Very nice Matt. I was born and raised in Brooklyn and that is where my love of figs began.
What neighborhood were these photos taken?
I am also going to do some pruning soon from a Brooklyn fig tree that is in Flatbush
Very nice Matt. I was born and raised in Brooklyn and that is where my love of figs began.
What neighborhood were these photos taken?
I am also going to do some pruning soon from a Brooklyn fig tree that is in Flatbush
Thanks Becky - i believe your on my initial list for cuttings. hoping i still get them to begin a big offer!
That's pretty cool. It looks like 86th st or brighton beach area. I never saw figs when I lived down that way. well, I'd never eaten a fig back then;) My eyes have only recently been opened.
very cool! seems any fig tree close to homes survived the harsh winters well!
I experimented this year, I planted a fig tree right in a corner of my chimney and shed and to this day, she still has leaves while all the rest lost them all.
Take a real close look. Almost every tree that's shown in those photographs have re-sprouted from around the original base section of the trunks...which have been severely chopped away. Can't imagine how beautiful the older, original trees were. The fig tree carnage in NYC is immeasurable....all due to the freezing cold winters that we suffered over the last two years. The winters of 2012-2013/2014-15 were ruthless, killers, and the freezing cold temps cut down thousands of New York City's finest examples of "Old World" fig trees. God only knows if they will ever be replaced. How could they be? After all, these were the trees our grandfathers planted.
Almost all of the older, well established fig trees in The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island.... have vanished, leaving behind nothing but skinny suckers. Very old fig trees, that were growing, unprotected for decades, some with 8" diameter trunks, are now nothing but hacked up, gruesome skeletons. These botanical headstones are all over the place, everywhere I look.
You notice these things when you love figs, and it's sad to see all this devastation as I drive around through some of the old nabes. One can only hope that subsequent winters will be easier on these struggling-to-survive, veteran trees. The sprouting suckers are a a small sign of hope that they will live on. Far too many did not re-sprout any new growth from around the roots, and are now lost to the ages.
Frank
and the new generation of kids will never carry the old school ways. I am 51, and I will be planting and giving out to my friends as much as I can, I will do my part :)
Frank - It is truly a sad sight, some of these trees had 2-4 diameters, that's a big kill! The one growing between the garages was most fascinating. Luckily most fig trees at tough and tried to regrow from the ground, ill be sharing some photos of the brooklyn tree im trying to save shortly - the suckers have engulfed almost a full backyard.
Peter - Very true! I'm new generation, but plan on sharing as most of the people here do. I already promised family and friends fig trees for next year :-D
I grew up on Long Island near Hempstead Turnpike and Hicksville Rd. Unfortunately I didn't know about figs back then.
