Hi Guys,  Great place here.  I'm looking forward to becoming a regular 'round here.

I bought 2 tree's from Ison's, though they haven't arrived yet.  But have a few questions.


1.  LSU Purple 3'-4', 1/2" caliper.  Planning to put it in the ground.  Since it's coming bare root, should I first pot it and let settle (and also wait until chance of freeze is past). Then move it to the ground in spring, or keep it in the pot until next summer.

2. Celeste. 4'-5,  1/2" Probably will keep this one in a pot.  How big a pot should I put it in? 5 gal? and keep up potting? is there any reason not to just put it in a 25 gal right away?

Thanks.
james

Hi James!  Welcome to the forum! 

When I refer to JD, it's MY JD!!  I call him that, but his real name is James also.  It's just he can drive a golf ball as far as Tiger, so I call him Jimmy Da Drivah... JD for short!

I think both of your figs would like being in containers before any freeze happens.  Not sure where you are, but if you put your location/zone in the signature section of the control panel (top right), it will help us help you more.

I'll let others answer your container size questions.  I have no intention other than putting them all in ground!

Welcome again!

Suzi

I guess zone info would be helpful.  Zone 8a, near dallas tx. We're likely not to have another freeze, but you never know. Last year we had a lot of snow in Feb.  It's been milder this year... 70's the past 2 days!!  If we do get another  freeze, I wouldn't expect it to be much lower than 28F to 30F.

James...

You picked two great fig varieties.  Good luck.

Please wait for the weather to warm up and settle before planting trees in the ground.  I'd pot them up in a quick draining mix and keep them cool, not freezing, cool, until they break dormancy, and buds begin to show swelling, and greening up.  Then dig a hole and slip the new plants into the ground with as little disturbance to the roots as possible.  Here's an alternative.  Containerize both trees now... ( in large 18 gallon containers) ...drill holes for drainage in the bottom-sides of the container, then when weather warms, bury the containers halfway into the soil and mulch the top half.  The roots will go into the garden soil, but your trees will still be in containers.  The best of both worlds.  You then can decide to plant them in ground in the coming years as trees grow larger, and put on better root systems.  You have many options at this point.  others on this forum will probably give you even more alternatives.

Hope this may help...and welcome to the forum.  This is the place to be for cutting edge knowledge regarding the growing of figs.


Frank

James
Welcome to the forum.  When you say "Near Dallas" does that mean Texas or Oklahoma?  Not that it really matters but it appears our Texas delegation is growing, now if we can get Frank (BronxFigs) to move to Texas, LOL.  Let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Thanks for the info BronxFigs.  I'll definitely consider the half buried containers.  How big is an 18gal? (diameter and depth).  A lot of the large containers I see in the store go by diameter and doesn't say how many gallons it is.  Would that be about a 21" pot?

dkirtexas:  I'm in Irving, TX.  Suburb of Dallas. (Sort of) Between Dallas and Fort Worth.

JDS

There are some threads that discuss pot volume, etc. that were previously posted on this forum, if I remember correctly. 

Home Depot sells large storage tubs, and these can be converted to a planting container very easily by drilling, or melting, holes into the bottom SIDES of the tub...not into the bottom, but only the sides, of the container.  Why?  When the roots grow out of the drainage holes drilled into the sides, you can easily spade-trim/slice the roots to remove the tub...but if the holes are drilled into the bottom, and the roots grow into the soil, the tub will be firmly anchored into the soil, and James will be very annoyed when he tries to lift the tub for whatever reasons.  Drill side holes...it prevents hernias.

Home Depot, and other such stores usually sell a wide range of tubs that are very easily converted into growing containers for figs.  Buy a dolly, and put your heavy tubs on it, and roll your trees around.  Doing this, also prevents hernias.  Volume of the storage tubs is usually on the label, and shapes vary even with the same capacity in volume.  The Home Depot storage tubs are rectangular, and have handles for easy moving, and lifting.  You can grow your trees very easily, for years, in one of these 18 gallon containers....and, they're cheap too. You will need to root-prune, and plant the trees in new medium every 3-5 years, and the tress can be replanted back into the same containers.  If planted in ground, disregard this whole discussion.

Good luck.

Frank

Would this work?

http://www.lowes.com/pd_115370-84240-TU0159_0__?productId=3396040&Ntt=storage+tubs&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dstorage%2Btubs&facetInfo=

JD welcome to the forum.
If i read right your Celeste 4 to 5 feet  can go in its final size pot no need to keep up potting .
If careful watering it since root system may not be large in a big pot it will enjoy being able to spread its roots and grow well this i know.  ; )

Welcome to the forum JD

welcome to the forum.

Thanks for all the warm welcomes and advice.  My gardening attempts over the years has been hit or miss.   I've always been "stick it in the ground and see what happens".

I put a China Berry tree in the front yard about 6 years ago that started out as a wild seedling that I dug up when it was only about 8" tall. Kept it in a pot for a year, then planted it.  The 3rd year it took off and is now about 16' tall.

I planted a plum from Home Depot about 4 years ago in the back and it's still only about 4 feet tall. It survives, but does not thrive.  Going to start testing soil and see what's going on.


Anyway, I'm going to try to follow directions this time.  I have a decent sized yard, so I should be able to do the pot in the ground on a few.   I have a couple of Ischia cuttings trying to root now and getting some Peter's Honey cuttings in the mail tomorrow.  I'll also be putting in a order here for some additional cuttings.

I'm so excited... Come on, Spring!!

So, when I up pot these, would Miracle Grow Garden Soil for Trees & Shrubs be fine?  Should I mix anything with it?

mix perlite with it.

about half in half?

Welcome to the forum JD.
Half and half is a good idea in my opinion.  I think you chose 2 good figs. I have both of these.  The celeste is a very consistent and figgy flavored fig. The LSU purple is different than most figs I've eaten.  The taste improves immensly once it is slightly over ripened.  And the flavor is reminiscent of a plum, but it is very good and sweet.   

Hi JD!!!!!!  Welcome to the forum -  I can't believe it - someone on the forum is in MY neck of the woods!!  I'm in Lewisville - for those of you who don't know, I live about 20 miles from JD give or take a couple!!  I purchased my tree at Calloways last year and it was mislabeled, what a surprise!!  The fabulous members here id'd it as a LSU Purple and it is one fabulous fig - I love it!  I left mine in the pot it came in until March, I was biting at the bit to get it in the ground LOL. 

If you search my topics you will find pictures of it, it might give you an idea of where to put yours.  If you didn't know this yet, it really seems to want to be a shrub.  I let mine grow freely did not pinch a leaf during the growing season and by May it started throwing out new branches near the soil line, and a sucker came up too.  Those new branches grew 3-5' and the main trunk grew an additional 3 1/2 - 4', just guessing on that since I am not tall enough to measure it.  The trunk caliper increased about 3x.  Have I mentioned I love this tree?  It gave me a breba I picked at the end of May, I got 21 main crop starting at the end of June.  I wasn't too impressed with the first couple, but by the 4th of July - oh yeah they were nice and sweet and figgy.  I don't have other figs to compare it too other then those you can get at the store - no comparison!  LSU Purple is 10x better then those from the store.

Hey JoAnn,  Great to see someone else nearby!   I can hardly wait till my trees get here.  Ison's said they have about a 2 week turnaround on shipping. I ordered on Jan 26, so it'll still be another week and a half before i get them.  Meanwhile, i've got some Peter's Honey that i'm trying to root.  And hopefully will have several more from Jon soon.

Thanks dieseler. But I still mix the perlite with it, right?

Yes you do and also to give you example when your there at store lift exact same size bag
of miracle growing garden soil and then go and lift the exact same size bag of miracle grow potting mix.
You will see what i mean .

My two trees from Ison's has finally shipped.  Supposed to be here tomorrow.  I'll be sure to take pictures and post my planting process :)

JD, welcome to the forum and good luck with your figs. I've had Celeste for ten years and we love it.

There is also a JD from Florida.