I got this as a Malta Black. The fig produced several figs and I left one to see how they turn out. So, now I have a couple of questions...

1. Is this a Malta Black?

2. Our weather has been super dry the entire summer. The last rain was about 2 months ago. I water the figs as necessary. 
And that single fig split badly... Is it common for the Malta Black to split?
Please notice that the fig is not ripe yet, it needs probably another 2-3 days. I put it in a baggy to protect from the flies, ants, etc.
Needless to say that now this fig is less attractive to me because of the splits :(

3. What do people do with the Malta Black on the East coast where it is more humid?

Thanks!

You positively have Malta Black there,but ,splitting is something ,it did from climate problem now in Oct,or from something you did,ex :Watering too much.
Rest assured that if you plant in ground,and grow to be an adult tree, getting ripe fruits when it needs to,I mean in August and Sept,then it will never split.
It is one of the list splitting figs here in NJ,despite heavy rain in the wrong time,yet my tree is adult and in ground.
I do nothing to it,except Thinning, giving a little limestone in the Spring,and yes,I never water ,this one.
Edit Note:In your climate that fig should be in ground!

I had a few to split early on when we had tremendous rains but none since. This is a very productive fig and very good tasting for me
in my climate.

Some of the younger leaves on my three year tree do look like yours. Here is are a couple of  links to my Malta Black fruit this year.


http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/malta-black-breba-6434466

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/malta-black-main-9913-6517929

I got about 10 wonderful figs off mine so far and not one split.  Humidity we have a lot of. 

Herman and Mike,

Thanks for your feedback. I am glad that it is a Malta Black!

As far as watering goes, I water it LESS than the other figs and it the first that split, that is why I was surprised. 
We still have heat in 90s and I water a lot every day. My MBVS, Strawberry Verte, Golden Celeste, some unknowns almost live in the water until noon, closer to the night the water evaporates, and none split. The Malta Black soil is actually on a dry side.

I will see how it behaves next year. I hope the heat is not an issue here.

I also had all kind of problems when i grew figs in pots.
It is just to hard to give plants what it needs ,in the exact time ,when it needs it.
That is why i grow in ground.
I only need to protect ,from cold for a couple of month,when in ground.
When growing in pots,you need to experiment,with different size pots, extra drainage holes,variable drip irrigation, soil drainage,etc.,all calibrated to your climate.
I am sure there is a formula for every climate

I totally agree with you, Herman!

Same about the tomatoes, pumpkins, fruit trees, etc. I tried a new tomato in a large pot last year, it was an epic failure :(
I mentioned tomatoes because they grow quickly and in one season you see the results. This year I planted in the ground and I think I picked up about 40 large fruits as of today and about 60 is still hanging, it grew to about 20 ft long without any issues.

Next year I will try a larger pot and in the ground. This is the first picky fig at the moment. It is easier for me to grow in the pots, I just need to figure out the plant requirements.

Greenfig is this plant on grass or cement ?
Grass will keep pot cooler and therefore less watering or you can try moving the pot to partial shade for less watering.

One note when our Ronde (earliest fig here) first show signs of ripening i cut back on all the rest of plants watering as i know there getting closer to that stage so as to bring out the taste in fig and not have fig muted in taste .

The plant can be stressed somewhat holding back the water but given just a bit of water to keep the figs from dropping.
I do this by weight of the container when its lifted by lip with 1 hand.

Malta Black BC. no splitting problems here.
Only one that split here and gone from yard was Panache as it seemed to soak up nighttime humidity somehow thru its eye
as it would widen going thru the ripening process.

Martin,

The pot is in the shade on a table while the leaves are in the sun. So, it is not on grass but stays cool (I learned to keep the pots cool from my temp measurements in pots, I posted the results a while back).

Let me analyse what was said above.
Since the plant is young, the pot is 2 gal only. Maybe a larger pot would solve the moisture content stability. I noticed that keeping track of the amount of water is not enough, it has to be more or less consistent to get the best fig quality. Going too dry or too wet for long periods of time is equally bad as going dry-wet-dry alternating frequently. I am thinking aloud now but I guess I may have found a problem.. and a larger pot may actually help.
It is possible that the fig root mass is too much for the pot here. 

It is also interesting that with the same watering regime my Panachee didn't split at all, while for you it was the other way around.. Are you sure it was a Panachee?... It is not a dark fig :D

Nice information, thanks for sharing.

Best,
Tam

Greenfig yes i did not know it was in what i consider a tiny pot i just use those for small starter plants not fig bearing plants.

Ah! So I may have found a problem then! 
It is a starter pot for me too, it is just that particular fig decided to produce figs while still small.
I will move it into a 5-7-10 gal for the next year later on.

It is interesting that a pot size may affect a fig quality in that weird way.

Geenfig not saying thats why your fig split but in small pot for too long can effect the plant as a whole overall
such as slow growth pale leaves etc while some aggressive fig types just outgrow them and are evident there too big for their container
waiting for grower to do something such as a ronde or mission.

Here have to grow them in pots and envy somewhat not being in proper climate and have all of them inground and
not have to worry about rootwork and whats involved with container culture.

I agree with you, Martin, in ground is better but if you look at the fig photos, you cannot get an impresion that the plant overgrew the pot. It is bareely a foot high.