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Fig Propagation from Seeds

Congrats Nelson

That is almost like being a new Dad

Good on you Nelson. I saw the seeds on sale on ebay. Those figs look gorgeous. No wonder you were tempted. Anatolia...native land of figs. sigh.

Cecil ain't that the truth the heat mat really helped I just started these a week ago what joy lol. Yup Jules those were it the anatolian mix.

Oh and on another note in march I will be a Daddy hehehe.

Then Super Congrats!
On the fixing to be a New Dad

Thank you Cecil I appreciate it

Jules ,
in future i look forward to hearing how things are going . A+ for at least trying !
Nelson,
Congradulations !

Thanks Martin, I wonder if these seedlings will start sprouting like weeds before i left work i took another peek and I could see quite a few have a tap root going down already oh well step one has begon fruit set well thats a whole other chapter. Actually I just realized something theres 70 seeds in there if they all germinate what then lol hmm didnt think this far ahead.

Nelson,
i dont know diddly squat qbout fig seeds but thinking when i sprout too many veggie plants in trays i pick out the strongest looking ones .
Best Luck

Oh Martin these little guys are growing like weeds they are double the size from yesterday.

I have two question when should I take the tray from the heat mat & when can they be transfered to their own containers? I know its too early now just wondering.

Thanks

Hi all,

Not sure if I should start another thread or contribute to this one as it was recently active.

I live in Vancouver BC and am new to figs.  My neighbours in the Commercial Drive area (Vancouver's Italian 'hood) are NOT! :-)  There are many fig trees in fruit all over the neighbourhood.

Earlier this week I was thinning out overgrown tomato plants in my back garden and discovered what I believe is a volunteer fig tree at 8-10" height!

I think I've attached four images:
Three show the plant in question and one shows a leaf from my neighbour's confirmed fig tree that I laid on my garden wall for comparison.

Are you able to confirm whether this is a fig?

We had an extremely unusual, long, warm, dry summer this year. I'm wondering if the capriwasps headed north to avoid all that California smoke?

If it it a fig tree from a seedling, would it be possible to identify it before it fruits (if it fruits). Also, I believe Vancouver is zone 8b. If I leave it in my back garden unprotected, will it survive? (Vancouver has extremely rainy winters). The soil is took root in is 95% mushroom compost. The other 5% is kitchen waste compost.

Thank you in advance for your comments and advice.

Justine



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Justine Welcome !
Yes thats 100% Italian fig plant, well maybe not italian i could not help myself.  ; )
Seriously its a fig plant though.
If it were me and my plant i would take care to make sure it comes back next year and not harmed to see if it bears figs since it seems to be a voulenteer fig plant.
If all goes well let us know what happens next season.

Hello Martin and 'grazie' for the welcome to the forum! ;-)


FIG = Friendly Interested Gardeners, I suspect!

If I have questions about giving this fig the best chances of survival over our rainy zone 8B Vancouver winter, should I redirect it to a different thread in the forum?

Also, is this plant too young to identify. Maybe it takes more than a leaf alone to identify a variety of fig?

Thanks again for the welcome and the fast reply to my question.

All the best,
Justine

Justine ,
i sent PM to help.

Fignut, you are 100% right. As it is, its already difficult to find a reliable variant to give me a reasonable crop with the right taste, flavour & be hardy, let alone for me to attempt to grow from seeds.  Anyway, its an adventure for some & as always, isn't it true if we don't explore how could progress be achieved. I know a few things like I don't have lots of time left & I wish I had discover how great fresh figs taste when I was a teenager living in Australia with its milder winters. Its a little too late for me to try every figgie variants but thanks to so many contributors & kind fig friends, I am narrowing my priorities.

Hello Justine

Amazing a volunteer fig in your non Blastophagus psenes area. Adriano of `a fig in every household in Canada` fame also has a volunteer fig. It was mentioned in an article that Bass shared with everyone about Adriano.

I did check my fig seeds and they were hollow mainly (as Fignut mentioned). I did the seed viability test - and most seeds floated in water. If you still have figs, and have time, could you check whether the seeds from your own fig bushes floated or sank in water? Those wasps are really tiny. To fly such a long way...????

Hi paully - I suspect that my dream fig is Hardy Chicago but....I shall wait until I can find a regional source that is reliable.

Update to my posting last September!


Yes, the fig tree survived the winter. As you probably know from the Olympics coverage, Vancouver had a very pleasant and mild winter (particularly from a young fig's point of view). The fig survived just fine and started to leaf out in spring. As the first photo shows, it soon started to sprawl along the garden bed seeking out sun (it started to grow in a shady area of my back garden. Last week I dug it up and am trying to figure out what I should do!  (Photos 2 & 3)  I don't really have full sun except on my back patio. Wish I knew what variety of fig this one is so I can know whether I can grow it successfully (easily) in a pot. Hoping the more experienced among you can offer advice.  Yours in appreciation... Justine

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  • FMD

Wouldn't it be great to get updates on Justine's volunteer and Nelson's seedlings from over a year ago?

This is like an episode from "All My Children".

Frank my seedling was already pruned back mid summer as it had surpased 7ft will take pics shortly. I also have 3 kadota seedlings and an Unkown seedling that grew in one of my pots no idea what it is .

Hi there!


Very happy to contribute to the next installment of "All My Children"!

How nice that you are wondering how the little miracle fig plant fared all these months later.

After overwintering it in its original place of discovery back in the fall of 2009, I dug up the fig in the spring of 2010 and potted it - since the garden it emerged from is very small and meant for my modest veggie patch. 

In the winter, I keep the pot in a warmer part of my garden (under the protection afforded by the outstretched boughs of a large spruce and evergreen magnolias) and place it in the sun during the warmer months. I increased the pot size this year although it's still rather small. The plant is probably only 3 feet tall. Still no signs of little figs. 

I'm wondering if anyone out there might be able to identify the type based on leaf shape. They are deeply incised, like fingers -- and rather large.  Here are some photos...

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  • FMD

Thanks to both for the updates. I'm glad to hear of your children's progress. Don't give up on them because one never knows what genetic characteristics will eventually dominate.
Case in point:
I sprouted some fig seeds more than 15 years ago while living in NJ. When we moved to Florida I brought along the most vigorous sprout and planted it inground. The little thing loved his new home and took off like a rocket. Within the first year it was easily 10 feet tall dwarfing the rest of my fig trees.
It took several years before the first rudimentary figs started forming. These little nubs withered and fell off immediately. As the years passed, the errand specimen continued to grow into the prettiest thing you'd hope to see in a fig tree. It had the classic branched round canopied shape on a huge solid trunk.
I had the perfect looking fig tree loaded with small green fruits that would never reach maturity. Fortunately, I did not have the heart to chop it down because two years ago, the figs started to ripen for the first time and have done so ever since.
I wish that I could tell you that the resulting figs are the largest, juciest, sweetest fruit I've ever tasted. Nope, they are your regular run of the mill Celestes.

And so, ends another episode of As The World Turns.

That is truly amazing FMD, thank you for sharing. Where did you get the seeds from?

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  • FMD

Sorry, hoosier, that was a long time ago and I was experimenting with a lot of different figs at the time. However, in retrospect it had to have been a Celeste, I would think.

But you grew the figs and did not pollinate them right? This sounds like apomixis to me. I have been doing my own experiments to try and achieve this, but now it looks like it can just happen on it's own. Here is the info I have found so far. And Ingevald's thread that predates mine.

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  • FMD

I certainly was not pollinating my figs at the time. Until today, I had no idea what apomixis was. As a matter of  fact, I still don't.. But I will refer you and everyone else to Europe where thousands of fig trees  grow in cement cracks of bridges and  overpasses and actually produce edible figs. I can assure you they were not planted from cuttings. Who knows.

Good to hear, I will be looking for viable seeds in unpollinated figs before I eat them then. Apomixis is basically a female plant cloning itself through seed, but there can be some mutation during cellular division, resulting in a slightly different plant. The big plus here is the lack of fig mosaic virus in the seedlings. I would like my UC Davis trees more if they did not suffer from the disease or carry it. But probably only certain varieties are able to produce seeds this way. And 13 years is a long time to wait!


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