I Am after any advice on good figs to grow in "sunny" England, at the min I have
Cough.Cough..brown turkey which I bought last year, (looks pretty)
A 4 year old tree that I think is Brunswick which is in the ground, I had 1 breba fig on but we had really bad winds and it fell off so am fig less :(
Bought a new Rouge de Bordeau that is sitting in my greenhouse. I Also have a bin full of cuttings I got from my aunties house in Italy, a green fig red flesh from her front garden(very tasty). Any recommendations would be great thanks

Also am very new to fig growing, have I got more chance of growing main crop here in the UK or breba ? Thank you
Luke

Luke....<br /><br />Welcome to this forum.  I'm sure you will find that all your questions will be answered by members on this forum.  Your growing knowledge will be a work-in-progress, and will evolve over the coming months as you face new challenges.  This is the place to ask all your questions.  But, we will need your help.<br /><br />Please describe, in detail, your growing conditions...i.e. maximum and minimum temps.  ....light conditions, full-sun, shade, for how many hours...will you containerize, or, grow in-ground...or, in your greenhouse?  All these factors will be needed to know just how to advise you with your variety choices.  Also, what figs are available in the UK?  List commonly found varieties, and we let you know if they might do well for you.  The more information, the better....especially, concerning your winters.  How do you plan on overwintering your fig trees?  Growing fig trees is easy...keeping them alive is the challenge.<br /><br />Good luck.  I'm sure you will be very successful.<br /><br />Cheerio, pip pip, tata,  : )<br /><br />Frank<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

What....  Why did the posted reply print with all those strange symbols?  Did I hit something?<br /><br />Sorry, Luke for the messy reply...I haven't a clue why it looks like this.<br /><br />Frank

Brown Turkeys are only bad in comparison to figs from plants whose recently rooted cuttings sell for $200.  A green house is a huge asset.  Artificial light might help, too.  You want early cropping figs or just brebas.  Desert King is a good one.  Violette de Bordeaux and Kathleen Black are good. Read the part about rooting cuttings  here

Fixed the link. Moderator

I would order from Pierre Baud if I could.

I have a brummi friend who says he gets them and a friend in brighton who claims to get main crop

The forum isn't interpreting HTML code, it's just printing it like text.   "<br>" is a line break, like when you hit return on your keyboard.

Luke,

I would recommend you begin your search by reading a publication designed specifically for British growers by an Englishman. My apologize if you already have it. Here is the link: http://www.eastcoastfigs.com/HOGG.PDF

I would suggest Celeste and Desert King. both should fruit for you in England and both have a good quality fruit.

>>> Cough.Cough ...
I like that comment to whatever it means...

Luke....

You will have some research to do over the next weeks.  Judging by your climate chart, you will have no problems growing figs...and not killing them because of cold weather.  I am a little concerned with the amount of sun that your figs will get.  I have no idea what  England is like as far as  the amount of sun hitting your greenhouse, but I think if you get some sun, you will still be able to easily grow figs.

Brown Turkey is a good fig, but not as good as some other varieties.  It's a good sturdy tree, and will give you very good crops of figs.  Try it, and give it away if you are not thrilled with the flavor.  You'll gain, at the very least, experience growing figs.

List varieties available either from local garden centers, and from mail order nurseries.  We want to know what you will potentially purchase.

Thanks,

Frank

Just one caveat..."Celeste" can be temperamental, and abort figs.  Good taste, but a little "bitchy".

Luke,

You may want to check out this website: http://kiwifruitsalsa.wordpress.com/fig-varieties/

Kiwi Bob lives in the Pacific Northwest (Washington State or British Columbia I think). The climate is not that different from yours. He has trialed different fig varieties and he gives his impressions of what does well.