I just bought potted Napolitana Negra Fig plant at one of nursery in Qatar. I have a few question on the tips growing this variety at home. Since the weather in Qatar is extremely hot during summer, I will have to keep it indoor. The questions are:-

1. Can this variety survived indoor (inside bathroom with 9 hours 60% sunray everyday)?
2. Is there any special tips on keeping this plant healthy especially watering and fertilizing?
3. Can this plant produce fruit the whole year?

I love keeping figs tree at home and i'm still learning the best way keeping this special plant indoor. 

Thank you.

Hello Mohamed,

Welcome to the forum.
Napolitana Negra is a nice fig variety and it should do fine in your climate.
If your tree is still too young (assuming it's potted), you should keep it under the partial shade of a bigger tree... after that, say when it grows through the second year, it may be fully exposed.

You shall have to irrigate and fertilize.. Show us a picture of your fig... Throughout  the dry season and as the tree gets a thicker canopy with many leaves,  they require more frequent irrigation...
As fertilizer you may try compost - worm castings for instance..
The fellows at the nursery where you bought the fig should give you some guidance on how to treat the plant

I have checked the temperature averages around Doha and with the exception of of your milder winters it is not much different from what I have here in the south of Portugal

Good luck
Francisco
Portugal

Dear Francisco,

Thank you for your prompt advise.

Ill attach the picture tomorrow because its already dark here in Qatar.

For your information, the nursery here; they don't have knowledge on figs. They don't even know figs varieties name. They only told me ficus carica.

And very limited fertilizer sold here.

If I'm not mistaken, perfect fertilizer for figs is high in Kalium on N:P:K ratio right? So that figs tree could produce faster and more fruits. 

Can you recommend me types of fertilizer if I'm wrong?

Mohammed,

Your Ag Authorities may eventually help you with some indications of your soil contents so you can figure out what additional nutrients are needed ...if any?
Figs like to grow in  slightly alkaline soils , some organic nutrients would help.. like aged manures from chicken, horse, cow and my proffered one  - rabbit. As said before worm compost is very good for figs and most of the fruit trees.

Watch your water - if it comes from desalination plants may be its chlorine contents are a bit on the high side..there may be other salts .. figs do not like chlorine. Regularly check water ph levels with a simple test (Litmus paper)

Near the end of dormancy I give a dose of manure to my figs... then, thereafter  apply liquid fertilizer once a month (NPK 5-8-10) with the typical micro nutrients  .. this will help the young tree to grow healthy, create a robust root system and canopy. I would suggest you to prune the first year figs for sake of having a nice and strong tree. May allow 2or 3 fruit to ripe on the second year only.

Francisco
Portugal

Welcome to the forum Mohammed.

Your fig tree should be able to survive outdoor temperatures in your area. Yes temps as high as 50+ c is very hot but it should survive with proper acclimation and care. I've experienced heat as high as 122F only once in my life in Death valley in the US (highest recorded temp was 134f = 56.6c). That was too much for a pale one like myself. I honestly thought my time had come. So, I know that kind of heat is very intense and can potentially lead to death for us humans if we don't constantly drink water when exposed in that environment.

So, the main concern for your fig tree in the hot, dry, season will be water. If you are able to collect rain water at all, that would be a big plus for you. Especially if your main water source is from desalination plant as Francisco mentioned. Letting chlorinated tap water sit in an open bucket for 24 hrs or so will remove most of the chlorine since chlorine will evaporate in to a gas. De-chlorinated water would be less stressful on your tree. 

If you have difficulty accessing commercial fertilizers, one of your best sources of natural organic material may be chicken manure or similar - just as Francisco indicated. Just use caution especially with chicken manure. If it is un-composted, it can burn your plants just like commercial fertilizers. So use it sparingly unless you have access to well composted manure. Even then, be careful not to over-do it.

Hope this helps.

May you have many delicious figs :~) .

I also wanted to add this. Fig trees do love lime. If you have a hard time accessing commercial garden lime, you may have a couple of alternatives in your area. Crushed limestone, crushed sea shells, and Dolomite can serve as good substitutes. I'm thinking crushed shells may be readily available -?

There is another Mohammed on the forum who grows in Oman, he may be able to give you some insights on growing in your climate. His user name is Speedmaster.

I have no idea how hot it gets in Qatar, but it gets very hot (daytime highs of 100F) in Italy in August.  If this fig is from southern Italy, I suspect it can take some heat.

Dear all,

Thank you for the advise.

You guys are awesome! 

Refer the attached foto. The tallest tree is Napolitana Negra. Im sorry i try to rotate the picture but i couldn't find the button.

I'm staying in apartment without balcony or open space, i have to place my figs tree inside the bathroom.

I know its not easy to grow plants indoor. Since i love figs so much I'm still trying my luck.

After I read some of your advise, now I realize why my plants are not growing. Maybe its because of desalination water that i used. hmmmm…...

So now, i need to quarantine a bucket of water before watering the plants. TQ for the tips saxonfig!

Getting manure here is almost impossible. But i will still search for it. Currently I'm using phostrogen all purpose plant food N:P:K / 14:10:27….

Maybe its wrong choice because according to the nursery staff my plant will not grow bigger after i told him I'm using that phostrogen.

He suggested for me to buy his potting soils mixture so i don't need to fertilize my fig at all…maybe i will purchase that potting mixture later.

Worse come to worse i will have to import some good manure from my home country (MALAYSIA). Over there i could find almost ANYTHING.

Hello Mohammed..

Now we see a bit further.. IMO there is nothing wrong with your figs.. Just one little 'snag' !

They are desperate for SUN !!!
The Napolitana negra has already reached the window  and feels probably a little better.. the other two will certainly follow and the 3 will dispute the available passage to their happiness !!!..
Sad to hear you have no balcony exposed to the sun. Without this exposure you shall have a problem soon.
May be you talk to a good friend with a yard or a balcony..and take the figs to an open space.

Will show you later, a couple of pictures to document what could happen to your trees in a few years...

Francisco
Portugal

Mohammed/

Yes, without at least some exposure to direct sunlight, you may have a hard time of ever getting any properly ripe figs. Is your balcony big enough to take them out to even for a couple of hours sunlight per day? Even if your balcony is in perpetual shade your trees would benefit from the warmth and reflected sunlight - it would still be brighter than the filtered light through the window.

As was mentioned it would be nice if you could get one of your friends to help you tend your trees. Even a small courtyard would make all the difference :) .

Just keep in mind, if you do get the opportunity to give them sunlight now, you will most likely have to acclimate them gradually. If they've been in your bathroom for some time now the leaves would most likely get sunburned if you took them out suddenly and left them for too long.

I hope you get to enjoy some nice figs one day soon.

May your trees fig well and prosper ;). 

Mohammed,

This wild robust fig originated most probably from a fertile seed dropped by a bird or a rodent inside an old abandoned cannery...grew under full shade for quite some time, its bearing always set to the available source of light..finally breaking through the window metallic grill and straight to the sun.

Hope you manage to find a better place for your figs

Francisco
Portugal

 
 

Hello Ridzuan,
I am from Malaysia. Welcome to the group. Pretty nice tree you have there. I had guessed as much you are from Malaysia when you mentioned Kalium as in NPK fertilizer. I don't know anything about growing figs in Qatar but in Malaysia...fig is the IN thing now. We even have a facebook group known as 'pokok tin malaysia'. And a lot of other groups too. But being here in this forum is the best thing that I have done for getting informations on fig. Good luck with your fig growing and once again welcome to the group.

Norhayati

Dear friends,

Thank you for sharing ideas and that pictures of that wild fig. Its amazing!

After I carefully thought on the best possible way to locate my fig plants at home, below are some good solutions:-

1. Cut that main branch into half and place it at my window so it could get maximum sun ray.(refer attached picture). I could use that removed branches for a new rooting process inside new pots. 
2. Place them at my friend house which has an open area.
 

Salam Norhayati,

Yes I did follow few Malaysian Fig's group. Its easy to get manure there in Malaysia but not here in gulf states.

I should purchase good fertilizer there and bring it here. hmmm...

Figs plant is very cheap here in Qatar. Most of them are from Syria. This time i got Spanish Napolitana Negra thats why I'm so excited.

How many figs plant do you have?

The last time I counted is around 40 all grown in the pot. Perhaps around 30 varieties. If all the cuttings had lived I would have almost double that amount. Rooting is ok for me but the critical part is my cuttings mostly died when I transplanted them to bigger pots. The rain is the most challenging factor here as heat is in Qatar. I do not have napolitana negra yet perhaps we can exchange when you get back home. Fig trees here in Malaysia is so expensive. Buy whatever varieties you can especially those not easily found in Malaysia. I heard syrian types are hard to come by here. And make sure you buy common fig which means it doesn't need pollination because there's no fig wasps in Malaysia. Otherwise your fig tree will not bear fruit.

Norhayati

Nice to see you have a couple of possible solutions Mohammed. Hope it works out well.

Who knows, perhaps your situation will change soon and you will have plenty of space for your fig trees.

Dear Saxonfig,


Yeah…another option is to move to a new house that has an open space.

Currently we are living in a company accommodation which near to our office and in the middle of the city centre…

We are still considering of moving to an outskirt area where we can rent bigger house and better road connection to the city centre.

But we can only do that after my newly born infant reach 6 months or 1 year.

For the time being, let see the two solutions that i mention earlier, how its work.

Dear Norhayati,

Wow…..i can call you sifoo already….quite a big number of fig plants you have….

Sure we can exchange figs in Malaysia one day. 

Can i know where is your location in Malaysia? Do you know anyone in Malaysia who has good knowledge on figs?

Im planning to buy another variety here in Qatar. Spanish Breva. the fruit almost similar to Napolitana Negra.

Maybe just a matter of patience then.

Congratulations on your newborn. Raising children is its own special kind of rewarding work ;) .

Congratulations on your newborn. Fig in Malaysia is still very new. Most of us the early hobbyists have less than three years experience. Unlike our American friends who have a lot more experience. We are still at the learning age. Believe me when I say most of my fig trees are donations from generous and kind members of fig4fun forum. Some are so kind by giving me cuttings again and again when the previous ones died. Btw I am staying in Ampang Kuala Lumpur. Please do a lot of research on the varieties since some trees have multiple names. You do not want to end up with the same tree of different names. You can contact Fahmie Formeniaga for all your agriculture needs. You can add me 'Nenda Mysha' as your fb friend and I'll let you know some friends who have been involved in figs in Malaysia.

Norhayati