Hello all,

 My name is Tom and my wife and I live in Ostrander, OH on 5 acres. That’s right outside of Columbus if you are familiar with the area. We raise chickens and sell eggs and also work full time white collar jobs. About 2 month ago we saw a couple of small fig trees at a local nursery and purchased them and have had fig fever ever since. We’re lucky enough to have already eaten figs off these two tree. I grew up in Alexandria Egypt and figs grew naturally… anywhere. Dry dusty sandy soil and all. I remember my parents owned an acre that had fig trees on it with huge figs on the branches. Figs are such a wonderful thing and we just can’t get enough. I purchased 6 more figs from hirts.com and, little guys in 4” pots and I moved them into 5 gallon buckets. They cost about $10 each shipped which seems really nice for a live plant.  I’ve been reading and learning about figs daily!

 My two adult fig plants are getting what appears to be rust, we’ve had a bit of rain a cool weather. I realize there isn’t much I can do about it now, but I’m going to start a prevention program for all my figs with a copper spray of some sort. Is that what everyone does? Does spraying become part of owning potted fig trees?

 I also would like to affordably expand my fig collection. We have a bit of an extended family J.  Would anyone here care to recommend a place to buy cuttings? I’d love to start 50 plants if I could! I assume it’s not too late to start cuttings in pots before overwintering indoors in zone 5b. I don’t mind driving somewhere for cuttings. I’ve seen  I realize it’s not quite “cutting season” so if I’m doing this wrong let me know. Certainly not looking for anything for free here, my dad taught me to give more than I receive. Speaking of which I could probably get my dad, who is in Egypt now, to get me a bunch of cuttings. He won’t know what he’s getting but as I said, figs are a common plant there. I’ll look into that.

 Thanks for the wealth of information you guys have already created on this forum. I hope to add to that with my own experiences going forward.

Tom, welcome to the forum!  We do have at least a couple members from Ohio on the forum and maybe they will chime in.  You might be able to set up trades with varieties you already have.  Thus I would suggest listing those varieties in this thread in case someone is interested.  Regarding bringing in cuttings from Egypt, the legal way to do that involves a lot of time, expense and effort (permits from the federal authorities and time in quarantine are needed) but it can be done.  There's been a lot of discussion on the forum about how to do this.

I remember my mom once decided to bring several large cases of Mangos from Egypt on a return flight. Needless to say that didn't go very well haha! From what I've seen fig cuttings often look like dead twigs..perhaps dead twigs are a different matter ;-)

Welcome to the forum, Tom
It is not a cutting season but you can easily root the green wood.
Search this forum to find the varieties you want, it will be easier for you in the process of obtaining the figs ( you will discover that quite a few identical or very similar varieties have different names).
Many people buy from eBay but you have to be careful there.
Do not get anything from the abroad and check who the reliable sellers are, search the forum for this too.

Sometimes people offer cuttings here as well, esp. in the Fall.

Hi littlebirds,
Welcome to the forum.
Are you sure it is rust, or is it stress from not enough watering ?
I have a tree that got yellow leaves, and another one dropped some figlets just last week, as they were not watered for two weeks ...
With potted figtrees, that happens fast.
Do you have a water reservoir under your pots ? I would put a plate and make sure that some water stays there for easy access for the tree.
Good luck with your trees !

Welcome!  One of my favorite members is from Ohio!  Many of the online nurseries are not very reliable when it comes to the accuracy of named varieties.  I hope you got what you wanted.  But to be honest, the best tasting figs are not available from nurseries like that. 

You also have to remember that the figs from your childhood were improved by pollination from a wasp that doesn't live in Ohio.  The figs you eat will be good but not what you remembered  :)

Every Winter Jon (owner of the forum) has a massive cutting sale so save some room for that.  If you search for "ebay" (without the quotes) in this forum you'll get threads listing the reliable sellers.  Ebay prices have gone out of my range, though.  I hope you can afford them   :)

You'll do best to start with early ripening varieties until you see what's possible in your zone or hear from the Ohio crowd what does well for them.  If you build a greenhouse (3x bigger than you think you need!) then your possibilities are endless.  If you can do it, a greenhouse will let you ripen some of the best quality figs that wouldn't otherwise ripen in Ohio.

Ronde de Bordeau, Hardy Chicago, Marseilles Black VS (MVSB), Desert King, Violette de Bordeau, Florea, Niagra Black, Nordland, Oregon Prolific, Salce, Takoma Violet and Vasilika Sika are ones that are great tasting and should do well in Ohio.  I'm sure I left out a lot but others will add to the list  :)

Avoid things like Black Spanish and Brown Turkey unless you like very mild figs.  They're widely sold but can't produce good figs in your climate.

Hi Tom-

Welcome to the forum.  I'm sure, in fact I'm positive, that you will find all you need to know about figs right here, on this forum.  Keep in mind that Egyptian fig varieties may not do as well here, especially if the figs need a wasp for pollination.

You say you want to expand your collection by rooting cuttings, and that you'd like to grow about 50 trees.  Fifty different varieties or, just fifty trees of any variety, including many of the same variety?  If it's the latter option, buy a few stock plants and chop them up into cuttings, or air-layers, etc.  From one tree you could easily propagate 20-30 individual plants of the same variety.  In your climate zone I would make sure that it's a short-season, hardy, variety like "Hardy Chicago", etc.  You can't go wrong by starting your collection with tissue-cultured, virus-free, fig trees from Wellspring Gardens, Florida Hill Nursery or, Hirts.  Fig trees from Wellspring Gdns. are a bargain, and shipping fees are very reasonable especially for multiple-plant orders.  Yes, they are small plants but they grow fast.  Protect any trees that you purchase or root.

Check/Search all threads re: air-layering techniques, and/or propagation techniques from cuttings.  You-Tube has videos showing both methods and also some videos showing propagation using green-wood cuttings.  More than likely, you will be growing your figs in containers.  Almost all fig  varieties will do well in containers, but all varieties will not ripen figs in your area/climate.  Check the "Figs For Your Location" thread for varietal recommendations.

I am sure by this time next year you will have all the fig trees that you need.  Good luck with your endeavors.


Frank

Welcome from Southern California.

Suzi

Welcome Tom

Francisco
Portugal

Welcome, Tom!  Nice intro.

Tom,
Welcome to the forum community.

Fig rust in colder zones is usually minimal when plants have over wintered a few times. The cold will kill the fungus along with disposing of leaves in the fall. Bonide Copper fungicide (Certified Organic) works quite well to keep rust in check in the summer, and can actually be used up till harvest, but has not been offcially certified for use with figs. Most rust in my location has been introduced by new potted trees from southern nurseries.

Cuttings in quantity are usually available at the end of the growing season, Fall/Winter or early Spring. But this year may be a little scant  in the East due to severe dieback of in ground trees this past winter.

Good Luck.

Welcome to the forum!
Brian

Welcome Tom, great forum....great people.

Hi, Tom.  Steve's right: There are a few of us in Ohio lurking about. I am sixty miles north of you. Columbus is generally one to two weeks ahead of us in the weather department, but everything is slow/late this year from the cold winter and now the cool summer. I notice a little rust on my figs every year, but nothing rampant. I don't even treat. This year is no different in that regard.