe that is why they called it dwarf, but I would not order from them again as they don't know what it is and they are calling different figs dwarf which If I remember the two from them were extremely completely different varieties, who know what you will get. But with Negronne and VdB, they are pretty distinquishable varieties which is immediate identifiable to my eye.Ciao

Helo all, Im Bob . New to the forum and to the world of figs. I ordered a Dwarf from Gurneys that is said to be a "Italian Honey". Michigan Bulb and Gurneys is the same company so I would think that is what you have. Does anyone know of a good place to get a few cuttings still this time of year? I am very excited about these little jems for some reason and would love to try propogating a few?

Thanks again, Maggie.  I would love it to be a VdB.

Bob - the description in the Michigan Bulb magazine said the fig had a "mahogany skin with red flesh," but who knows what they'll actually send.  They don't know!  But a good Italian Honey would be fine, too.  Hope your fig does well!  By the way,  I think Herman2 and Bass have some cuttings on ebay right now.  (hermansur and treesofjoy)

MK