Is anyone growing this tree ? Been looking for a fig with high flavor ratings and read about this one and Santa Cruz dark.

The Marabout I know is a Smyrna type, requiring pollination to ripen.
The figs are large with good flavor and crunchy

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/marabout-7608638?highlight=marabout&pid=1288749011

Francisco
Portugal

Thanks for the information. I cant hage this fig. But it surely a good one. Richie

My Marrabout (RR) hasn't done very well this first year. It arrived as a big tree last winter with large bare roots. I put it in a large pot, stuck some some tiny collards around the top for green mulch. The collards grew big and are almost taller than the tree now. The Marrabout struggled in full sun. I had to move the pot to afternoon shade and it did a little better. Maybe next year it will grow better if I move the collards somewhere else. It put out leaves but didn't grow at all. At least it didn't die. I wonder if I should take cuttings and start over again. All my first year cuttings that I rooted last year grew like weeds. 

RR catalog describes it as: “Marrabout- A Smyrna type fig it needs the fig wasp for pollination. Large purplish-black skinned, strawberry fleshed fruit has excellent, rich, sweet flavor. Figs ripen over a long season and are great fresh and have the classic Smyrna nutty flavor caused by the fertile seeds.  Hardiness zones 8-10.” https://www.rollingrivernursery.com/products/628/20/fruit-trees/figs-ficus-carica/marrabout-detail

Herman had posted: "It appears that UCDAVIS has three Marabouts: 1.Marabout(Smyrna type), 2.MaraboutC(Common Fig), 3.Marabout/Gulbun (hybrid)"

I emailed RR and asked which Marabout was theirs?
Marc from Rolling River Nursery emailed me back: “Our Marrabout is from Davis, and I believe it is the one introduced by Condit, but I would have to dig deep in the records to find out. I'm not sure how different they are.”

Mara,

Critical nutrients for fig growth and development also mean a LOT to all sorts of cabbages.
Those with so nice growth on your Marabout big pot, sooner than later, will destroy your fig, depleting the soil of the basic nutrients for fig growth

You decide, but I would never mix those two plants, regardless the size of the pot
The time is right , now,  for an overhaul of the present state of affairs...
uproot all collards (*), and change the old soil to whatever you decide, enrich it with the good nutrients and mulch organic (light colored wood chips for instance)

( collards may also have invited some little pests and parasites feeding on their tasty roots ... fig roots seem to be rather sweet as well !) - see what I mean ?

(*) Try 'caldo verde' our popular and low calories broth made with collard thick leaves very rich in calcium, iron, magn, P, K, etc.. collards have twice the calcium content of cow milk!

Francisco
Portugal

Thanks Francisco, I'll be moving the collards as soon as I finish pruning. I fertilized regularly last year with various liquid fertilizers and had a nice crop of white cabbage butterflies. The butterflies were more appreciated than the collards. You can buy collards at any grocery store, but white butterflies...... They're special. 
I made collards for New Years Day (a family tradition) with garlic, bouillon, sesame seeds, sesame seed oil and soy sauce. Is your 'caldo verde' like that? It sounds great!

Mara,

Did you manage to pick fruit from other Smyrna varieties ?
Once you have fertile pollen in your area,   IMO, this will be a strong plus to encourage you to grow great figs like Bournabat, Zidi,..and many others

OT,  .....
There are many recipes for 'caldo verde' depending on the regions..
https://www.google.pt/search?q=caldo+verde&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiwioSn5afKAhXBoBQKHS7mC8AQ_AUIBygB&biw=1138&bih=507&dpr=1.2

Christmas and New Year  dishes include the popular salted 'dry' cod steamed, with potatoes , Port.cabbage, garlic and olive oil
http://teleculinaria.pt/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Couve-portuguesa-Custom.jpg

Francisco
Portugal


--

Francisco, 
   Thanks for the recipes. i'll have to try them. 
   Yes, I posted on another board about the Bursa Siyahi I was growing and how it produced a number of fruit that were full size but just didn't ripe before dormancy. I did a seed test, with 80% of the seeds fertile, so the wasp is active in my area.
   I'm trying to find a good place to plant my one year old Zidi. Full sun here is too hot for some figs, so it's a challenge to find a space with sun and shade that is just the right amount but not too much.   

Mara,

IMO your Bursas were too much for such a young tree and they could not ripe properly
This season may be you have to prune some and leave just a sample (may be 1 per branch) and then they will grow and get a good size/weight, and sugar/flavors  I would concentrate my attention now on building and shaping up a robust tree.. then get to full speed at 4th year.

In your country you have easy access to the best potting soils and the state of the art fertilizers so no reason for not creating great fig trees and super figs
Over and above all this you have the best in terms of climate and sun-hours ! Again, I would let these figs under full sun. In ground and/or in big pots a  3 to 4 inch of mulching is desirable and the soil kept with some grains of moisture

Good care and attention to your garden providing help and assistance (if required) by the time pollination occurs, by ripening time I bet all your Bursas,  Zidis an Marabouts will be large to very large delicious, crunchy fruit,  all beyond the 100 gr mark!

Francisco
Portugal

O.T. Francisco, I saw checked your links and I was instantly hungry!  The caldo verde looks delicious!  I will be starting seedlings soon and cabbage is a great veggie to start!

Francisco, 
   Thanks for your suggestions. They're helpful. This was my first year with new fig trees so I know better what to do and what not to do next year. 

Mara,

My Zidi loves the sun!
Plant it in the open full sun large spot and the tree will go wild :)

I find the clay pots with a clay water pan keeps the sun from baking your trees roots. Alot of other style plastic pots get so hot it makes the leaves droop during the day and the fine roots die and have to regrow in some cases depending on how hot it gets. Touch your pots surface during the hottest part of the day. Some pots get incredibly hot.
Richie from louisiana zone 9b

Richie, in hot weather, I put all my plastic pots with fig trees in larger pots so there is an inch or two of empty shaded space around the outside of the pot. You're right -the sun will heat up the plastic and burn the roots unless something is done to protect them. During the winter this isn't necessary and I take them out. In fact, I think the warm surface of the plastic pots (as long as it's not hot) encourages root growth. But it has to be watched carefully or, as you say it will get extreme quickly. 

I also would protect the more exposed trunks with a coating or two of withe wash!
This would cool down by reflection those vital parts until the tree produces new limbs and enough foliage for shade on the growing canopies.. Some pests will also avoid visiting these painted trees

Francisco
Portugal

Mine from RR is a Smyrna type.  It produces a lot of figs and they just fall to the ground in July.

Dennis,

IMHO ,You need to try for a start, a small GH, half a dozen proven good smyrn's - Z, Bt, Caly, BB, SZ, Mb,  etc
...and a friendly hand from the West at the right timing, think it's worth a trial

Francisco
Portugal

Francisco, I've tried painting white some of my nectarine and plum trees and it seems to help. Now I like better the white plastic wrap around sleeves that twist around the base of the tree. It protects the trees not only from heat and critters, but also from the man who cuts the lawns and finishes with a weed trimmer. 
Could you translate what you said. I'm guessing Z is Ziti. Is BB Black Bursa? Mb =Marabout?  Caly = Calimyrna? But GH, Bt, SZ? Thanks.

Mara,

GH - (green house)
Bt - Bournabat
SZ- Sary Zeibek

As for the heavy limb direct Sun exposure.  providing you keep them shaded it's fine
I said white wash because traditionally it's what we always used around here for centuries and it works!

You can also mix a bit of diluted cooper sulfate on your thick white wash, making a light bluish paste and it's even better keeping most pests at large!
This cheap home made protector can also be used on the  cuts resulting from  pruning the large limbs of most fruit trees as well as when grafting

Francisco
Portugal

Francisco, I think you're right!  I now have 2 greenhouses.